Ashburton will keep an eye on its own patch, including community representatives, under a move to replace Canterbury's axed water committees.

Ashburton District Council, Environment Canterbury, mana whenua and Selwyn Mayor Lydia Gliddon met behind closed doors in Ashburton last week.

The representatives are progressing the establishment of Hakatere Local Leadership Group - the new model for freshwater and land management to replace the Water Zone Committees.

It has been agreed that three community representatives will be part of the group, and the boundaries of the area involved will be from the Rakaia River south to the Rangitata River.

Ashburton Mayor Liz McMillan said community voices are essential in shaping decisions that affect the district.

“By including three community representatives, we’re ensuring that local perspectives are at the heart of this leadership group and ensuring they have a voice.

“Until more detail on Government proposals relating to the Resource Management Act is available, the group will keep its terms of reference flexible and adapt as needed.”

The original proposal had councils sit on multiple leadership groups based on river catchments, but it was decided to retain district boundaries and share governance of the rivers on those boundaries with an annual joint-committee meeting.

Selwyn and Ashburton both advocated for sticking to district boundaries for the new groups to avoid unnecessary crossover and doubling up on discussions.

Gliddon said it was also about “an efficient use of time”.

The meeting focused on developing the group’s terms of reference and clarifying its role to provide leadership and recommendations to councils to support water catchment management.

Like the first meeting, ECan senior strategy manager Cameron Smith said it was a closed meeting to allow for “open, honest and constructive discussion”.

Attendees included Ashburton Mayor Liz McMillan, deputy mayor Richard Wilson and other councillors, ECan Chair Dr Deon Swiggs and councillors John Sunckell and Ian Mackenzie, Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua Chair Fiona Pimm, and Gliddon, as well Ashburton and ECan - with an apology from Timaru Mayor Nigel Bowen.

Ashburton Mayor Liz McMillan and Bowen had already discussed the boundaries, with Papatipu Rūnanga supporting the shared approach.

Community representation was discussed at the first meeting in September.

Former Ashburton Water Zone Committee members Bill Thomas and Angela Cushnie attended the discussion to represent the interests of the community, and potential inclusion of the Mid Canterbury Community Advisory Group.

In a post-meeting joint statement, ECan said “councils and mana whenua were happy to be joined at the table by representatives from the new Mid Canterbury Community Advisory Group”.

Cushnie and Thomas were not invited to the second meeting.

Cushnie said she was pleased to learn that community representatives will be included in the structure.

It was proposed that the new group will consist of one representative from ECan, two representatives from Ashburton District Council, one representative from each of Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua, Te Taumutu Rūnanga and Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga and three representatives from key community groups.

Swiggs said the Local Leadership Groups will play a critical role in guiding councils through a time of significant change, “with a focus on collaboration for the good of our communities and environment”.

“Local voices will be crucial to ground decision making on many of the changes coming at us.”

The Hakatere Local Leadership Group is expected to be established early next year.

A meeting to discuss Selwyn’s Waihora group, and what to do with its shared boundaries with Waimakariri and Christchurch City, will occur early next year.

By Jonathan Leask