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Environment Canterbury is proposing an average rate rise of 2.9%, but several councillors fear the environment will pay the price. SUPPLIED Canterbury’s regional council is proposing a rate rise of under three percent, as it faces major reform and financial constraints. Environment Canterbury adopted its draft 2026/27 annual plan on February 25 proposing an average rate rise of 2.9%. But one councillor broke down in tears as she expressed frustration at the constraints placed

Canterbury councils are divided over a government proposal that would replace elected regional councillors with a mayor-led board, with Ashburton backing the change while Environment Canterbury warns it would undermine regional governance. PHOTO MT HUTT SKI AREA Canterbury councils are divided over a government proposal to replace regional councils with a mayor-led board. Ashburton District Council generally supports the proposal, Selwyn is more cautious, and Environment Cant

A fishing representative says Greenpeace's "vandalism" of Rakaia's iconic salmon statue has hurt a rural community just to make a political point. Greenpeace protesters defaced the large statue on February 15, just weeks after a $300,000 ratepayer-funded refurbishment. The activists replaced the salmon's eyes with cartoon-style crosses and added a speech bubble reading ‘Fonterra killed my family’. Greenpeace Aotearoa freshwater campaigner Will Appelbe said the protest aimed t

Methven farmer John McCaw fears the council’s stockwater service exit could come at the detriment of a natural waterway intertwined in the network. McCaw said he supported Ashburton District Council's decision to end the service in Mid Canterbury, but warned that a full closure “represents a grave threat to the future of the Mount Harding Creek”. “It’s more than just a water race." He is happy to see the end of the stockwater service but wants the water to still be used to ma

Ashburton deputy mayor Richard Wilson, who chairs the stockwater transition group, described the decision to partially close the Pudding Hill stockwater race network as “a significant decision in our district's history". SUPPLIED The oldest stockwater scheme in Mid Canterbury has become the first domino to fall in a “significant decision in the district’s history”. The Ashburton District Council is working to exit the stockwater service delivery by June 30, 2027. The council