Yani Johanson, Christchurch City Councillor:
"I find it is deeply disappointing that Council has refused to comment
on Central Plain Water Trust’s annual Statement of Intent. Advice
given prior to the Council meeting stated that the SOI (Statement of
Intent) is an opportunity for shareholders to influence the direction
of the organisation (in this case CPW Trust). It was further advised
that the SOI is also to “provide a basis for the accountability of the
directors to their shareholders for the performance of the
organization”.
“Given the circumstances whereby a recent minute of ECAN has been
released advising the likely decline of the consent for the Central
Plains project, it is hard to understand why the Council would remain
silent. I supported a motion to receive the SOI and leave it on the
table for further comment but unfortunately this was voted down by a
majority of Council.”
“It is hard to know when a more relevant opportunity to provide
comment and accountability for Council Controlled Organisation would
be. The project faces a substantial uphill challenge and yet there is
no information about this situation in the SOI. On top of remaining
silent, the Council also decided to appoint several directors for a
term of three years. Given the uncertainty around the future of the
CPW scheme, appointing and extending director’s terms for such a long
period of time makes no sense to me at all.”