Dan Elderkamp: Clear choice at elections

Dan Elderkamp

The Ruataniwha dam will be the defining issue for the current Hawke's Bay Regional Council (HBRC) elections, along with the associated issues of transparency, accountability and what the Regional Council's core role actually is?

The unwavering votes of incumbent councillors Hewitt, Pipe, Dick, Wilson and Scott for any motion in support of the dam with nary a question raised has highlighted these issues. In public, they have consistently presented the dam as the best thing since sliced bread for Hawke's Bay, and have spent ratepayer money in buckets to persuade us of its impending wealth and never-ending prosperity - 'the gift that keeps on giving' according to Debbie Hewitt.

Yet there is a groundswell of dissent now questioning this project, which is growing in the wake of the unfortunate Havelock North e-coli outbreak and questions about the role of intensive farming in loading our waterways with pollutants.

The biggest shortcoming of the above 5 councillors has been their support for public excluded meetings, ostensibly for reasons of 'commercial sensitivity'. In doing so they have prevented the full public scrutiny which a project of this size deserves. Accordingly, key questions remain. What risks, associated with this $900 million dollar project, will ratepayers face? How much will rates rise in the event of an inevitable project overspend? Who are the big players promoting and wanting to invest in the dam, and who will profit? What certainty do ratepayers have that our port will remain in public hands?

Instead of full risk disclosure, ratepayers were presented with Council's publication 'Our Place", their regular promotional spin thinly disguised as 'information' which paints the dam as a winner in all respects. Net economic benefits are portrayed without mention that the Butcher report relies on approx. 70% of predicted jobs coming from horticulture conversions which, according to former Pipfruit NZ CE Peter Beaven, is unlikely, as he was unable to find anyone intending to plant in CHB in the next 10 years. Similarly, claims that the dam will result in 'net environmental benefits' when most of the available science proves this incorrect is galling.

Where Council has been required to conduct public consultation, this was also found wanting. A case in point is the decision to outlay a further $40 million to buy water from their own scheme for additional 'environmental flows' to our rivers, having firstly depleted them through over-allocation and then loading them with pollutants from intensive farming. Only after the auditor general was notified did they concede that this decision required public consultation. After approx. 97% of received submissions opposed this folly, they still refuse to heed public opinion and shelve the proposal. One wonders what forces are being brought to bear?

A further governance failure, and a prime example substantiating claims that the decision to build the dam had been pre-ordained some time ago, come hell or high water, is the DOC land swap. Any project developer worth their salt would've secured the land required to build their project before investing $20 million in feasibility and promotion work. Instead, Council and ratepayers now face the consequences of this ineptitude as the F&B court appeal unfolds, with further appeal likely.

Where should HBRC be concentrating its resources for the wider region's benefit, instead of the flawed Ruataniwha dam? On-farm water storage would add real value to farms and help drought-proof them, in conjunction with drought-tolerant fodder crops. The Council could offer financial and other assistance in meeting compliance and consent costs by reducing red tape. They could also help with the provision of fill for dams from riverbeds, whose rising levels threaten to eventually subject CHB to floods. This would also remove the need to eventually raise stop-banks.

Another issue where Council has taken its eye off the ball is their responsibility to protect, enhance and restore our threatened environment and biodiversity. In CHB Lake Whatumā, which is suffering the effects of low water levels, is just one case in point.

Climate change is another issue which will eventually have an enormous effect on much of the region, and the coastal communities in particular. HBRC should be taking the lead by committing resources towards mitigating its inevitable effects, and by investing in climate-friendly technology such as electric vehicles. Water saving schemes like residential water tank storage would have a beneficial effect for the region's economy, especially if local businesses are engaged.

We therefore have a clear choice this election - either for those who promote so-called 'progress' through promotion of intensive farming and environmental pollution, or for those who take seriously Council's core responsibility under the Resource Management Act to protect and enhance our environment and water sources, for the whole region's benefit, both now and for future generations.

■Dan Elderkamp is a candidate for the Central Hawke's Bay seat on the Hawke's Bay Regional Council in the local government elections