Support voiced for regional councils

Embattled regional councils have been defended against groups seeking their abolition.

Regional government has come under increasing pressure as the Government considers the details of its proposed Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).

Some believe the authority could have regional offices that would carry out many of the functions of regional councils such as Environment Canterbury (ECan).

A lack of progress on some issues, including water management, has fuelled the anti-regional council lobby, which includes a group of advisers to Environment Minister Nick Smith on proposed changes to the Resource Management Act.

An Environmental Defence Society (EDS) meeting in Auckland yesterday heard several reasons for not scrapping regional councils.

Environmental consultant Gerard Willis said the regional layer of government was a victim of poor government processes and that the problems associated with regional councils had been overstated.

Regional councils dealt with issues other than the environment, including research, monitoring, public passenger transport, civil defence, and water navigation and safety.

"It's ironic to be having this debate about regional councils just at a time when they are hitting their straps," Willis said.

"There's this them-and-us attitude which has continued unhealthily between central and regional government."

New Zealand's 12 regional councils had a joint budget of $865 million for the 2009-10 financial year, but only about $250m of that was for environmental work, he said.

Of that, $95.5m was for environmental non-regulatory work, $87.5m for regulatory responsibilities and $67.5m for research and state-of-the-environment reporting. That left about $615m to fund other council work.

Willis said an EPA replacing regional councils would transfer the funding burden from ratepayers to taxpayers.

"Eight hundred and sixty-five million dollars where's the Government going to come up with that at the moment?" he said. "I think you'll find regional councils will put up a very spirited defence."

Planning consultant Adrienne Young Cooper said an EPA appeared to be "an answer looking for a problem".

ECan chief executive Bryan Jenkins said regional councils reflected the country's diversity.

EDS senior policy analyst Raewyn Peart said some regional councils were performing well and some were not. "A few bigger, better-resourced regional councils would be a good move," she said.

- © Fairfax NZ News