"There’s just so much scope around here to do great things because we have such a supply of water.
"We have to look after it - and, look, the people are looking after it.
"And we’ve just got to make sure it’s available and kept good.
"It’s as simple as that, really.
"We’re really untapped of what we can do with it."
"He said: ‘We’ve got water, we’ve got great soils, and we’ve got warmth.’
"We’ve got a combination that is superb.
"And he said to me, ‘Kevin, look, don’t panic.
"‘At the moment, we’re going to go into dairy cows because that’s what commodity prices are’, and, he said, in time, this whole area should be and will turn into the vegetable bowl of New Zealand."
Cr Malcolm was appointed to a working group about a year ago that has engaged with a range of parties, including government ministers, irrigators, electricity generators and iwi and to explore a proposal for the future shared management of the waterway.
Next week, Otago councillors will vote on whether to instigate a joint Otago Regional Council (ORC) and Environment Canterbury (ECan) review of the existing planning frameworks for the Waitaki catchment.
Otago’s Canterbury counterparts voted overwhelmingly in favour of the review last month with only Cr David East opposing.
In a report to ORC councillors, regional planning and transport general manager Anita Dawe said a request from Te Rūnaka o Moeraki, Te Rūnaka o Arowhenua and Te Rūnaka o Waihao prompted both ECan and the ORC to start work to understand how the Waitaki catchment could be managed as a whole.
"The working group is currently working from a principled position that managing a river catchment as a whole and integrated catchment is good practice. However, there is not great clarity on what challenges result from the cross-boundary management," Ms Dawe said.
"The working group consider that to get a good understanding of the complexities, challenges and benefits from the current management framework, a section 35 effectiveness review (Resource Management Act 1991) should be undertaken.
"This would enable the working group to understand the existing regime, the practical challenges facing landowners and the wider Waitaki community across the catchment, and any administrative duplication or complexities."
The joint review could be done within existing budgets, she said.
And the results could be used to inform decision-making on whether the investigation should progress to the next stage, she said.
She said the working group believed there was value in having a representative from the Ministry for the Environment aboard while the resource management reform process was under way.
"Understanding the objective of the investigation will be beneficial, especially if following the s35 review, it is considered that legislative change may be part of a solution."
Councillors could also vote to end the investigation next week, she said.
In a similar report to Canterbury councillors, ECan regional planning manager Andrew Parrish said a section 35 review was a mandatory part of the plan review cycle.
ECan was at present doing a section 35 review for the wider region and the Waitaki River work aligned well with the broader work programme to develop an integrated plan that aligned coastal and land and water planning documents.
Part of the development of a section 35 review would involve further discussion with the wider community, a review of the outcomes sought and how the current regulatory framework within the Waitaki was performing to deliver those outcomes, Mr Parrish said.
While the exact cost of the review was not known, it would require one staff member to focus on it for the next nine months, he said.
In March last year, when the working group was formed, ORC chairwoman Cr Gretchen Robertson said the regulatory framework now in place around the river was complex.
Landowners had to work across two regional plans and regional policy statements as well as "further complexity through the Resource Management (Waitaki River) Amendment Act, which manages water quantity".
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu kaiwhakahaere Justin Tipa said the present management of the Waitaki catchment was flawed and unnecessarily complex.
"The splitting of the Waitaki catchment creates a disjointed regulatory environment undermining kaitiakitanga and the ability to give full effect to rangatiratanga.
"We believe a river as significant as the Waitaki should not be split in this way - our aspiration is to have a single resource management plan for the whole of the Waitaki River catchment so that it can be managed holistically."
