A pity, too, that the legal and associated costs bill for their investigations into and submissions on the outbreak is nudging half a million dollars, a good chunk doubtless eaten up in taking HDC to court.
All this too-hasty ill-informed manoeuvre has done is cast unfair aspersions on the new council, which knew nothing of the intent to prosecute until after Newman approved it.
There have been numerous calls from members of the public for him to be held accountable for his actions and perhaps he should reflect on this.
Especially since considerable doubts have been raised over whether the premise on which HBRC's case was mounted - that the wellheads at Brookvale Rd had been adversely affected by flooding - was correct.
Whether the same can be said for the multi-volume case the council's investment company, HBRIC, has made in favour of the Ruataniwha dam will be revealed when the results of a review are tabled in April.
Meanwhile the council has slapped a moratorium on any further work or expenditure on the scheme, and it's heartening to know that among the 35 recommended courses of action the review will encompass are "high level" assessments of a whole range of alternatives.
These include everything from whether a smaller dam is an option to on-farm water storage schemes to enhancing dry land farming without irrigation, as well as the pros and cons of the proposed scheme itself and the effects of it being built - or not - in terms of ability to deliver the outcomes required under the separate Plan Change 6, which in essence is about controlling nutrients and river health.
Best is that finally, six years down the track, the critical questions that need to be asked are being openly asked - and the answers will be public.
Perhaps even the current and former mayors and councillors from CHB, and the vested interests, will stop grizzling long enough to see what the review has to say.
As for National's rearrangements and the new Bill and Bennett team, as I suggested last week - and as is highlighted by those jumping ship - they've been set up to fail.
The real question now is, which party will fill the vacuum when they lose?
As much as I'd like to say Labour and the Greens, I have a sneaking suspicion NZ First will take a lot of disaffected National votes.
Which, if NZF winds up with more seats than the Greens, could set up a Great Backstab Mk II scenario, and see Labour choose to govern with NZ First.
What would Winston's price be this time? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our next Prime Minister ...
- Bruce Bisset is a freelance writer and poet. This column is the opinion of the columnist on a matter of public interest and does not necessarily represent the view of Hawke's Bay Today.
