Defeat accepted, change expected

Former CHB District councillor David Tennent

Two of the more visible Central Hawke's Bay supporters of amalgamation say they are disappointed about yesterday's reorganisation result, but respect the views of those who voted.

Former CHB District councillor David Tennent said that although he believed an opportunity had been lost, democracy had its day.

"I'm naturally disappointed, it was a grand opportunity to move forward but people were obviously uncomfortable with it so you have to respect that."

Although the vote favoured retaining the status quo, he noted that the result indicated the councils needed to be thinking outside the square long-term.

"There's affordability issues in Central Hawke's Bay and there are problems with the councils working together throughout Hawke's Bay.

"They need to take that on board and address these issues."

Di Petersen, also a former CHB councillor, agreed that the result was disappointing but it was important that people had the democratic vote.

"I hope the councils will now move forward together and make progress in uniting Hawke's Bay. That's the big issue that will have to be worked on very hard, fences need to be mended."

Among the current CHB district councillors, Terry Story was openly in favour of amalgamation throughout the process.

He said the people had spoken and the victory was decisive.

"That has to be accepted - I will be pushing to work together better so we can start achieving things."

In the final week before the poll result, fellow councillors Kelly Annand and Andrew Watts also nailed their colours to the mast coming out in favour of merging.

Mrs Annand said she was glad the process was over, and despite the amalgamation proposal's failure to win over the voters, the outcome showed there was an appetite for change.

"There's a movement for there to be leadership and vision, and this process got people interested - it's an exciting time."

She said her focus now would be on looking at opportunities for shared services and ensuring Central Hawke's Bay would play a part in the larger picture.

"We can still do that even without amalgamation. We need to be communicating the positives about the community, let's get the dam happening, sort out our building consent authority and work on our economic development strategy."

Mr Watts said the fact that just over 40 per cent of the community was in favour of amalgamation was an indication that all was not perfect with the status quo.

"Those people are looking for something different, and although the recipe was not quite right with this proposal, there needs to be discussion about change."