John Harrison: Unrelenting campaign continues

John Harrison

RECENTLY, the editor of Hawke's Bay Today pleaded with the mayors of Napier and Hastings to sort out their differences.
The plea followed the latest outburst from Mayor Bill Dalton over the launch of "Great Things Grow Here".
This professional video was completed at a cost of $50,000 and paid for by the HDC.
It is available free of charge for other councils to use.
Mayor Dalton lambasted Mayor Yule for using "underhand methods and dishonest statements".
Worse, he ranted that: "It gave the lie to the claim that the HDC wants to work with other councils to promote Hawke's Bay." He obviously forgot that the project had been discussed with the NCC over many months prior to the launch.
His deputy, Councillor White - according to a letter published from HDC Councillor Hazlehurst - noted that she was effusive in her praise for the initiative and personally congratulated Mayor Yule.
Mayor Yule responded by saying that this was only a continuation of highly personal attacks launched against him over the past six months by Mayor Dalton.
Here, Mayor Yule is wrong.
Mayor Dalton has conducted an unrelenting and internecine campaign against Mayor Yule by email, blogs and public statements since he was a first-term councillor.
How do I know ?
Because he widely circulated his objectionable missives to third parties - including myself.
They represent an ongoing campaign to wreck inter-city relationships, while at the same time blaming others for being liable. At no time over the past five-year tsunami of vilification has Mayor Yule replied in kind.
So who is this individual who is subjected to near daily personal attacks from Mayor Dalton?
Mayor Yule is one of the country's longest serving mayors, currently in his fifth term.
Six years ago, he was elected by his mayoral peers to the highest office as president of Local Government New Zealand.
His energy and team leadership skills were quickly recognised by the 78 New Zealand councils.
He was re-elected unopposed for a further three-year term in 2011.
He was so successful that the LGNZ voted to change their constitution to allow a president to stand for an unprecedented third term.
Despite Mayor Dalton opposing the remit, and support a local mayor, the remit was passed with an overwhelming majority, allowing Mayor Yule to serve a further term as president.
Due to his success as president of LGNZ, Mayor Yule was elected as chair of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum in 2011.
This global organisation represents 53 countries.
It is the highest office one can attain within the Commonwealth.
No other New Zealand mayor has achieved such success to high office.
Compare this to the "success" of Mayor Dalton's endeavours.
He actively promoted the dud Deco buses and was chair of the fundraising committee to finance the ill-fated MTG.
Funding for the MTG was induced by highly inflated visitor numbers and storage space available for use.
Both projects represent the very worst of failed commercial gambles in the annals of local government history.
Collectively, they have cost the hapless NCC ratepayers millions and, in the case of the MTG, will continue to do so into the future.
The vilification of Mayor Yule extends to the respective borrowing positions of each council.
Mayor Dalton regularly regales us as to how the NCC is debt free while the HDC is mismanaging its debt.
What few appreciate is that the level of internal NCC debt, which ratepayers are still servicing even if it is internal, is currently $32,750 million and set to increase to $60,528 million in 2015.
An increase of 85 per cent in only 12 months!
Unlike the HDC, which raises debt to fund additional infrastructure to support its growth (currently three times that of Napier), the NCC is raising a record amount to fund ongoing and increasing losses on failed commercial gambles.
According to the latest annual plans for 2014/15, HDC will utilise 6.75 per cent of rates to service debt.
Napier will utilise 8.32 per cent of rates to service its internal debt.
Who then is the most fiscally responsible?
Another issue that Mayor Dalton continually flays Mayor Yule for is on the question of amalgamation.
Despite many calling for an answer, Mayor Dalton continually refuses to tell us why a region of 150,000 requires five mayors, five chief executives, five finance departments and so on.
For years, Mayor Dalton has stated as a fact that all amalgamations are failures.
Despite a $10,000 challenge to name the failures from the 605 that have occurred, he has yet to provide single example.
Hawke's Bay is competing with the rest of New Zealand and our country is competing with the rest of the world.
Hawke's Bay does not need a prima donna in Napier determined to wreck inter-city relationships and tear the region apart with an ongoing campaign of personal vilification.
# John Harrison is a former Napier city councillor.