Water Forum series 3, meeting notes #11
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9-October-2010 ~ wf11-9oct10.txt

WATER ~ CLIMATE ~ PROPORTIONALITY

Save Our Water Forum ~ sustainable water use

Environmental lobby groups - like Greenpeace, Forest and Bird, and the Mount Cass Ridge Protection 
Society, for example - give expression to people's significant concern for retaining value in the 
natural world around us: untouched landscapes, wilderness areas, and indigenous flora and fauna. 
It has been a long-term and genuine struggle for these values to be translated into lasting 
governmental policy and action around Waitaha/Canterbury.

Similarly, the Green Party exists as social infrastructure - to support the rise and election of 
ecologically-principled political actors to Parliament, carrying forward environmental and social 
values for a significant community sector - but where their ability to effect sustainable change 
in Canterbury has proved quite limited.

Time and experience indicate the necessity to engage with the local government reform process 
now, via local electoral politics. This is the coal-face where the relevant legislated planning 
- under the Resource Management Act, National Environmental Standards, National Policy Statements, 
and the Local Government Act, etc. - is applied. There is no choice for the environmental movement, 
but to become more and more skilled in the navigation of these regulatory legal instruments - how 
and where they are applied.

The Save Our Water Forum of 9 October 2010 - held at the Workers' Educational Association main hall 
in Christchurch, 59 Gloucester St - resolved to meet again after one month to begin planning for 
the 2013 local body election campaign.

NEXT MEETING: Sunday, 7 November 2010, 3-5pm at WEA Christchurch. All welcome.

The six people who attended the 9 October forum discussed several aspects of the current 
political nexus, and resolved three further points following on:

1. 	The Our Water Our City campaign of 2010 reinforced Canterbury's choice of 2007:
	the sustainable water use vote that helped shape the last Environment Canterbury 
	council. The 2013 campaign and name, which we have begun work on now, must
	similarly have regional and not just urban objectives and appeal;

2.	Proportionality in representation of diversity (an improved MMP and/or STV) is a
	main plank we must use to advance environmental and social values, forming a key 
	policy for our 2013 campaign, starting now;

3.	Water quality and quantity - as core indicators of ecological health, if not the key 
	driver - is the sharp focus for our work: integrating effect mitigation, to include 
	reducing global warming and climate change risks.

A proposal was also made to start work on a political and constitutional charter.

Discussion points: A parliamentary commissioner to investigate the Canterbury Earthquake? - man made, protect water ; 
Protect heritage - sustainable building project? low density w/gardens ; Soil science - Forest & Bird meetings, 
Chch etc 17,000 year-old sediments always prone to liquefaction ; the 'blue-green-red' country vote can be represented 
green-centrist, open to all sides ; meeting style? - general idea exchange vs public-speaking focus ; a charter can be 
placed on the ww.web, re water, urban development and sprawl, quality of life threats. etc.

Kia ora,

Water Forum #11 meeting notes by Rik Tindall, 27 October 2010.

Edit: Thu Nov 11 09:25:27 2010