Meet your zone representatives
The Banks Peninsula water zone committee is a joint committee of Christchurch City Council and Environment Canterbury.
The committee's role is to work with the community to develop actions and tactics to deliver on the Canterbury Water Management Strategy.
It recommends these actions and tactics to various agencies for implementation.
View members
Gina Waibl has a Civil Engineering degree and 13 years as a Risk Analyst and Road Safety Engineer.
She has her own consultancy and is an appointed independent professional advisor to the NZTA.
Previous roles include Risk Analyst for MWH New Zealand Ltd, and Transportation Engineer for MWH New Zealand Ltd.
Volunteer roles include the Predator Free Port Hills Steering Groups, the Summit Road Society - Omahu Bush, and various DOC volunteer experiences including a six-month stint on Raoul Island.
Paula Smith has been on the zone committee since 2014. She has a degree in Botany and worked as landscape architect in various locations throughout New Zealand.
Paula is also a trained resource management decision-maker and has been a member of a hearings panel for resource consent applications in Christchurch City.
Paula has a keen interest in working with her local communities and has been chairperson of the Lyttelton/Mt Herbert Community Board since 2007.
Ben Manson farms his own property in Little River and farms in partnership on 2 other properties (Ōnuku and Ōnuku Heights).
He has lived in the area for the past 35 years and his parents and grandparents for most of their lives.
Ben has been involved in the local community with the activities of the Little River School and Co-Chair of the Little River Flood Working Group..
Garrick Thorn teaches Chemical Engineering at the University of Canterbury. In previous roles he was an Environmental Engineer at a Crown Research Institute working on industrial wastewater treatment, researching nutrient requirements of biological treatment systems.
He has also worked in Applied Research (Engineering) in the United Kingdom, and as an Environmental Engineer for Scion in Rotorua NZ.
Elizabeth Macpherson lives in Lyttelton and is a natural resources lawyer and lectures at the School of Law, University of Canterbury.
She worked at the University of Melbourne for approximately 5 years as a research fellow working on the Australian Research Council Discovery Project – forest carbon sequestration and indigenuous and local community rights.
Elizabeth also carried out research at the University of Melbourne on indigenous land and resource rights and water law matters.
I am currently the Chair for the committee and enjoy the opportunity to work collectively with community, runanga and councils on a wide range of areas involving: freshwater management; mahinga kai (traditional food gathering practices, approaches and knowledge) biodiversity, pest management, protection and conservation of our precious taonga- tuku- iho (treasures, natural resources passed down through the generations).
We all share a common vision and responsibility to be caring for our environment. A major strength is the diversity of skills, experience, knowledge and worldviews or perspectives represented on the committee. This ensures the needs of the community of Te Pataka o Rakaihautu - Banks Peninsula will be supported, advocated for and strategies developed to support their aspirations."
I am the Chairperson of the Onuku Runanaga and a Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu board member. I am active in the community and currently a trustee for 5 different organisations. I am passionate about the Peninsula and look forward to working with the other members of the BP zone committee.
Andrew is the Christchurch City councillor for the Banks Peninsula ward. He is a director of the Canterbury Development Corporation and the deputy chair of the council's finance committee. Andrew is also very involved in the community. He is a trustee of the Lyttelton Harbour Information Centre Trust and the Lyttelton Returned Services Association Trust, as well as past chair and board member of the Lyttelton Harbour Business Association.
Lan is a returning Environment Canterbury Councillor. She has a background in freshwater ecology and environmental management.
She is the founder of the Working Waters Trust, a charitable organisation dedicated to the protection and restoration of endangered native fish.
Lan campaigned on a platform of change to prioritise the 'common good' of current and future generations.
Her priorities are ensuring a fully functional democratic organisation following the return to a fully-elected council, urgent action in response to the climate and ecological emergency, and a fit-for-purpose planning and rules framework that prioritises the environment and freshwater ecosystems.
Meet your zone delivery team
We deliver work related to the zone committee's recommendations through an on-the-ground team made up of Environment Canterbury staff. Watch the video to learn more about zone delivery in Canterbury.
The Banks Peninsula water zone delivery team is:
- Gillian Jenkins — Zone Delivery Lead
- Kate Hunt — Biodiversity Officer
- Emily McLaughlin — Maritime Monitoring Officer
- Harry Millar — Land Management and Biodiversity Advisor
Talk to us
Tami Woods — Zone Manager 027 529 7761 tami.woods@ecan.govt.nz
Shelley Washington — Zone Facilitator 027 294 5219 shelley.washington@ecan.govt.nz
Brad Waldon-Gibbons — Tangata Whenua Facilitator 027 313 4786
How are zone committee members selected?
Water zone committee members are appointed after councils advertise for expressions of interest from the community.
Applicants are assessed on skills, expertise and experience, as well as their ability to work together to develop water management solutions to economic, social, cultural and environmental issues.
Each water zone committee has between seven and 10 members, including:
- An Environment Canterbury appointee
- A local territorial authority councillor
- A rūnanga appointee
- Between four and six local members nominated from the community who come from a variety of backgrounds and interests.
Members serve for three years, meeting every few weeks to gather information from stakeholders and the community to ensure all interests are represented.