Significant natural areas to be recognised on Coast

After years of heated debate, significant natural areas (SNAs) will be identified throughout the entire West Coast, the Te Tai o Poutini Plan Committee has decided.

West Coast Regional Council chairman Allan Birchfield, an outspoken critic of SNAs, crossed swords on Tuesday with plan committee chairman Rex Williams as things got testy about the SNA requirement under the ecosystems and biodiversity part of the proposed combined district plan for Westland, Grey and Buller district councils.

Birchfield said SNAs and the legal requirement to identify outstanding natural landscapes was ‘‘treachery’’ for private landowners and compared it to what had been ‘‘done legally’’ in Hitler’s Germany during World War II.

Williams shut down the comment, but Birchfield had another go later in the meeting as the chairman tried to progress a vote.

‘‘Hey Rex, try not to shut me down ... I have a right to speak,’’ Birchfield said.

Williams strongly stated his right as chair to direct the meeting.

Birchfield had already voiced his opposition to having to identify SNAs in Buller and Westland within the next five years, despite warnings from the planners that it was a legal requirement and failure to do so would end in court action that would be hard to defend.

Grey District Council SNAs had already been included in the draft plan, and Westland and Buller district councils on Tuesday said their councils had voted to also identify SNAs.

At the vote, iwi representative Francois Tumahai stood with Birchfield and voted against.

A fortnight ago the Te Tai o Poutini Plan Committee parked the SNA vote until both Buller and Westland councils could get an agreed position from their councillors.

Birchfield said he would vote for option one: to do nothing.

The planners said 25,000 hectares of West Coast land could be covered by SNAs, he said.

He wanted the committee ‘‘to be aware’’ what it was voting on and described the process as ‘‘treachery’’.

‘‘The way we are going we’re not going to have much [land] left. We should be fighting this through the Environment Court.’’

He also wanted outstanding areas of natural character to be reconsidered by the committee.

Cr Anton Becker said he supported Birchfield’s view on outstanding natural landscapes.

Iwi representative Paul Madgwick said he also resented the SNA provision, but it could not be avoided.

Cr Latham Martin said Westland District Council had to comply with the SNA provision.

While it was ‘‘unpalatable’’, if the process was done properly it could work.

‘‘I would like nothing more than to dump it, but unfortunately I don’t think we’re able to legally do anything else.’’

The motion to include SNAs was carried, with two votes against.