Organisational overview

• At the end of quarter one, 32 of 33 service measures being measured in 2025/26 are on track to be achieved by year-end.
• In the Environmental Regulation and Protection core service, one measure (service measure 2) is at risk.
• Due to a change in legislation in August 2025, the ability for Council to achieve service measure 1 was removed and it is not being measured this year. Further information is provided in the Environmental Regulation and Protection section below.

The organisation ended quarter one with a surplus of $5.4 million, compared to a budgeted surplus of $2.4 million. This result was driven by underspending across all three core services, totalling approximately $2 million, along with an additional $1 million in public transport revenue.

The Public Transport core service recorded a $1.1 million underspend in bus and ferry services, primarily due to indexation costs paid to bus operators being lower than the 3 per cent increase anticipated in the Annual Plan.

Underspends in the Environmental Regulation and Protection and Community Preparedness and Response to Hazards core services can be largely attributed to staff vacancies and the deferral of certain expenditures, such as allocating contestable funding, to later quarters. Aside from a pause to planning work in the Regulatory Framework service prompted by central government direction, it is expected all work set out in the Mahere ā-Tau | Annual Plan 2025/26 will be delivered within the financial year. 

Finance staff are undertaking the end-September financial forecast. This includes actual financial results for the first three months of the financial year, plus nine months of forecast revenue and expenditure. The purpose of the end-September forecast is to provide a high-level update of performance against budget to support effective management of activities and ensure services are delivered as intended.

Performance highlights for quarter one

• Endorsement by Te Rōpū Tuia and approval by Canterbury Regional Council of a refreshed Tuia Agreement.
• Publication online of the Council’s first Outcomes Reporting.
• The adoption of the Te Rautaki Rerenga Rauropi o Waitaha | Waitaha Canterbury Biodiversity Strategy 2025, and adoption of the Whakahaumanu Ngā Awa ā Pākihi | Braided River Revival 100-Year Strategy and the Canterbury Regional River Gravel Management Strategy.
• The launch of a new predictive tool to give a clearer, more up-to-date picture of current water quality.
• 5,000 native trees plants in the Waimakariri Regional Park by over 280 volunteers.
• The signing of a new Civil Defence Emergency Management Memorandum of Understanding.
• 32 per cent of total kilometres travelled by our bus services used zero-emission buses, up from 29 per cent at the end of 2024/25.
• Adoption of the Regional Public Transport Plan (2025-35).