Editorial: ECan crossroads

OPINION: A week, according to former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, is a long time in politics, and for Environment Canterbury's 14 councillors, especially its chairman, Sir Kerry Burke, this will be a very long week.

ECan is due to vote on Thursday on a no-confidence motion in Burke, who has held the position since 2004. This challenge to Burke, which has a Byzantine fascination to it, could go down to the wire, as did the chairmanship contests in 2004 and 2007 and the decision last month to put the no-confidence motion on the agenda.

On the face of it, Burke faces an uphill battle as two councillors who supported him in his eight-votes-to-six win in 2007 voted for the motion to proceed.

Another councillor, Rik Tindall, sent an email to Burke criticising his chairmanship. But Tindall, a 2007 Burke supporter who faces a disciplinary hearing over allegations of email intimidation, did not support progressing the no-confidence motion, and it would be curious if a "save-our-water" councillor from Christchurch voted against Burke alongside rural councillors.

Burke has a well-earned reputation for being a canny political operator and his chances of hanging on to his job cannot be discounted, as shown by the way he forged unlikely winning coalitions in the 2004 and 2007 contests. He might at least be able to persuade a critic or two to allow him to continue until next year's election.

The challenge has a myriad of levels to it. The tone of several comments from councillors indicates there are personality rifts between Burke and some of his detractors. Nor can the challenge be separated from the calls from South Canterbury local bodies, unhappy with the service provided to them by the regional council under Burke, to split from ECan. If Burke does hold on, these calls could strengthen.

Most intriguing of all is that, in the lead-up to the no-confidence vote, three councillors, including the mover and seconder of the motion, have been written to by the Auditor-General about potential conflicts of interest over the failed attempt to introduce water management charges, which is another important strand of ECan's ructions. Burke supported the charges, which would have trimmed ECan's rate rise, and he warned councillors with water consents that they should not vote on water management.

If Burke is toppled, there has already been speculation over his replacement. Jo Kane has resigned as Burke's deputy, but she said that this was not aimed at clearing the way for a tilt at the top job, although she might be seen as capable of uniting rural and urban interests. Alec Neill, who failed in previous chairmanship bids, has shrewdly stayed out of the limelight this time, which might indicate that another tilt is in the offing, and the city-based Neill is also a former Waitaki MP. And no doubt others, perhaps including Rakaia councillor Angus McKay, will be weighing up their prospects.

The prime consideration for councillors on Thursday must be whether Burke or a new face is best placed to heal the divisions. In June, Environment Minister Nick Smith attacked the regional council and did not rule out sacking councillors. That threat appears to have abated, but continued instability might cause Smith to revisit his warning.

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