Cr Andrew Noone said the council had been "pushed into a corner" and in the development of its plan to manage Otago’s natural resources it was required to focus on the "clock" rather than the science that underpinned the plan.
Councillors were this week given a summary of feedback staff received during the third and final round of community engagement on the council’s forthcoming land and water plan, due to be notified in June next year.
About 570 individuals and organisations provided feedback through an online survey, drop-in sessions and correspondence with the council.
However, with a change of government, Cr Noone asked his colleagues to reflect on the pressure put on the council by former environment minister David Parker, "particularly in the 2019-22 triennium" during which Cr Noone was chairman.
"I know this is the season of goodwill, but ... I think it’s appropriate today to express real concern about probably the most important thing that we do as a regional council.
"The blame needs to be fair and square with the previous government.
"It’s worth reminding ourselves that we were pushed into a corner and I just feel that this process could have been a lot more successful in terms of engagement with our community and also the information we put out would have been enhanced if we had more time to be able to complete some of that science."
The council came under scrutiny by Mr Parker after he ordered an investigation by Prof Peter Skelton, who found the council’s freshwater planning was not fit for purpose.
As a consequence, it is due to be the first council to write a land and water plan after the previous government’s National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020.
Cr Kate Wilson said the feedback the council received during its final round of consultation ahead of notification was a "gift" from the community, which had wanted to play a more active role in the development of the plan.
"Those people reached out in the past and offered to educate, to teach, to spend time with staff out in the field, to understand what they do and where they come from.
"That hasn’t been taken up, not because that wasn’t wanted, but because the timeframe our council has been given to do this process has been too short.
"It has been frustrating," Cr Wilson said.
Cr Gary Kelliher said he attended nearly all the public meetings, greeted people at the door and "felt so sorry for the staff".
"We got a really exceptional feedback response because we set the bar too high," he said.
Cr Michael Laws said there had been a clear signal from the new government in Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro’s Speech from the Throne that the council should take a pause.
The new government had promised to reduce the regulatory burden on farmers and said the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 would be replaced to ensure a local approach, allowing councils more flexibility in managing environmental limits.
"That is such a fundamental change from where we have been over the last three years, which is proceeding on the basis of a series of directives and guidelines and imperatives that have been coming out of the Ministry for the Environment and of the minister direct to us as a council."
He said the change in government would affect the council’s land and water plan "obviously".
However, not all councillors were on board.
Cr Tim Mepham saw no reason to change course.
"For decades we have seen rapid environmental damage and deterioration and where was the voice that said ‘slow down’?
"Never heard it.
"We’ve got a land and water plan here that will improve our natural environment — there is no time to slow down to make these improvements.
"We’ve made significant progress; there’s been consultation; there’s been very good project management.
"We have a plan ready to be notified in June next year."
Cr Alexa Forbes said she was "not concerned" about changes in the government.
"This has been a process which has been super robust, in a very short period of time, and it’s been hard for a lot of communities to move at the same pace but I think we’ve listened to them really well.
"And I think our community are behind it.
"Regardless of what’s happening up there, this is in our control and our remit — crack on."
Councillors are due to see a draft plan next week.
