Letters To Editor: Hastings must share the liability

Hastings must share the liability
For the record, I am against the amalgamation of the Hastings and Napier councils, but if the citizens of Hastings do insist, may I invite them to share in the following:
- The contingent liability of the consequences of, say, a 10m tsunami generated at the Australian/Pacific Plate boundary about 50km off our coastline.
- The contingent liability of further erosion of the Westshore beachfront to the point where a 1-2km seawall, breakwater or reef has to be built to protect the houses.
- The contingent liability of the restoration of roads, water, sewerage and stormwater services after a large earthquake with subsequent liquefaction in those suburbs constructed on the lagoon and riverbed areas that existed prior to the 1931 earthquake. These areas could include the whole or part of the suburbs of Te Awa, Maraenui, Marewa, Onekawa, Pirimai, Greenmeadows, Tamatea and Ahuriri, to name a few.
I know the Hastings District Council would love to have our financial help with its long-term debt, country roads and other major maintenance costs, but on the flip side it may end up taking on our contingent liabilities.
From Wikipedia - contingent liabilities are liabilities that may or may not be incurred by an entity depending on the outcome of a future event.
Ross Allan, Napier
MP transparency
In an article in a local paper last week, MP Stuart Nash (Labour) stated that the Hastings City Council was in debt to the tune of $53 million and Napier City Council $5 million.
Are you able to confirm this is correct? If this is in fact the case, it's no wonder Lawrence Yule has been pushing the "amalgamation" barrow for so long.
The rate-paying Napier folk are not interested and it is great to see the Napier councillors listening to the majority.
Chris Tremain's advertisement I found a little strange - especially when he is there to represent the people of Napier.
In the bottom-right corner of the page, it said the advert was "authorised by Chris Tremain". Can I take from this that he did not write the article? If not, who did and who paid for it? A lack of transparency here. Did Foss and Yule have any input?
We in Napier were led to believe we would be better off with one hospital - yeah right. If my memory serves me correctly, when Napier Hospital shut it had a surplus of $4.5 million - what is the position of the HB Hospital today?
Bigger is not always better - waiting times for surgery do not appear to have improved and the waiting time at A&E is appallingly long.
Amalgamation will definitely favour Hastings, so let's get a referendum going again for Napier residents and maybe it will stop the continual whining for another eight to 10 years.
If Mr Yule is insistent on flicking off his debt-ridden city there's always Trade Me - "no reserve". (Abridged.)
Russell Steed, Napier
United we stand
Re: Hastings and Napier cities. Here are some facts and parallels.
If you constrict a fish by placing it in a small bowl, it won't grow. Put it in a large pond and it grows accordingly.
We are told that for New Zealand to grow financially and happily we have to go forward together, not divided.
For an army to win a war, it must have headquarters and a main base to plan to divide the enemy and conquer.
Tauranga got together with the Mount and, my, look how they have multiplied.
I was born in Napier on the Hill; naturally I do love my home town. I bought 4ha at Bridge Pa and was a little successful. Consequently, I do love where my children went to school - Hastings. Keep the same names but coming under one umbrella name ("Twin City"). I wish the squabbling would stop, because you are all making me feel quite adulterous. I do love my two cities. (Abridged.)
John Porter, Havelock North
Off their trolley
Any Napier ratepayer who thinks for one moment that they would be better off if Napier merged with Hastings has got to be off their trolley.
Napier list MP Stuart Nash hit the nail on the head. Napier's debt is about $5 million. Hastings council's profligate spending has wound them up with the huge debt burden of $54 million.
The amalgamation equation is simple. Add the amalgamated debts of the two cities - $59 million. Share out the debt between the new combined cities and Napier's debt has soared from $5 million to almost $30 million. Can you imagine what the increases would be to Napier ratepayers paying through the nose for interest and capital of nearly 600 per cent more than their current debt obligation just to bail out Hasting's borrowing?
Small wonder that Hastings people are writing to your paper advocating amalgamation. No wonder Lawrence Yule is pushing amalgamation. It would let him off the hook for letting Hastings go so far down the financial tubes and at the same time see him as the champion of Hastings' ratepayers for rates reductions at the expense of Napier people.
Napier City Council has wisely represented Napier residents by unanimously rejecting any idea of amalgamation.
But Napier people have an enemy in the camp. Our elected National MP, is siding with Hastings.
I hope that come general election time he will regret having made such a disloyal and unintelligent decision.
Denis Fry, Marewa.