Our governance
The Council's work is guided by a framework of legislation and national and local policies, plans and strategies. Learn more about the specific laws, policies, and strategies we follow and how they shape our work.
Local authority Councillors
Local authority Councillors are public officials and operate under the rule of law.
Our governing body of 16 Councillors focuses on region-wide strategic decision-making alongside our key partners, stakeholders, and communities.
Learn more about our current Councillors.
Learn more about your local Governance arrangements: Council governance diagram (PDF file, 54.15KB)
The Local Electoral Act 2001
The Local Electoral Act 2001 governs the conduct of local elections and polls, and the Local Government Act 2002 determines our role and how we must act. View previous election results.
Representation review 2024
A representation review looks at the balance of Councillors representing an area concerning population and the geographical regions.
The Local Electoral Act 2001 requires councils to undertake a representation review every six years.
Our Councillors represent different areas of Waitaha/Canterbury; two Councillors for each of the seven constituencies.
The Local Government Commission has confirmed Environment Canterbury's decision to keep its current representation largely unchanged.
Find out more about the representation review.
The Local Governance Statement
Guide to Environment Canterbury | He kupu arataki e pā ana Te Kaunihera Taiao ki Waitaha
The Local Governance Statement for Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury; The Council) is prepared under Section 40 of the Local Government Act 2002.
A local authority must prepare a Local Governance Statement within six months after each triennial general election of members of the local authority and make the statement publicly available. It must update its governance statement as it considers appropriate.
This statement helps support the purpose of local government by providing information on:
- processes through which the Council engages with its community
- how the Council makes decisions
- how the public can influence those processes and decisions.
Download the Local Governance Statement (PDF file, 1.03MB)
The Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA)
The Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) charges regional councils with the establishment, implementation and review of objectives, policies and methods to achieve sustainable management of the natural and physical resources of the region. It underpins much of our work. Complying with the RMA.
Under the RMA the government has established National Policy Statements and National Environmental Standards which we must adhere to, and Environment Canterbury has developed a Regional Policy Statement and regional plans for land and water, air and the coastal environment.
Regional strategies
Key regional strategies include the: