Cr Michael Laws told the Otago Daily Times the meeting — at council headquarters in Dunedin at 1pm — would consider the council’s response to a government request for details of its controversial Land and Water Regional Plan proposals.
On August 8, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds wrote to regional council chairwoman Gretchen Robertson for details — including potential costs — of the ORC proceeding with the plan, at variance with government policy.
The current government has extended the deadline for notification of the new plans to the end of 2027, but the council voted to proceed to a deadline set by the previous government, of October 31 this year.
Cr Laws said that decision was a "middle digit" to the current government, and the decision to hold today’s meeting behind closed doors "[a] defiance of the law and democratic ideals".
"Instead of awaiting clarity from government as to their new National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management (NPSFM), and the redrafting of Te Mana o te Wai principles, the ORC has raised its middle digit in defiance, and carried on with its radical draft land and water plan.
"The Local Government Act requires local government to be open and transparent — this latest act of the ORC is neither."
Federated Farmers president Luke Kane said the decision to exclude public from the meeting was "debatable".
"If it’s a full Section 32 report, I could understand [the exclusion]. But it’s unlikely they’ve been able to prepare that yet, so all we can hope is that they solve some of the issues behind closed doors today, and answer the minister fully as she has quite rightly demanded.
"Federated Farmers believes there is absolutely no need for the council to stubbornly push ahead and notify this plan in October. They’ve got plenty of time up their sleeve with the extension to the end of 2027."
Council chief executive Richard Saunders said the recommendation to exclude the public was "not made lightly".
"Staff acknowledge the high degree of public interest in this matter. Recommendations to make a paper non-public are not made lightly but in this instance we feel it is justified for the reasons set out . . . in the council agenda."
The agenda says the exclusion is necessary to "protect information which is subject to an obligation of confidence or which any person has been or could be compelled to provide under the authority of any enactment, where the making available of the information would be likely to prejudice the supply of similar information, or information from the same source . . ."
Mr Saunders said councillors would still have the choice whether to move to public excluded before today’s meeting began.
