A former Environment Canterbury councillor maintains councillors should be elected, not appointed.
A bill allowing Ngai Tahu to appoint two voting councillors to the Canterbury Regional Council was passed earlier this month.
That means that while the election campaign has begun for candidates looking to fill 14 of the 16 vacancies on the council, the other two seats will be appointed by Ngai Tahu independently from ECan.
Sitting Ashburton District councillor Angus McKay, also a former ECan councillor, supports the continuation of Ngai Tahu having a place at the table and having full voting rights.
He just believes their representatives need to be elected democratically, not appointed.
“They are probably going to be very good councillors. It is how they are getting there that is my problem,” McKay said.
“My personal view is anyone representing a region or a district, should be elected democratically using open, transparent elections.”
Currently two Tumu Taiao (mana whenua experts) provide advice to council on behalf of mana whenua, but do not have voting rights.
As of October 8, the two appointees will be fully fledged councillors which Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu Kaiwhakahaere Lisa Tumahai said will “only enhance the council’s decision making”.
“While ECan’s 14 councillors are held to account by voters at each election, our representatives are reporting back to their wider whanau and will be held to account at every hui, with our councillors expected to provide regular detailed updates.”
Te Ropu Tuia co-chair Liz Brown said the councillors will be appointed through a rigorous process designed to select the best candidates with the right skills and experience from more than 74,000 Ngai Tahu whanau members.
Applications are already open to all whanau members aged 18 or older she said.
An interview panel made up of mana whenua representatives from the 10 Waitaha (Canterbury) Papatipu Runanga will review the applications and interview a shortlist of potential candidates.
Mana whenua will select their preferred candidates and Ngai Tahu will then notify ECan and publicly announce the two councillors once the process is complete.
“The checks and balances we’ve put in place during this process will ensure the best people are appointed to the roles and they will take the responsibility and privilege of being a Ngai Tahu Environment Canterbury Councillor extremely seriously,” Brown said.

• By Jonathan Leask