Where Canterbury needs to go next.
Not a manifesto. A direction of travel, with the trade-offs named honestly.
The Government has said elected regional councillors will not continue past the 2028 election under any of its reform models, and decisions on the Head Start proposals for territorial authorities have moved to early 2027. These priorities still stand. What changes is who will carry them: the aim now is to make sure the arrangements that replace regional councils keep them.
New Zealand's regional and local government sector is in the biggest reset in a generation. Resource management replacement, water services reform, reorganisation proposals and rising climate adaptation costs are landing at the same time, and Canterbury sits at the centre of most of them. My job, as Environment Canterbury Chair and 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 is a statement of priorities, and the trade-offs that come with each one.
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01A clear regional voice in local government reform
Reorganisation driven purely by efficiency risks stripping community voice from decisions about water, land and growth. Through Te Uru Kahika and LGNZ, the priority is that any restructuring keeps democratic accountability, mana whenua partnership and local knowledge intact, not just balance sheets.
Trade-offfewer, larger entities may improve efficiency but risk weakening local representation. Any reform proposal has to answer that directly.
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02Freshwater decisions that survive a change of government
Farmers, growers and urban communities all need certainty. That means freshwater rules built on solid science, genuine consultation and realistic implementation timeframes, not settings that flip with every electoral cycle.
Trade-offdurable settings need compromise from all sides, rural and urban, environmental and economic. Nobody gets everything.
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03Climate adaptation funded before the next event, not after
Flooding, drought and coastal hazards are Canterbury's reality. Stopbanks, flood protection and managed retreat planning need sustainable funding agreed now, not emergency appropriations after the damage is done.
Trade-offfunding resilience ahead of time means cost to ratepayers and central government now, for savings that are hard to quantify until the event that didn't happen.
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04
Te Tiriti partnership that is genuine, not performative
Mana whenua bring knowledge and rights that improve environmental decisions when they are properly built in, not bolted on as consultation theatre. Whatever replaces regional councils, that partnership needs to be part of the governance from day one.
Trade-offreal partnership takes time and resourcing on both sides, and can slow decisions that people want made quickly.
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05
Growth that pays for its own infrastructure
Canterbury's population and economy will keep growing. New housing and business need matching transport, water and community infrastructure, funded through fair and transparent mechanisms, not deferred onto future ratepayers.
Trade-offcharging growth its full cost can raise the price of new homes and sections in the short term.
No easy answers. Just honest ones.
If you want to test these priorities, challenge them or add to them, get in touch.