Labour knew about ECan plight

STACY SQUIRES/The Press

OUTRAGED: ECan deputy chairwoman Jo Kane is angry the issues were not raised with the council at the time.

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Environment Canterbury (ECan) narrowly escaped Government intervention over its performance 18 months ago.

Complaints about the regional council were taken to the Labour Government but former Prime Minister Helen Clark would not act on them in the countdown to the 2008 election.

Labour Environment Minister Trevor Mallard, who had received the complaints from Canterbury MPs, the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) and others, including some of the region's mayors, told The Press yesterday "everyone knew there was a problem there".

ECan chairman Alec Neill and deputy chairwoman Jo Kane were angry the issues had not been raised with the council at the time. Kane said she had no time for "duck-shoving Ministry for the Environment officials".

MfE had not formulated a national environment standard and national policy statement for water, which had made it more difficult for ECan to carry out its duties.

"When you have those it's very easy to set the policy and very easy to take the community with you."

Mallard said he received "a number of gripes" about ECan when he was minister. "But it was quite late in the term and in a time where there was not the ability to put in the group to do what Wyatt Creech has effectively done and then deal with the results." He had informally discussed the concerns with some mayors, he said.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said he was unaware of the earlier complaints to government.

"ECan has only itself to blame. Those searching around for a scapegoat, like blaming the mayors, need to be reminded that when they point the finger of blame, there are at least three fingers pointing back at themselves.

The loss of confidence across the province because of this is probably catastrophic."

- © Fairfax NZ News