Environment Canterbury’s new deputy chair wants to show that partnership can work.
Iaean Cranwell, a Ngāi Tahu appointed councillor, was elected deputy chairperson with the backing of 15 of the 16 councillors at a Canterbury Regional Council meeting on Wednesday, October 29.
Deon Swiggs was elected unopposed as chairperson.
“We had talked about it and we wanted to show that we can come together,” Cranwell said.
“It’s a new way of moving forward that we can find consensus with Waitaha Canterbury as our focus.”
Cranwell said the election of a Ngāi Tahu deputy chair is the latest step in the “Tuia journey” of partnership between ECan and the 10 Papatipu Rūnanga.
While there has been Ngāi Tahu representation at the ECan council table since 2010, it was made permanent by the passing of the Ngāi Tahu Representation Act in 2022.
Last year, former Local Government Minister Simeon Brown wrote to ECan inviting the council to prepare a local bill to repeal the Act - but this was rejected, with 13 councillors out of 14 backing the Ngāi Tahu councillors (the two Ngāi Tahu councillors abstained from the vote).
Cranwell said working in partnership will be essential as councillors navigate changes being imposed by central Government, including Resource Management Act reform.
There have been suggestions from Government ministers that regional councils could be abolished as part of the reforms.
Cranwell said ECan is a “centralist” body, unlike Parliament, which is subject to party politics.
“We are 16 councillors from around the region. It’s the one level of government which is centralist because we are not tied to a single political party.
“We are here to represent the region. If we lose this form of government, we lose that centralist form of government.”
Cranwell is in his fourth term around the council table.
He was one of three nominations for deputy chairperson, including North Canterbury councillor Claire McKay and first-term councillor Nettles Lamont.
Swiggs is in his second term and was elected deputy chairperson last year alongside former chairperson Craig Pauling, who stood down from the council at this month’s elections.
He said he was looking forward to leading the council as it faced reform from central Government.
“Canterbury is the place to be. Christchurch is awesome and Canterbury is awesome.
“Let’s keep the momentum going and let’s make it even better.”
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
