Representatives from Environment Canterbury, Ashburton District Council, the local community and mana whenua met in Ashburton last week to talk about how its local freshwater leadership group might look and function.

The group discussed the Hakatere catchment, and the critical importance of shared boundaries with the Rangitata and Rakaia catchments. It was agreed that follow up conversations with Timaru and Selwyn Mayors would occur to agree how best to manage these catchments, alongside respective Papatipu Rūnanga.

Both councils and mana whenua were happy to be joined at the table by representatives from a new Mid Canterbury Community Advisory Group, which will represent local catchment collective groups, industry and community and environmental groups.

Ashburton Mayor Neil Brown said it was a robust and productive discussion and served as a good starting point for further conversations and the more formal formation of the group.

“We know how important water is to our district and I think we have general agreement about how this leadership group will work going forward.”

Environment Canterbury Chair Craig Pauling said there were some big issues to solve in the Canterbury region, and councils and their communities needed to work together.

“There was a lot of talk about the group’s core purpose, which is to connect all the main players at a decision-making and strategic level. We all have values, long-term aspirations and priorities for freshwater in our region, and there was goodwill shown around the table last week.”

The Hakatere Local Leadership Group aims to meet again in November and in early 2026 set a work programme that could feed into both councils’ Long Term Plans 2027-37.