The Canterbury Regional Council has agreed its committee structure for the next three years, setting in place the governance oversight and reporting for Environment Canterbury’s work. 

Chair Peter Scott said the aim was to match the new committee structure to the organisation’s workstream portfolios as closely as possible with the appointment of Chairs and Deputy Chairs aligned to areas councillors had an interest in or experience. 

The Council also agreed its preferred remuneration structure, allowances and expenses for councillors. 

“We have a limited pool of funding available and a lot of work ahead,” Chair Scott says. 

“The approach we’ve taken to remuneration recognises the different ways councillors contribute. While the individual roles may differ, what is consistent is that everyone will be working hard to contribute to our success.” 

The Council decided that the Deputy Chair should be paid $120,000 and the remaining pool for councillors distributed evenly, meaning each councillor would get $71,463. Remuneration for the Chair is set separately by the Remuneration Authority and is $180,000. 

A proposal will be put to the Remuneration Authority for its approval. 

Standing Committees adopted by the Canterbury Regional Council on 14 December 2022: 

Biodiversity and Biosecurity Committee 
Responsibility: The development, implementation and review of biodiversity and biosecurity related plans and strategies, and compliance with its statutory functions and responsibilities. 
Chair: Greg Byrnes. Deputy Chair: Nick Ward. 
First meeting: 8 March 2023. 

Catchment Resilience Committee 
Responsibility: Matters in relation to the effective provision of river and drainage engineering services and regional resilience programmes. 
Chair: Ian Mackenzie. Deputy Chair: Craig Pauling. 
First meeting: 8 March 2023. 

Regional Leadership, Climate and Community Resilience Committee 
Responsibility: Oversee and inform the development and review of direction, strategies, policies and plans from a climate change and community resilience perspective. 
Chair: Craig Pauling. Deputy Chair: John Sunckell. 
First meeting: 29 March 2023. 

Transport, Urban Development, Air Quality Committee 
Responsibility: The development, implementation and review of strategic direction and policies for transport, urban development and air quality. 
Chair: Peter Scott. Deputy Chair: Vicky Southworth. 
First meeting: 8 February 2023. 

Water and Land Committee 
Responsibility: The development, implementation, and review of environmental, policies, plans, programmes, and initiatives to address environmental issues in the region. 
Chair: Iaean Cranwell. Deputy Chair: Claire McKay. 
First meeting: 22 February 2023. 

Additional appointments 
The Council also appointed Deputy Chair Pauling to represent Canterbury Regional Council on the Climate Change Action Planning Reference Group under the Canterbury Mayoral Forum. 

Chair Scott was appointed as a Trustee to the Christchurch Foundation Trust. 
 

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