Colin #12, who ever you are? at least I sign my "ridiculous tinfoil-hat idiot brigade" comments - let's hear your valid concerns then instead of bagging someone who you supposedly agree with?

Michael#8 ECan had rated the Selwyn / Ashburton water zone as RED, but $ynlait,Ruth Richardson et all, took ECan to court and had that designation overturned as supposedly the science did not stack up in the paperwork. Now the RED zone suffers from nitrates in the water supply, pregnant women in Ashburton are recommended not to drink the town supply because of the detrimental risks of the levels of nitrates. Canterbury is largely alluvial plain, the surface water migration is rapid and due to the thin humus layer of soil the nutrients tend to leach into the ground. Large quantities of water are then needed to achieve sufficient grass growth along with additional fertiliser and the use of irrigators recycling effluent. The sum affect of all the irrigation and nutrients is a further impoverished soil, contamination of underground water supplies with nitrates, and a dropping water table due to overextraction. ECan tried to prevent this with designation of zones, but obviously the courts and moneyed people know better than the appointed environmental agency.(ENVIRONMENT Canterbury). Now National, Mr Creech and his Fonterra buddies want to remove any semblence of water management, open the extraction on an affordibility, "you pays your dollars, you gets your water" basis, and damn the wishes of the majority or democratically elected local body. When it comes to scarce resources money will always win, even when it is obvious that there are future environmental issues. It is the nature of business and moneymakers to want the fastest recovery of their return on inve$tment. Farmers frequently pronounce themselves to be consumate environmentalists, but action$ $peak louder than word$ and it is obviou$ who Creech and National are working for.

John Kelcher, can you please stop "helping"? I agree with you in principle, but your ridiculous comments just make those of us who have valid concerns look like members of your tinfoil-hat idiot brigade.

John William looks like a man of class, a man of distinction.

Il Duce Hide and his spaggetti western corporatist bedfellows: Bling Key, Sheriff Wyatt Creech, Nicked Smith, Ruthless Richardson, Rogered Douglas and co. have diecided that ECAN (a democratically elected body) is an impediment to their thirst for more water and power. Therefore this democratically elected body must be smashed and a commissioner (Commisar) appointed.

Nicky Wagner did her best to spin the "we know what's best for you" line, but the very vocal audience were not fooled.

Interestingly she mentioned the establishment of environmental protection acgency EPA. I was instantly reminded of the Simpsons movie, when grandpa prophesized the imanent doom and destruction for Springfeild, shouting EPA EPA EPA in the church aisle.

The EPA model is a system where polluters buy the right to pollute. Perfect for big players. I wouldn't be suprised if this system is sponsored by bandits like the IMF and the World Bank (along with the rest of the neo-con antidiluvian agenda). Like mining national parks, this yet another ruse for more global corporates to get their blood sucking fangs into this country. We must resist any moves in this direction.

National and Act believe that democracy is something that happens every three years and the rest of the time they can do as they please. They are their to serve to globalist crooks and banksters who anonymously fund them. The agenda is consolidation of power elites. Super Government is for the betterment of Super Corporates and elitist politicians and their minions.

WAKE UP CANTERBURY - THIS IS A NAKED ATTACK ON DEMOCRACY.

For more info on EPA see: http://www.epa.sa.gov.au/

This National Government has been in office for just over a year and many of its MPs are already showing classic "we know best" arrogance. They are not listening to the citizenry. Some of the domestic wells in Canterbury are already poisoned by cow effluent. The citizens of Christchurch do not want that to happen to our aquifers. However, we have in already heard PM John Key wanting to store water to maximise farming. But we all know that that really means more dairy farms on land completely unsuitable for such enterprise. We, the citizens of Christchurch, will all have to speak up to save our unique water aquifers from government-sponsored exploitation!

I guess the real question is what has Ecan done to protect our environment and water supply? I am not advocating what National plans but what choices are left? What has Ecan achieved? What do the protesters offer as an alternative because Ecan would appear not to be protecting the environment or more importantly the water supply.

If axing Ecan is a 'threat to democracy', what do the protestors call shouting down a speaker who held a contrary opinion? Can democracy be defended by undemocratic tactics?

@ #1 what is needed is calm rational debate and decision making not hysterical outbursts without evidence to support it. If an elected body is not performing adequately then something needs to be done, lets see what decision is made before making a comment on it shall we? Political appointments are nothing new, Labour did the same when it was in power, were you complaining then?

Ecan is not very practical, ask anybody that has to work under their jurisdiction.