Napier councillors have chosen US Independence Day to underline their city's independent status within Hawke's Bay.
In a remarkable display of singularity of purpose all 12 councillors and the mayor have released a strongly worded statement dismissing any prospect of local body amalgamation in the region.
It was a sharp slap to
the face of Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule, who dared to do his own polling of Napier residents, the results of which, he said, showed there were now more inclined toward an amalgamation than in 1999 when 75 per cent said "no" in a referendum.
Napier councillors said Mr Yule's poll showed a majority of Napier residents remained opposed to amalgamation and that "there seems to be little to gain and much to lose by introducing the question of amalgamation at this time".
But there are powerful countervailing voices in Napier on this issue, National MP Chris Tremain and Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce President Stuart McLauchlan among them.
The Napier councillors' inflexible position is not helpful. As Hawke's Bay Today commented last week, more information is needed in this debate more than a decade after the last referendum. That's not a "yes" to amalgamation, it's a "yes" to information.
Let there be an independent study into the pros and cons of local body amalgamation before we make our minds up.
