Former West Coast Regional Council chairman and gold miner Allan Birchfield. Photo: Supplied
An increase in vexatious environmental complaints to the West Coast Regional Council has been dismissed by one councillor as "whinging".
The number and type of complaints reported back each month to the Resource Management Committee raised some comment last week when staff reported noted 21 complaints or incidents between late April and 26 May.
Planning and science manager Fiona Thomson said staff had also monitored 26 individual resource consents and investigated 21 "complaints''.
Staff also made 12 mining compliance and bond release visits.
Committee chairman Councillor Brett Cummings said the council seemed to be dealing with "an awful lot" of complaints at present.
Thomson said the compliance team was certainly "all hands on deck".
"It's definitely got very busy in the complaints space."
Councillor Allan Birchfield said the motive of some complainants could be characterised in the same way the leader of the opposition had recently said - "we've become a nation of whingers and moaners".
Previous enforcement reports with "heaps of complaints" did not necessarily reflect well on the repeat complainants, he said.
"We're becoming quite pathetic actually."
Councillor Peter Haddock said vexatious complainants were certainly tying up staff time unnecessarily.
He referred to a previous example of someone's lunch rubbish left on a riverbank prompting an investigation by the council as to the point being made by Birchfield.
"A lot are unfounded and quite unfounded... at the end of the day it costs the ratepayers."
Peter Ewen and Peter Haddock. Photo: Supplied
Earlier, Haddock had noted a complaint last month from "another agency" against the regional council for its work now under way to protect Hokitika township via the north bank Hokitika River protection work.
"We're getting a few complaints from 'another agency' especially given we are working towards protecting the town. A surprise, really."
Councillor Andy Campbell asked: "Who is the other agency?"
Thomson said it had been reported "as a complaint but it was more of a discussion". However, she did not identify the agency.
Councillor Peter Ewen noted the Taylorville landfill featured again.
He again asked how the council had handled the consent applications for that site and also another new demolition rubble dump site just downstream of the Cobden rail bridge, given local iwi interests.
Thomson said she understood iwi "weren't found to be an interested party".
Ewen said if that was true, he asked if the spirit of the Mana Whakahono ā Rohe Iwi RMA Participation Arrangement with Poutini Ngāi Tahu been followed by informing them.
"If not, why not?"
Thomson said in the Taylorville case an independent audit was now under way as to what had happened.
"Te Runanga o Ngati Waewae do not believe they were consulted," she said.
Ewen said that seemed evident and it was worrying iwi had not been automatically notified.
"I don't believe they were either under the provisions of the (Mana Whakahono ā Rohe) agreement. It either means what it means or it doesn't."
Campbell said the Taylorville site seemed to be coming up "every month".
Thomson said the abatement issue referred to in the report was from last month and had now been resolved.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.
