How your rates are spent

Did you know we monitor daily air quality at 10 monitoring sites across eight urban areas in Canterbury, using the data we collect to help target our air quality improvement work?

Monitoring air quality

Canterbury's air quality story is a positive one, but we’ve still got work to do. 

Your rates allow us to carry out the activities in the Canterbury Air Regional Plan and assist with getting cleaner home heating technology into people’s homes.

Work can include:

• Monitoring the air quality across Canterbury
• Recording data to help inform which areas need to take action
• Providing education to reduce smoke from home heating and reduce pollution from burning
• Providing subsidies to help cover the costs of installing cleaner forms of heating.

The Air Quality rate and the Air Quality heating assistance rate are targeted rates set for properties in Rangiora, Kaiapoi, Christchurch, Ashburton, Timaru, Geraldine and Waimate. The rates are based on capital values and cover the cost of monitoring these areas to assist in reducing air pollution.

The rates are based on capital values and cover the cost of monitoring these areas to assist in reducing air pollution.

Did you know we monitor water use for more than 60% of the country's irrigated land? 

The Waimakariri River is only one of many braided rivers in Canterbury

We are responsible for managing the region’s water and and work with Ngāi Tahu, stakeholders and the community to help manage the multiple demands on this precious resource. 

Work includes: 

• Supporting actions to protect environmental flows in our waterways
• Supporting landowners to protect and enhance waterways using fencing and planting 
• Collecting and sharing data on water quality and quantity 
• Allocation of water (drinking, irrigation etc.) 
• Controlling the taking, use, storing, and diversion of water  
• Ensuring discharges to waterways are compliant
• Sharing information to to help the community understand trends and actions needed to improve water quality and quantity throughout the region. 

Did you know it’s been estimated that within 30 years, more than 25 per cent of New Zealand could be covered by wilding pines unless we control the problem? We remove and control wilding pines on over 100,000 hectares of land in Canterbury annually. 

Wilding pines control programme in the Mackenzie Basin

Your rates fund work to control invasive and destructive species, to keep the Canterbury ecosystem thriving, and protect our native flora and fauna. 

Work includes: 

• Inspection 
• Advice 
• Education 
• Monitoring 
• Investigation  
• Control of animal pests (eg rabbits) 
• Control of plant pests (eg wilding pines).

Pest management targeted rates are collected as per the Pest Management Plan and Revenue and Financing Policy (PDF file, 2.85MB).  

The Pest-free Banks Peninsula targeted rates cover all of Banks Peninsula and the surrounding city areas of Sumner and Redcliffs.

This is applied to all properties both rural and urban in these areas and is additional to any other regional pest rates collected.

Our Long-Term Plan 2024-34 includes a targeted rate charged to Christchurch district ratepayers for biodiversity work within the Christchurch district boundary (including Banks Peninsula). The rate is used to focus on doing more work with the community and local groups to protect priority habitats across freshwater, coastal and land-based ecosystems in the Christchurch district.

Did you know we have $850 million worth of river control and drainage assets keeping the community safe?

Flood control work/stopbanks in the Rangitata River.

Your rates fund river control and flood protection work to reduce the impacts of flooding. In many districts, this rate is based on how close your property is to a flood-prone river.  In other districts, where the potential flooding impact is deemed significant, there might be a targeted rate for a whole district.

Your rates bill has a code to indicate which river catchment your property lies within, and a class to indicate the level of benefit it receives from the river control and flood protection work we do in that catchment.

Classes go from A to F. Class A required the most protection (i.e., is located in higher-risk flood prone areas) and pays a higher targeted rate.

Class F pays the lowest targeted rate for this work and Class U means your property is located in an urban area. 

Work can include: 

• Protection of the groundworks surrounding major bridges  
• Protection of telecommunication lines on waterways 
• Flood control work/stopbanks  
• Lake openings 
• Sea buttresses 
• River drainage  

Did you know Civil Defence runs scenario training to help prepare and equip staff and volunteers for future emergencies? 

Scenario training to help prepare and equip staff.

Your rates fund services for Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM), making sure we’re prepared to respond to and recover from any emergency.

We provide support to the Canterbury CDEM Group to help coordinate and deliver emergency management services across Canterbury, through partnership with local authorities (with an exception of Waitaki which is covered by the Otago CDEM Group), the regional Council, iwi, and partner agencies.

Work includes: 

• Planning activities

• Building relationships with other emergency response organisations 

• Improving awareness and understanding of risks, hazards and impacts

• Training staff and volunteers

Did you know around 80% of the region’s population lives in Greater Christchurch?

By 2023, 92 new buses — that’s 40% of the Metro fleet — will be electric or low emission.

Your rates fund the support, planning and development of initiatives for regional transport systems and urban development. 

Regional transport includes initiatives and network resilience for rail and shipping as well as road transport safety and actions to help reduce Canterbury’s transport emissions. 

In collaboration with councils, government agencies and iwi, we contribute to the implementation of the Greater Christchurch Urban Development Strategy (UDS).

The UDS sets out the vision and goals for development in Greater Christchurch and details the key actions required to deliver these goals. Work includes supporting housing and business needs for a growing population.

Did you know on an average weekday in Greater Christchurch there are 48,000 passenger trips on our buses?

Providing support to our community

Your rates fund public transport including administration and planning.

Public Transport is the largest single part of our annual budget and is important to reduce transport emissions, as well as provide sustainable travel options. 

We provide three types of public transport in the Canterbury region:  

• Urban public transport services in Greater Christchurch and Timaru  
• Subsidised door-to-door transport services for people with mobility impairments as part of our Total Mobility scheme 
• Funding grants for Community Vehicle Trusts. 

Work includes: 

• Timetabling
• Providing and maintaining bus stops, seats, shelters, displays
• Customer service Metro agents
• Administration and planning 
• Policies on fares, funding, vehicle quality, service standards, procurement, infrastructure and monitoring.