Hewitt free to take part in dam talk

Hawke's Bay Regional Councillor Debbie Hewitt. Photo / Warren Buckland

The Auditor General has found that the benefits of Hawke's Bay Regional Councillor Debbie Hewitt being able to exercise her vote on behalf of her Central Hawke's Bay constituents outweigh a pecuniary interest from having land in the footprint of the Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme.

In May Mrs Hewitt applied to the auditor general for an exemption or declaration so she could participate in discussions about the scheme, despite owning land in its proposed footprint.

Yesterday the Auditor General found it was likely Mrs Hewitt had a pecuniary interest but granted a declaration from the rule that prohibits councillors discussing and voting on a matter in which they have such an interest as doing so would not be in the interests of Central Hawke's Bay residents.

In the decision, the Auditor General considered the matter to be "finely balanced" as the land owned by Mrs Hewitt's family trust which was suitable for irrigation was small, and she was the elected councillor representing the majority of land owners within the scheme's boundaries.

The Auditor General found the value of land owned by Mrs Hewitt's family trust, had the potential to be affected by the decisions as it was located within Zone N.

This zone was added by council to the areas proposed to be irrigated following the 2015 decision of the Tukituki Catchment Proposal Board of Inquiry.

Of the 19ha owned by Mrs Hewitt's family trust, only 6-7ha would be irrigable using centre pivots or linear irrigators.

According to a council senior land management adviser, the soil type was not suitable for intensive farming.

He also noted there would be very little, if any, capital gain as a result of converting the property to irrigation.

However, the auditor general was unable to quantify the extent of this interest as it was difficult to determine how decisions about the scheme would affect the trust.

Council interim chief executive Liz Lambert had expressed concerns to the Auditor General that if Mrs Hewitt were not able to participate, this could impede the transaction of business.

The Auditor General thought this unlikely but it was more relevant if her participation would be in the interests of electors.

Mrs Hewitt represents most land owners within the scheme boundaries; an economic analysis presented to the Board of Inquiry showed 60 per cent of the economic benefits from the Scheme would be received by the Central Hawke's Bay area.

While the views of Central Hawke's Bay residents were known - they were overwhelmingly in favour of the scheme - other councillors could not be expected to take this into account when voting, the decision said.

If Mrs Hewitt were unable to participate "the views of her constituents will not be adequately represented in decisions which have a direct impact on them".

In a statement yesterday, Mrs Hewitt said she was pleased with the finding. "My non-participation would have left them severely under-represented on an issue that is one of the most important for them in the last few decades and for many more to come."

After a temporary withdrawal from involvement in scheme business, Mrs Hewitt said she passed the question of conflict to the Auditor General because she wanted the matter to be handled by the proper authorities so the community could have full confidence in her as a representative.

Mrs Hewitt said the extension of the scheme's command area last year, which included the location of the lifestyle block she and her husband owned, was a management decision by HBRIC and was outside her control.

"I have always regarded myself as not having a real conflict of interest on this matter, and for those who do think I have, I believe it is more in appearance than reality.

"It is for this reason I sought clarification from the Auditor General and they have made their determination," she said.

'We don't need Greenpeace here'

Hugh Ritchie.

A Hawke's Bay farmer has criticised Greenpeace's interference with the Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme ahead of this morning's protest.

Before a 9am meeting at Hawke's Bay Regional Council, environmental groups, including Greenpeace, and ratepayers will converge outside the council to voice their concerns with the way they believe the council and HBRIC have handled the water storage scheme.

Hawke's Bay farmer Hugh Ritchie said if Greenpeace actually understood the big environmental issues facing New Zealand, such as climate change, it wouldn't need to interfere in a local project like Ruataniwha.

"Hawke's Bay people can decide what's best for their community without the influence of this misguided and uninformed green lobby," he said.

Greenpeace agriculture campaigner Genevieve Toop said Greenpeace would attend the protest alongside community members who want to save rivers from the controversial and polluting Ruataniwha dam.

Mr Ritchie said the scheme had been through the Environmental Protection Agency process, during which time individuals and groups had ample opportunity to voice concerns which had been assessed for merit.

The scheme would act as a "change agent" for better management practice, Mr Ritchie said.

"Not only will this project be a game changer for Central Hawke's Bay ... it will greatly benefit the whole region over time," he said.

"Farmers in Hawke's Bay need reliability of water supply so they can farm into the future. Hawke's Bay needs water storage. Hawke's Bay needs Ruataniwha to go ahead."