ECan’s old hands happy with newbies

Re-elected Environment Canterbury (ECan) councillors with farming connections say they are comfortable with a greener, younger council.

Based on Saturday’s progress results more than half the new council has experience in environmental matters, either as scientists or consultants or hearings commissioners.

Returning councillors Claire McKay, Peter Scott and John Sunckell have farming backgrounds, as has new councillor Ian Mackenzie.

Scott, deputy chairman of the previous council, told The Press the composition was now clearly more environmental. ‘‘Climate change has been to the fore in the past four months.’’ Scott expressed interest in becoming the next ECan chairman but that would ‘‘depend on support from the city [representatives]’’. It would take time for council members to get to know each other, given there were 10 new representatives.

McKay said the new council was ‘‘very diverse’’ in age, gender and experience. ‘‘It is very reflective of the community that has voted.’’

The predominance of environmental scientists on the council was ‘‘not something that worries me at all’’, McKay said. ‘‘All around the table, we all want better environmental outcomes.’’

Sunckell was ‘‘really pleased’’. ‘‘The reality is, we have probably got as good a council as we might out of the election. There is a whole range of people there with good common sense, good education, and there is a whole range of voices.’’

The return of full democracy to ECan after close to 10 years has swept in some other changes too. Based on Saturday’s progress results, the new council will have seven women and seven men, and a much younger cohort of councillors.

Six of the previous council stood for election but only four were successful – Sunckell, Scott, McKay and Lan Pham. Rod Cullinane and last term’s Nga¯ i Tahu representative and subsequent People’s Choice candidate Iaean Cranwell missed out.

The 10 new councillors on Saturday’s figures were: Mackenzie, Elizabeth McKenzie, Vicky Southworth, former Christchurch city councillor Phil Clearwater, Grant Edge, Megan Hands, Craig Pauling, Jenny Hughey, Tane Apanui and Nicole Marshall. Some with small majorities said they were not counting their chickens until final results were announced this week.

On the other side of the Southern Alps, two women have been elected to the seven-strong and previously allmale West Coast Regional Council.

Laura Coll McLaughlin will be the Buller District representative, along with either John Hill (1480 votes) or Glenn Irving (1325 votes), with 276 late votes to count. Westland District will be represented by Debra Magner and Stuart Challenger.

The Grey District’s regional councillors are Allan Birchfield, Brett Cummings, and Peter Ewen.