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A vice president says being investigated by his own council about cattle in a river bed in Southland was a stressful experience and he is relieved that it is over.
Environment Southland Vice President Lloyd McCallum returned to his duties on Environment Southland’s regulatory committee on Wednesday and read a statement to his fellow councilors.
The regional council determined that no crime was committed after a complaint was filed on May 4 expressing concern over the feeding of cattle in the Oreti riverbed.
At the beginning of the committee meeting, McCallum declared a conflict of interest and then read his statement.
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“I am resuming my role on Environment Southland’s regulatory committee now that the investigation related to a complaint about cows near a river on my property is complete.”
McCallum withdrew from the committee on June 10 while the investigation was underway.
“The investigation resulted in no enforcement action being taken. However, being the subject of an investigation was a stressful experience for me and my family, and I am relieved that it is over. Having said that, like all challenging situations in life, there are learnings and opportunities.
“The bar continues to rise for good management practices on farms and waterway management. As a regional councilor and farmer, I will continue to review and improve my own agricultural practices to ensure that we are operating above good practice.
“I look forward to getting back to work for all Southland taxpayers and will not be making any further public comment on the matter.”
Robyn Edie / Stuff
Environment Southland Vice President Lloyd McCallum at a regulatory services committee meeting on Wednesday, where he read a statement regarding the councils’ investigation into cattle grazing on his farm.
Once McCallum read his statement, no one else questioned it and no one sitting around the committee table, which included council chairman Nicol Horrell, disputed the complaint.
The council released a statement during the meeting on its website and to the media outlining how it investigated the complaint.
The statement from the council’s general manager for policy, planning and regulatory services, Vin Smith, said he received an email from a member of the public on May 4 expressing concern about cattle feeding on a river bed. on the Oreti river.
A photo was attached to the complaint. The property was not immediately identified and the complaint was classified in accordance with Environment Southland’s incident prioritization protocol and Covid-19 alert level 3 restrictions in effect at the time.
When an investigation was launched, the property was identified as belonging to Strone Farms Ltd, of which Environment Southland Vice President Lloyd McCallum is one of four directors.
An initial site visit was conducted on June 8.
A thorough investigation was carried out, which determined that the pasture in question had been used to feed cattle and was completely fenced off from the river. There was no evidence to suggest discharges of pollutants to land that could lead to water.
In relation to the fact that the cows were within a riverbed, an assessment was made based on photos of the property and the latest jurisprudence, which established that the area was not a riverbed.
Although Rule 35a of the proposed Southland Water and Land Plan may require consent, Section 20a of the Resource Management Act authorizes it under an existing use rights provision, without the need for a resource consent at this time. Therefore, the activity was not illegal.
Kavinda Herath / Things
Environment Southland’s director of policy, planning and regulatory services, Vin Smith, said he took additional steps when investigating a McCallum-related complaint.
The complaint was investigated in accordance with council policy, the same way all complaints were handled, but the council took some additional action, Smith said.
“The council does not usually provide a statement after the completion of an investigation, but does so in this case because it is related to a Southland Environment Councilor.”
All investigations conducted by Environment Southland had to comply with the attorney general’s prosecutorial guidelines and no enforcement action could be taken unless an identifiable violation of the required evidentiary standard was established, Smith said.
The investigation did not identify such a violation.
The regional council also sought legal advice to ensure the correct interpretation of the relevant rules as it relates to existing use rights.
Since the complaint involved a Southland Environment Councilor, he requested that the Environmental Protection Authority review the relevant investigation files.
EPA determined that, based on information provided by the council, no crime had occurred and therefore the decision not to take formal enforcement action was appropriate.
The investigation is now closed.
McCallum represents the southern constituency.
