ECan elects new chair in leadership 'reset'

"We are on the same waka" was the message from Craig Pauling after he was elected chair of Environment Canterbury on Wednesday.

Councillor Pauling was part of a ‘‘reset’’ of ECan’s leadership, following the resignation of Cr Peter Scott as chairperson last month.

Cr Scott resigned after it was revealed he had been clocked speeding 678 times since January by his council car’s GPS tracking system.

• Peter Scott resigns
• How Scott's 678 speeding violations went unnoticed

Cr Pauling was elected unopposed and was joined by new deputy chairperson Deon Swiggs, who is one of just two ECan councillors under the age of 40.

‘‘I want to tell everybody we are on the same waka and we are paddling hard,’’ Cr Pauling said.

‘‘This is our job and we are here to do it and we have been doing it, but we don’t always hear about it because most of what we do is thankless.’’

Cr Pauling said ECan touched on many people’s lives through public transport, issuing more consents than any other regional council in the country, enforcing environmental regulations and flood protection work.

‘‘We protect homes, farms, businesses and millions of dollars worth of assets.

‘‘We monitor and enforce rules from various pieces of legislation, all to protect people and the environment, which doesn’t make us popular and we don’t always get it right.

‘‘But we do it because it is important and we will keep doing it.’’

Cr Pauling, who has whakapapa to Taumutu, Rāpaki and Ngāi Tūāhuriri, accepted his new role by giving the oath in both in Māori and English.

He was nominated and seconded by the two Ngāi Tahu councillors Tutehounuku Korako and Iaean Cranwell.

Councillor Korako had nominated Cr Peter Scott as chairperson two years ago, over Cr Pauling.

‘‘One of reasons I nominated Peter was I didn’t think he (Pauling) was ready.

‘‘But now with what’s happened, Craig has come in seamlessly as acting chair.’’

Cr Cranwell said he was pleased Cr Korako was ‘‘correcting his mistake’’.

Cr Swiggs, a first term councillor, faced a challenge from second term councillor Vicky Southworth, but his nomination was backed by 11 of the 16 councillors.

He was nominated by Cr John Sunckell, who said he felt the council needed a ‘‘reset’’, and seconded by Cr Ian Mackenzie.

‘‘For me Deon brings a wealth of knowledge and a good relationship with Ngā Rūnanga,’’ Cr Sunckell said.

‘‘He is urban, but he absolutely understands the challenges we face in the rural sector.’’

Cr Swiggs, who has whakapapa in the North Island, said he was excited about having two Māori in leadership roles.

Earlier in the meeting several councillors paid tribute to Cr Scott’s contribution as chairperson.

Cr Pauling said he had enjoyed working closely with Cr Scott and was pleased he was staying on as a councillor.

By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter

■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.