New minister's hort focus
The new Minister of Horticulture, Nicola Grigg, says the reason that she came into Parliament was because of her interest in and commitment to agriculture.
OPINION: It will take some time before we get any specific detail about how the policy changes signaled by the new Government will impact us here in Canterbury.
Until we have new legislation in front of us that tells us to go in a different direction, Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury) must press ahead with business as usual for environmental regulation, public transport, and all our other core services.
But rest assured I'm not standing by and waiting. We are the largest regional council in the country, and I am committed to ensuring that Canterbury is front of mind for the Government when decisions are being made around the Cabinet table.
Over the past week I have been in touch with our new Ministers to highlight the opportunities that Canterbury offers them. With our expertise, we can help ensure their priorities for the environment, transport, infrastructure, regional development, and biosecurity achieve our aspirations for the region.
I've also explained to Ministers that, although we're well positioned to respond to any changes that might come our way during their tenure, our community and ratepayers have to foot the bill every time government changes policy. This ultimately results in extra work for us to deliver with no additional funding, meaning we have to cover those costs ourselves.
Frankly, I'm tired of fronting community meetings where I must ask you, my fellow ratepayerts, to pick up the tab for government decisions when we're all already contributing to Treasury's tax take.
But it seems like this comes with the job of being a regional government Chair. Like other councils across the country, we're feeling the pinch of rising costs driven by inflation, and are facing challenging times in delivering our growing legal obligations and your ambitions for the region.
To meet the demands plaed on us from government mandates, growing community expectations and the impacts of climate change, we'll reluctantly be proposing a significant rate rise as part of our long-term budget planning process.
This isn't something that we take lightly and neither I nor my fellow Councillors are completely comfortable in having to do this. However, with the regulations we're currently operating under, and the information we have in front of us, we're left with little choice.
How much money we'll need, and what services we should deliver, can only be determined with the community. We will be asking you to help us answer these questions as part of a formal consultation process early next year.
Finding answers to these challenges will be difficult. I know there will be different views within the community and in our Chamber about the best approach. The important thing is that everyone takes time to get involved in the conversation to make sure they're heard - much like what I am hoping to achieve with the Government.
Peter Scott is chair of Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury).
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.
'Common sense' cuts to government red tape will make it easier for New Zealand to deliver safe food to more markets.
OPINION: Should cows in NZ be microchipped?
OPINION: Legislation being drafted to bring back the controversial trade of live animal exports by sea is getting stuck in the…