5. AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn) Link to this
to the Minister for the Environment
What recent reports has he received regarding improvements in water management in Canterbury following the Government’s decision to appoint commissioners in 2010?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for the Environment) Link to this
The Government’s concerns in appointing commissioners were: the lack of a resource management plan for the huge water management issues in Canterbury, an appalling record of resource consent processing, and a lack of progress in addressing the deterioration of water quality in Canterbury. The latest report from the commissioners shows great progress: an operative natural resources plan is now in place for the first time since 1991, and compliance with resource consents has improved more in Canterbury than in any other region, with serious non-compliance halved from 19 percent to 8 percent. Another significant achievement has been agreement on the $12 million clean-up of New Zealand’s most polluted lake, Te Waihora / Lake Ellesmere, which I recently launched with the local member, in partnership with Ngāi Tahu, Fonterra, and local councils.
What progress has been made on Environment Canterbury’s appalling record of resource consent processing, which saw it rated as the worst council in the country in the 2007-08 year?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
In that year Environment Canterbury processed only 29 percent of consents within the statutory time frames. The latest report shows that there has been a dramatic improvement. Within the last year 92 percent of resource consents have been processed on time. This improvement from 29 percent, when Labour was in Government, to 92 percent now is a real credit to the work of the commissioners and their staff. It is a relief for the thousands of homeowners, businesses, and farmers who have previously been held up by poor processes. With the rebuild of Canterbury it is particularly important that we have efficient resource consent processing, so that we can rebuild Canterbury.