Careless campers country-wide problem

Queenstown Lakes is banning freedom campers from two areas after continuing problems with rubbish and human waste left behind.

Announcing the measures yesterday, Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult said his council would take a harder line against illegal freedom camping in areas such as Wanaka’s lakefront.

The measures, which will be put into place as soon as practicable, were a response to significant growth in freedom camping in the district this summer, Mr Boult said.

Enforcement alone was not enough, and the council had resolved to “take a harder stand”.

“These pressure points are seeing overcrowding, risks to public health due to human waste, and potential damage to our environment with people bathing and washing dishes or clothes in the lakes or rivers.”

Parts of the district were also being used like a “giant toilet”. . .

The council would also lobby the Government to put much more funding into building public toilet facilities, and providing more remote freedom camping sites throughout the district.

Too few public facilities is a major contributor to the problem and small councils with lots of tourists don’t have the rating base to fund loos in all the places where they’re needed.

The previous government introduced a fund councils could apply to for tourist infrastructure, much more is needed.

He would also be talking to ministers about reviewing the low hurdle required for meeting “self-contained” criteria for toilets in vehicles. . .

The only acceptable criteria for a ‘self-contained” toilet is those built-in ones in camper vans.

Councils can fine people camping where they shouldn’t be, but only about 20% of fines issued to freedom campers in the Waitaki District have been paid.

Fines totalling $17,000 were issued to freedom campers across the district. Of the infringement notices issued, each for $200, 15 ($3000) had been paid while 58 ($11,600) were outstanding.

The remaining 12, worth $2400, had been withdrawn…

The solution to this would be to make vehicle owners responsible for any fines. That way rental companies would have to pay and then get the money from the people hiring from them which is, I think, what happens with parking fines.

Another contributor to problems caused by careless campers is different rules from different councils in different areas.

Careless campers are a country-wide problem that needs a country-wide solution.

That will include more public facilities, clearer rules, and better education on what is and isn’t acceptable.

Defecation in public is the norm in some countries, visitors must be left with no doubt that they can’t pooh in public places here.

Rural round-up

Forensic tests key in sheep death inquiry – David Bruce:

Forensic results from Australia could determine the direction of Oamaru police investigations into the death of 218 sheep on two North Otago farms in June.

It was initially believed the sheep, worth about $45,000, were shot, but police were never 100% convinced and were having further forensic tests carried out.

Yesterday, Detective Warren Duncan said initial tests were done by a forensic veterinarian.

From those results, it was decided further forensic tests would be carried out to get definitive answers. . .

Water by-law under attack – David Bruce:

Rural people have come out in fierce opposition to a Waitaki District Council draft water bylaw, one describing it as ”a summons to divorce”.

But some councillors, and assets manager Neil Jorgensen, said the criticism was a result of misinterpretation and a lack of definition in the draft bylaw, Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher commenting: ”There are a whole lot of things being read in which was never intended.”

Staff and councillors are going to take another look at the bylaw, including whether rural water schemes should be separated from urban. . .

World’s Best Young Shepherds Flock to France:

Beef + Lamb New Zealand is sending two young Kiwi shepherds to France this week to take on the world’s best in an international test of sheep farming skills.

Katey Craig and Mitchel Hoare will represent New Zealand at the second World Young Shepherds Challenge, in Auvergne, 30 September–1 October.

Katey, 21, is a junior shepherd at Otiwhiti Station in Hunterville, while 19-year-old Mitchel is a senior cadet at Waipaoa Station, near Gisborne.

“The World Young Shepherds Challenge is a fantastic event, showcasing a vital industry and a range of young people from around the globe who have a major contribution to make to the international sheep farming sector,” says Beef + Lamb New Zealand CEO, Dr Scott Champion. . .

 Dairy export prices and volumes move upwards over 20 years:

This article examines how dairy export prices and volumes changed between 1992 and 2012. Dairy exports mainly cover milk powder, butter, cheese, yoghurt, and whey. Also see the infographic Dairy exports in 2012 compared with 1992.

20-year summary

Compared with 20 years ago, both dairy export volumes and prices have risen, with most of the growth being in volumes. In 2012, the volume of dairy exports was four times as high as in 1992.

New Zealand is now more diversified in the countries it exports dairy products to. Notably, the amount of dairy exported to China has grown strongly. In the 1960s, New Zealand exported dairy products mainly to the United Kingdom (UK) but this has changed to include the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and North Africa. . . .

Traditional treatment nets supreme award for Sealord smoked salmon:

Sealord Group’s Hot Manuka Smoked Salmon received a resounding thumbs up from both the professional panel of judges and the consumer judging panel at this year’s New Zealand Food Awards.

The 2014 Supreme Award winner is smoked in West Auckland the traditional way, over manuka wood.

Judge Ray McVinnie says the winners he liked most this year were steeped in tradition, but with a modern twist.

“I was very impressed with the way the best things seem to set the trends, not follow them,” Mr McVinnie says. . . .

 

Buyers have ‘pick of the bunch’ as viticulture and agriculture units go on the market for sale:

A cluster of income-producing agricultural and viticulture land holdings in the Nelson region have come onto the market simultaneously – with the intention of having new owners in place in time to capitalise on the various 2015 harvest seasons.

Two high profile wineries, a large scale hop growing and processing operation, and an apple and kiwifruit orchard and packhouse are all up for sale across the region – each for different reasons.

Combined, the quartet of primary production ventures has an asking price of almost $32 million. . . .

Happy Anniversary Cows Create Careers! #CowsCreateCareers has celebrated its 10th year: http://t.co/gQuk4jUTbk pic.twitter.com/FuV7dSpv1a

— Dairy Australia (@Dairy_Australia) September 24, 2014

 

Waitaki District election results

The ODT reports Gary Kircher has been elected mayor of the Waitaki District, beating nearest rival Jim Hopkins by about 400 votes.

Eric Spittal polled 1024 votes, while David Wilson received 696 votes, Greg Smith 485, Helen Stead 404 and Fliss Butcher 144. 

Jim Hopkins (3309 votes), Hugh Perkins (3159), Melanie Tavendale (2996), Sally Hope (2932), Peter Garvan (2721) and Colin Wollstein (2648) will represent the Oamaru ward, while Kathy Dennison (583) won the right to represent the Waihemo ward.

William Kingan (906) and Sharyn Price (572) will represent the Corriedale ward.

The voter return rate was 55.43%.

This means long-serving councillor Helen Stead who also stood for mayor missed out on a seat on the council too.

64% undecided

An Oamaru Mail poll (not online) shows it’s a two horse race for the Waitaki District mayoralty but 64% of those polled were undecided.

A total of 267 people they called said they were going to vote.

Of those who had decided 13% said they will be voting for Jim Hopkins and 12% for Gary Kircher.

The other five candidates, got combined support of  11%.

I don’t know how many people were called in total nor do I know the margin of error.

But this does confirm what the grapevine is telling me – the race is between Hopkins and Kircher but most people are still undecided as to which they’ll tick.

Meeting the candidates

Extra seats had to be brought in to the Opera House’s Ink Box to cope with the crowd at the forum for the seven candidates seeking the Waitaki mayoralty organised by the Otago Chmaber of Comemrce and Otago Daily times last week.

Last night’s forum, organised by the Oamaru Mail, was in the Opera House’s main auditorium and attracted about 200 people. That’s a good crowd in a small town for such an event.

The meeting started promptly at the advertised time of 7pm. Chair Phil Hope said it would finish on the dot of 9pm and it did.

Each candidate was given a couple of minutes to introduce themselves and their vision for the District then had a minute each to answer questions which had been sent in by Mail readers.

Most of the focus was on generalities.

Federated Farmers is organising a forum with a rural focus later in the month.

The seven candidates are Fliss Butcher, Jim Hopkins, Gary Kircher, Greg Smith, Eric Spittal, Helen Stead and David Wilson.

No-one disgraced themselves but I think three showed they didn’t have the knowledge and ability required for the job.

If you were just going on performance last night, I don’t think there was a lot between the other four.

But if the grapevine is reliable there are two front runners – Hopkins, who is the current deputy, and Kircher, a former deputy who stood against the current mayor, Alex Familton,  three years ago.

He made it an all or nothing bid, wasn’t successful and is again standing only for mayor while Hopkins is also standing for council.

Both have different strengths, both have different weaknesses.

One question asked was about economic development.

I regard local government’s role in that as similar to central government’s – it should have policies which make it easy for people to do business, within whatever boundaries are necessary, and leave them to do it.

I don’t think local body politicians and bureaucrats are any better at picking winners than central ones and I don’t want them trying with ratepayers’ money.

At local level, a how-can-we-help council culture rather than a you-have-to-do-this one would be a good start.

Another question asked them what they’d do with their day jobs if they were successful.

All said being mayor would be their day jobs which highlights an issue.

The position of mayor of a geographically large district with a small population (about 20,000 people) and therefore small rating base doesn’t pay much.

Those who hark back to the days when being mayor was part-time and unpaid might say it pays too much.

But if the role has to be a full time one, a lot of people who aren’t retired, don’t have businesses which can run without them, or who have no other income, would think it doesn’t pay enough.

By-election needed already

The local body election process is just starting and we already need a by-election in the Waitaki District.

Nominations for October’s local elections closed yesterday, with nobody willing to put themselves forward for the Ahuriri ward seat on the Waitaki District Council. Council electoral officer David Blair said that would mean a by-election would be required.

”When the [October] election is over we will have to have a by-election, which will include the Ahuriri Community Board, because we only got three [nominations] and we need five, and we will also include the Oamaru Licensing Trust ward 1, because we need three and we only got two.”

However, a by-election would not be held until the end of January or early February, he said. . .

When Alex Familton won both the mayoralty and a council seat six years ago the cost of the subsequent by-election in the Waihemo ward was given as between $5400 and $16,000, depending on whether a vote was needed.

It’s unlikely it will cost any less now.

That’s not a huge amount in terms of the council’s overall budget but it’s a cost that could have been avoided.

Publicity a few days ago before nominations closed could have highlighted the urgent need to find someone.

The retiring councillor could have found a successor, or at least ensured that the people in the ward knew they were in danger of being unrepresented.

The people in the ward, knowing their councillor wasn’t standing again, could have found someone to represent them.

And at least one of the seven of mayoral aspirants could have used the opportunity to demonstrate leadership by ensuring their was a full complement of candidates for every vacancy.

It is possible that had any or all of these been done no-one would have been willing to stand which raises a question – what happens if there’s no nominations for the by-election?

Either one or t’other not both

Dunedin City Councillor Fliss Butcher plans to contest the Waitaki District mayoralty and stand as a councillor in the Corriedale ward.

Success in both would trigger a by-election in the ward.

This is what happened when the sitting mayor, Alex Familton who isn’t standing again, first became the mayor. He also stood, and was elected, as a councillor in the Waihemo ward so his success as mayor necessitated an immediate by-election at a cost of some tens of thousands of dollars.

Butcher shouldn’t risk putting ratepayers to that expense again.

She should stand for one position or t’other, not both.

Rain’s stopped

The rain stopped overnight and the sun’s doing its bet to shine.

We’ve had no major damage on the farm and the stock are all fine.

We haven’t heard of any major stock losses though a helicopter was busy all yesterday helping get stock to higher ground.

Some roads have opened again but this photo from Dansey’s Pass Lavender shows the District Council will have a lot of work to do:

This was a bridge on the Dansey’s Pass road and the grapevine says there’s slips for about 14 kilometres further in.

Cost higher than risk?

Proposals for changes to the system for dealing with earthquake-prone buildings have caused consternation among councils.

The proposals set out a consistent national approach to dealing with these buildings.

Essentially the proposals would require all non-residential and multi-unit, multi-storey residential buildings to have a seismic capacity assessment done within five years. Owners of buildings identified as earthquake-prone would then have up to 10 years to strengthen or demolish these buildings. . .

That might have looked feasible on a drawing board in Wellington but it’s not regarded as affordable or necessary by provincial councils.

The Government’s proposals to deal with earthquake-prone buildings place too much emphasis on the earthquake risk, at substantial cost, in comparison to other risks (both natural and other) that individuals and local communities face, the Dunedin City Council says. . .

The consultation document contains proposals to improve the earthquake-prone building system, in response to the recommendations of the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission.

The proposals include substantial changes to local systems that could cost $1.8 billion in the southern South Island, according to an assessment commissioned by local councils.

They include a much greater role for local authorities in assessing buildings and much shorter time frames for either upgrading or demolishing earthquake-prone buildings. . .

The plan has also met with outrage from some civic leaders and landlords.

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull, Otorohanga Mayor Dale Williams and Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule, who is also president of Local Government NZ, have spoken out against the proposals, saying provincial towns and rural communities would be financially ruined.

Timaru Mayor Janie Annear has described the proposals as devastating. . . .

Waimate mayor John Coles says if the proposals are implemented his town’s main street could be flattened.

. . . “Already some organisations, such as churches, have chosen to vacate their buildings because of assessments showing the building’s strength is well under the current level,” he said.

“It is my fear that organisations and businesses forced to find alternative buildings because of their own policies may not find suitable accommodation and have to leave town.” . . .

The Waitaki District Council describes the proposals as ‘‘inflexible, unworkable and unaffordable”.

It has been estimated it will cost the council $2.5 million – 2% of total rates it collects – to assess at-risk buildings and the community or building owners $178 million to upgrade them.

Those details will be included in a submission the council will make on the Government’s proposed changes to earthquake prone buildings, a draft of which was outlined to councillors earlier this week.

The submission makes it clear the changes, as proposed, will place a heavy level of compliance and cost on the council and community.

Overall, the council wants to see greater flexibility, rather than a ”one size fits all” approach, with the community able to decide what level of risk is acceptable.

While agreeing improvements can be made in the light of what happened in the Christchurch earthquakes, the council has concerns with many of the proposals and timeframes, which may prove unaffordable for the Waitaki community.

It says too much emphasis is being placed on the earthquake risk, at a substantial cost, in comparison to other risks communities faced.

Ultimately, the solutions must be risk-based, workable and affordable for both New Zealand and local communities. . .

The Christchurch earthquakes have changed the way we regard earthquake risk and the government has to address issues raised by the Royal Commission.

However, risk and cost must be balanced, especially in smaller, less populated areas.

The proposals are only proposals and are open for submissions until tomorrow.

HIgh country farmers can irrigate

High country farmers have had their right to irrigate upheld by the High Court:

Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society took corporate farmer Five Farms and the Waitaki District Council to court for a judicial review of the council’s granting “conditional certificates of compliance” to high country farming operations.

The practice allows farmers to avoid requiring a resource consent to develop their land, but with restrictions on native vegetation clearance. The WDC case involves farmland also designated as part of the WDC’s scenic rural zone.

Forest & Bird was successful on other issues, getting the conditional certificates declared “illegal” and established “at the least the possibility of vast tracts of indigenous vegetation in areas where the proposed activities were to be undertaken.”

Planned arable cropping in the area did constitute native vegetation clearance, Justice Christine French ruled.

She agreed, as did all counsel, that native vegetation in the dry Waitaki Valley environment would disappear within a year or two, if not months, once an area became irrigated.

But the WDC’s rules did not specifically nominate irrigation as a cause of native vegetation clearance.

Whether irrigated or not farming will have an impact on the land. But what would happen if the area wasn’t farmed at all?

Nature isn’t static. Not far from this area is the Linids Pass scenic reserve. The glorious golden tussocks thrived there when the land owned by farmers who grazed and top dressed it. Now it is under DOC control and has no stock or fertiliser the tussock is disappearing.

It might be replaced by whatever was there before it was farmed in time – but at the moment it looks like the only thing growing is hieracium.

Do we need more beneficiaries?

A past Waitaki District Council made a concerted attempt to lure Aucklanders south with the promise of far cheaper housing.

More than one constituent questioned the value of people likely to be enticed by that.

They pointed out that these weren’t necessarily the ones who would provide most benefit to the social and economic fabric of the District. One new business which would create more jobs would almost certainly be better than a greater number of poor people.

This principle also applies to the country.

What sort of immigrants do we need most?

Those with skills, who can support themselves and any dependents and who can make a positive contribution to our society and economy?

Or ones who are likely to end up in need of state assistance?

I’m the daughter of an immigrant and support immigration, but I don’t understand why people are upset at the thought that would-be immigrants who are unskilled, less likely to get work and more likely to end up on benefits won’t find it as easy to come here.

Quote of the day

Mr Familton said there were two possible reactions – accepting the increase as a one-off and the council “going  happily about its business”, or reducing the increase.   

 Personally, he was inclined towards the latter, he said. While the council had performed well in the past four years, it needed to be innovative.   

 “The total increase of 7.4% is a concern. It is a challenge  to those on fixed incomes and a drag on business,” he said.   

 “Let this be a warning – we need to do something about it,”  he said.   Waitaki District mayor Alex Familton responding to a projected rates increase of 7.4% .

Will polls influence vote?

In general elections advertising or polling which might influence voters is not permitted after midnight on election eve.

With postal voting for local body elections campaigning and polling continues after the ballot papers have been distributed.

The ODT published a poll  last weekend of Clutha, Central Otago, Waitaki and Queenstown Lakes Districts which showed a couple of close results but will it influence the vote?

In Clutha Juno Hayes, the sitting mayor, had 34.8% with challengers Hamish Anderson and Bryan Cadogan tied on 31.3%.

In Central Otago sitting mayor Malcolm Macpherson had 38.7% support with Tony Lepper on 37.8% and Jeff Hill on 23.4%.

The Clutha race appears to reflect dissatisfaction with the incumbent but the split in the opposition may let him slip through. However the poll had a margin of error of 11.4% so it’s still anyone’s race.

In Central results show those who support the incumbent should vote for him and those who don’t you’d have a better chance of unseating him if they vote for Lepper than Hill.

In Queenstown Lakes Vanessa Van Uden received 62.5% support with Simon Hayes on 32.8%. In Waitaki sitting mayor Alex Familton had 54.8% support with current deputy mayor Gary Kircher gaining 37.5%.

Both should give the leaders some comfort but with margins of error of 9.6% in Queenstown Lakes and 9.3% in Waitaki there  is still the possibility of an upset.

Did the poll influence my vote? No, I posted my ballot paper on Tuesday after reading the results but they didn’t show change my mind over who I was supporting.

However, had I not already decided who I was supporting the poll may have been a factor I took into account.

UPDATE: The NBR quotes AUT University’s Institute of Public Policy director David Wilson who says those worried about the influence of polls shouldn’t underestimate voters.

Nappy subsidy smells a bit iffy

The Waitaki District Council is going to subsidise cloth napkins in an effort to cut down the amount of disposable nappies going into council landfills.

Solid waste officer Gerry O’Neill last week said that over a 12-month period, starting on October 22, new parents in the district would be offered cloth-nappy starter packs at a heavily discounted price.

“We have managed to secure a really good deal with four different suppliers, and when combined with a subsidy from the council, parents will be able to buy a cloth-nappy starter pack valued at more than $100 for just $10,” he said.

The council had more than 12 tonnes of nappies and sanitary waste going to the Oamaru landfill every week.

Any measure that reduced that was worthwhile in helping extend the life of the landfill and reducing its operation costs.

Let’s start by giving them points for talking about parents and not just mothers who usually get saddled with anything to do with napkins.

Let’s also acknowledge that waste reduction is a worthy aim.

But that isn’t enough to stop me thinking something about this nappy subsidy smells a bit iffy.

It sounds good in theory but will it work in practice?

Just $10 isn’t a big investment in cloth nappies. That should ensure a reasonable uptake, but who’s going to make sure they get used even some of the time?

What’s to stop someone buying a starter pack and selling the nappies. Anything more than $10 would be a profit for the seller and a bargain for the buyer.

Twelve tonnes of nappies and sanitary waste sounds like a lot. But what sort of reduction will this subsidy result in and at what cost to the ratepayer?

I wonder if the council looked at the option of composting instead which Envirocomp appears to do successfully?

Waitaki shows how to use council credit card

The Waitaki District Council has only one credit card which is locked in the council safe and requires authorisation by the chief executive or financial manager before it can be used.

The ODT reports that in the last two years it had been used for just 24 transactions totalling $11,126.

The Dunedin City Council has a less Presbyterian approach to credit cards. The ODT found that in the last three years the DCC’s 206 credit cards had been used for purchases totalling more than $4.8 million.

Exactly what those purchases were has not been divulged because council chief executive Jim Harland wants the paper to pay the cost of getting the spending details.

In his response, Mr Harland said he would detail the spend after the newspaper paid the estimated $8278 it would cost to research, collate, and produce it.

The newspaper’s last request was processed free of charge, despite the draw on council staff hours, as he accepted there needed to be a degree of accountability for senior staff, he said. . .

. . . Mr Harland cited privacy and harassment concerns to decline the newspaper’s request to release information about staff who might have apologised, made repayments, or had otherwise been spoken to about possibly inappropriate spending.

Mr Harland also declined to release the positions and names of those behind the $4.3 million spend, citing privacy and harassment concerns.

Naming them would subject them to publicity not warranted by their positions, he said.

THe ODT isn’t the only paper having problems extracting information on council credit cards. The Sunday Star Times is attempting to find out who Manakau mayor Len Brown wined and dined to the sum of $810 charged to his mayoral card. 

If council employees are spending council money on council business, where’s the problem? If they’re not, don’t the public whose rates fund councils have a right to know about it.

 If they took as much care to use the card correctly as the Waitaki Council does they, and their ratepayers, would have nothing to worry about.

Reasonable costs or ridiculous?

Individuals and businesses aren’t the only ones to have problems with the time and expense involved in negotiating their way through the resource consent process.

Over at Waitaki Blog, Waitaki District Deputy Mayor Gary Kircher posts on the difficulties the Waitaki District Council had with Environment Canterbury when trying to renew a water consent for the township of Otematata:

This is a township with approximately 450 ratepayers. It had a consent to take water, nothing substantive had changed and the consequences of the consent being refused was the death of a township.

The application was made in 2001. 8 years later and at a cost of $70,000, we have received a consent. $40,000 of that cost is the amount Ecan charged us for processing the application. The remainder is largely consultant fees, which I suspect should be largely unnecessary for a renewal where the environmental effects are known and fully understood.

If it takes 8 years and $70,000 to renew an existing consent where nothing substantive has changed, how much does it cost and how long would it take to process a new consent application or an existing one where there had been significant changes?

If this a reasonable recovery of costs, they need to look at what they do and how they do it. Incurring those sorts of expensives for processing something which should be simple appears to be nearer the ridiculous end of the reasonable spectrum.

On the subject of Ecan, the vote of no confidence in chair Sir Kerry Burke is scheduled for the council’s meeting tomorrow. The Press discusses that in an editorial.

Holcim wins Environment Court decision

A new cement plant near Weston in North Otago has come a step closer with the Environment Court dismissing appeals against the consent granted for the plant by the Waitaki District Council.

 The court ruling is a hurdle jumped but it’s not the end of the race. Holcim New Zealand now needs to prepare a case for its parent company which will make the decision on whether or not to build the plant.

The company was keen to build a plant on the same site in the mid 1980s but decided not to when the recession led to a downturn in building. The current recession and its impact on the need for concrete will be among the factors the company considers when it makes its decision.

I have been one of the supporters. The plant would have economic and social benefits for the district and I was reassured that the resource consent process would safeguard the environment.

One of the factors which reassured me was the number of people from Westport who opposed the consent because they wanted the company to stay there.

I couldn’t believe that a company which obviously plays such an important and positive role in the economic and social life on the West Coast would suddenly turn in to a bad corporate citizen if it moved east. Even given the difference in climate, particularly wind direction and patterns, I didn’t believe that if an old  plant had operated for decades without adverse impact on the health and wellbeing of people, stock; air, soil and water  there, then a new one, built with up to the minute technology;  would cause problems here.

Aa for water

Oamaru’s water supply used to be so bad the freezing works at Pukeuri had to have its own supply.

The water the people of the town drank wasn’t good enough to wash export meat in.

Seven years ago it had an Ee grading but the Waitaki District Council has done an extensive upgrade to the supply and it’s jsut been rewarded with an Aa grade.

Potable water is essential but having systems which treat it doesn’t reduce the importance of measures to ensure waterways stay clean in the first place.

Rating the Councils

The Ministry for the Environment’s two yearly Resource Management Act survey of local authorities showed a big difference in performance among councils.

In 2007/8: 

• 51,960 resource consent applications were processed through to a decision.
• 0.74 per cent (385) of resource consent applications were declined.
• 4.7 per cent (2409) of resource consent applications were publicly notified.
• 1.9 per cent (975) of resource consent applications were notified to affected parties only (limited notification).
• 69 per cent of resource consent applications were processed on time.

The councils which were best at processing consents on time were:

Stratford District Council processed 97 applications and 100% were processed on time.

Buller District Council 130 – 100%

Taranaki Regional Council 401 – 100%

Matamata Piako District Council 281 – 99%

Waitaki District Council 157 – 99%

Kapiti District Council 317 – 99%

Western Bay of Plenty District Council 431 – 99%

Northland Regional Council 904 – 99%

Wellington Regional Council 703 – 99%

The worst performing were:

Environment Canterbury which processed 3,374 applications and managed only 29% on time.

Westland District Council 183 – 30%

Far North District Council 609 – 37%

Waimate District Council 70 – 41%

Carterton District Council 106 – 42%

Auckland City Council  5,434 – 45%

Whakatane District Council 287 – 45%

Gisborne District Council 525 – 50%

The Waitaki District lies within the boundaries of two regional councils – Environment Canterbury and the Otago Regional Council.

Anecdotal evidence which points to major frustrations with Canterbury and fewer problems with Otago is supported by this report. Environment Canterbury was the worst in the country at processing consents  on time and Otago which processed 734 managed to do 67% on time.

The table with results for all councils is at the link above.

The full report is here.