Farmers force ECan apology

Greta Valley landowner Fran Perriam is chair of the Hurunui SNA (significant natural areas) group, which is engaged in a long-running battle with ECan and DoC over what the group claims is heavy-handed and punitive environmental regulation and enforcement. 

In the latest spat, Perriam says ECan and DoC gave evidence at hearings into the Hurunui District Plan review, referring to tabled photos purporting to show environmental damage caused by landowners.

Perriam said the tenor of their evidence was that farmers were "in effect, vandals," and more regulation was needed. However, the misrepresentation of the photos was "so blatant it's appalling".

Her group had been able to identify the land pictured in four photos and discovered that in two cases the activities being effectively condemned by ECan had actually been carried out under Ecan's direction and approval.

Another showed the transient effects of a leaking irrigation pipe that had since been rectified; and one was of a wetland for which the claim that it was being degraded was simply untrue, she said.

"If it's not malice, it's certainly very sloppy work. And it's painting landowners as vandals. We've had enough of it."

However, ECan has since conceded that the use of the photos was "in hindsight, not a good choice".

ECan regional planning manager Brett Aldridge said an ECan ecologist, Jean Jack, had been providing expert evidence on the loss and protection of biodiversity in the district, in a general sense. The photographic evidence was not intended to imply any illegality.

"We've apologised to the hearing panel," said Aldridge. "The expert [Jack] has apologised and withdrawn those photos from her evidence – the photos where she was not on site herself. And the panel has accepted that."

Aldridge said ECan also apologised to others who had written in with concerns, and had contacted all the landowners whose land had featured in the photos. However, he said ECan stood by its written evidence to the hearing.

"That was showing there is some good stuff going on, and there is equally some bad stuff going on. There is a need to protect and enhance biodiversity."

Referring to the Hurunui SNA Group's longstanding gripe of heavy-handed regulation, Aldridge said ECan had not gone to the district plan review seeking more regulation.

"What we have been doing over the last year-and-a-half is working very closely with a number of landowners and DoC on this biodiversity issue, seeking ways for protection and enhancement to happen outside the regulatory framework."

Ecan required some rules, but aimed for a balanced approach, he said.