Vision 2030
Where Canterbury needs to go next.
Not a manifesto — a direction of travel, with the trade-offs named honestly.
Not a manifesto — a direction of travel, with the trade-offs named honestly.
New Zealand's regional and local government sector is entering the biggest reset in a generation. Water services reform, council reorganisation proposals, freshwater plan changes, and rising climate adaptation costs are landing on councils at the same time — and Canterbury sits at the centre of most of them. My job, as ECan Chair and now as Regional Sector Chair for Te Uru Kahika, is to make sure Canterbury shapes this future rather than just absorbing it.
This isn't a list of promises. It's an honest statement of priorities, and the trade-offs that come with each one.
Reorganisation proposals risk stripping community voice from decisions about water, land and growth if they're driven purely by efficiency arguments. My priority through Te Uru Kahika and LGNZ is to ensure any restructuring keeps democratic accountability, mana whenua partnership, and local knowledge intact — not just balance sheets.
Trade-off: Fewer, larger entities may improve efficiency but risk weakening local representation. Any reform proposal has to answer that directly.
Farmers, growers and urban communities all need certainty. That means freshwater plan changes built on solid science, genuine consultation, and realistic implementation timeframes — not settings that flip with every electoral cycle.
Trade-off: Durable settings require compromise from all sides — rural and urban, environmental and economic. Nobody gets everything.
Flooding, drought and coastal hazards are Canterbury's reality. Adaptation infrastructure — stopbanks, flood protection, managed retreat planning — needs sustainable funding mechanisms agreed now, not emergency appropriations after the damage is done.
Trade-off: Funding resilience ahead of time means ratepayer and central government cost now, for savings that are hard to quantify until the event that didn't happen.
Mana whenua have knowledge and rights that improve environmental decision-making when properly integrated — not bolted on as consultation theatre. Whatever the future structure of regional government looks like, that partnership needs to be built into governance from day one.
Canterbury's population and economy will keep growing. Housing and business growth need to be matched with transport, water and community infrastructure funded through fair, transparent mechanisms — not deferred onto future ratepayers.
If you want to test these priorities, challenge them, or contribute to the conversation, I want to hear from you.
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