ECan chairman Peter Scott ‘no longer credible’ and must go

Thursday, 26 September 2024

OPINION: Who can fix the deep-seated problems at Environment Canterbury?

Surely not its chairman Peter Scott (earning $186,660) who earlier this year admitted illegally irrigating on his farm and then last week apologised after his ECan car was recorded reaching a speed of 157kph, one of 678 speeding incidents recorded in his car this year alone.

What about local government minister Simeon Brown, who blasted Scott’s speeding as “irresponsible” but has been silent on ECan's processing of non-notified consents, now the worst of any regional council in the country.

Brown has deferred to environment minister Penny Simmonds who herself backtracked on plans to order six-monthly reports from ECan. Its consenting struggles have cost the authority $5.4 million in the last year.

ECan has also been in the news for failing to take any punitive action against a landowner whose farm contained giant silage pits - 125 times the permitted size - and which were likely to be a cause of Timaru's contaminated drinking water in 2021 and 2022. ECan knew of silage being stored in the area for some 20 years but did nothing.

A regional authority which is failing to keep the environment safe, failing to process consents on time, and has a chairman who repeatedly breaks the law needs fresh leadership.

No one wants to see the wholesale sacking of the authority as was done in 2010 despite ECan looking increasingly undemocratic after voting against a proposal to boost representation for the fast-growing population of Selwyn.

In 2013 the government installed a Crown Manager at the Christchurch City Council to get its building consents back on track. Is this an option?

Regardless of any ministerial intervention, it seems clear Peter Scott is no longer credible as chairman and must go.