Regional and Strategic Leadership | Te Hautūtanga ā-Rohe, ā-Rautaki hoki

We will foster relationships and engage with communities to build a better understanding of our work and increase participation in decision making for the region.  

whakataukī leadershipThere are six work programmes in this portfolio:  

Tuia partnership 

We work in partnership with the 10 Papatipu Rūnanga of Waitaha/Canterbury. Our Tuia partnership is about working together to achieve better outcomes for everyone. It’s about relationships, mutual respect, shared understandings and shared values. Tuia means standing shoulder to shoulder. 

Engagement and influence 

To encourage participation in regional decision making adn Government policy we will provide advice and advocate on issues that are of regional importance for the Canterbury communities.  

We provide secretarial and executive support to the Canterbury Mayoral Forum, the Chief Executives Forum, and the Policy, Corporate and Operations Forums. The Mayoral Forum has oversight of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy. The Forum also leads regional development and advocacy with central government for Canterbury and its communities. 

Through youth engagement and education we are improving understanding of the environmental issues facing our region and Council’s role, as well as increasing engagement among young people. Our Youth Rōpū are a group of young people (aged 14–24) who are enthusiastic about the environment, civic education and empowering young people across Waitaha/Canterbury.  

Through a new contestable community fund established in 2021 we are providing support to community organisations

We value our partners, stakeholders and community groups and maintain constructive and enduring relationships with them. We provide access to reports and publications, and communication and engage on matters of importance, as well as responding to issues as they arise.  

Leading regional planning, consents and compliance 

We deliver regulatory services such as planning, consents and compliance monitoring to sustainably manage Canterbury’s natural resources.  

Under the Resource Management Act 1991, you must apply for resource consent if you wish to do something that is not covered by district or regional plans. We are also accredited to process building consents for large dams.  

There are currently more than 24,000 resource consents in our database. It is not possible to monitor all of these consents, so we prioritise high-risk consents and seek data from the consent holder, for eg telemetric water take data. 

Part of this programme is an ongoing review of the Canterbury Regional Policy Statement. The next major review is due to be notified in 2024. We will work with the region’s district and city councils to develop and implement this policy statement.  

Investing for the future 

Council is working to identify and establish new and sustained income sources to reduce the revenue needed from rates. We uphold the highest standards of financial best practice to maintain our credit rating, manage investment risk and secure cashflow.  

As required by the Local Government Act 2002, Council develops a ten year Long-Term Plan, which is renewed every three years. Our Long-Term Plan sets outs out our current strategic priorities, policies and financial information.  

In the years in between Long-Term Plans, we develop an Annual Plan that sets the rates and budget for the coming financial year. We also report on progress on measures and targets through our quarterly portfolio performance reports and Annual Reports every year.  

Data for decision making 

We place value on data that supports community action and decision making. In this programme, we are improving access to data, science and mātauranga Māori to help inform the community, policy makers, and local and central government.  

We share environmental monitoring data for Air QualityRiver flow Rainfall, and Coastal waves on this website. Canterbury Maps is our central repository for geographic information system (GIS) mapping data for the region. We also provide data for Land Air Water Aotearoa, which shares water quality data for all of New Zealand.  

Governance and advisory services 

Our governance services ensure efficient and effective day-to-day running of Council, and provide support for our Councillors and Tumu Taiao – Mana Whenua Experts on Council. Through the work of the Office of the Chief Executive and Chair, we ensure that Council business complies with relevant legislation, such as the Local Electoral Act and the Local Government Act (LGA) 2002. 

Our Customer Services team provide advice and incident response. You can contact them to report an environmental incident or download the Snap Send Solve app to make a report from your mobile phone. We have counter locations in Christchurch, Kaikōura and Timaru.  

How is this portfolio funded?

To find out how this portfolio is funded, view the rates tool.