Malcolm Dixon: Move to future, amalgamate

Malcolm Dixon

The citizens who are going to be most affected by the result of this amalgamation referendum are those who have young families or grandchildren and those of you who are in the workforce. You are the people on whom the amalgamation vote that takes place over the next three weeks will have the most impact. It is the future prosperity, economic growth and stability of employment here in Hawke's Bay that you need to be concerned about. You need to vote for what you think will be best for you in the future. You have two options:

1. A united Hawke's Bay where I don't see obstacles, I see objectives and I see opportunities to meet them.

2. The alternative is a fragmented province with five different councils all dithering along thinking they are doing a good job by tweaking things around the edges and putting a positive spin on it.

Currently we live in a world where you can Skype, Facebook, Face time, Twitter or just use a basic email and immediately get a reply or talk to face-to-face with someone or a group of people on the other side of the world. Large companies make huge decisions, world leaders use it, we all live in the world of digital technology. It is the world of social media that our children live in and understand. It is only going to get faster and more precise. It is the way of communication for millions and millions of people throughout the world. We live in a global economy and that is the way we need to react.

Closer to home one can use the internet to learn how to knit or how to play a musical instrument and so on. Through online shopping one now has access to the fashions of the world. Direct banking has almost seen the demise of the cheque account and in time we may well become a cashless society. Here in Hawke's Bay one can stand on top of Te Mata Peak and actually see a large percentage of Hawke's Bay where 160,000 residents are currently represented by five councils, five CEOs all within a three-hour drive of each other and for more than 90 per cent of the ratepayers who can vote, they live within 30 minutes of each other, they work alongside each other, they drive on the same roads, use the same facilities, attend the same hospital. At the secondary school level they cross the rivers and attend the same school if that is their wish. At a tertiary level they can all study at Eastern Institute of Technology. Nothing as far as the structure of local government has changed In Hawke's Bay since 1989.

The question behind all of this is why don't the anti-amalgamation brigade want to move with the times and plan for the future. Why do they continue to want to protect their own patch? Purely and simply they are thinking about themselves first and the region second. The thinking needs to be Hawke's Bay first, second and third. Surely we owe it to the next generation and generations there after to brush away the cobwebs, release the hand brake and actually realise that life and the way things are done have moved on. Great sportspeople and astute business leaders will always tell you that you can do better and making change is part of that.

Every part of Hawke's Bay has problems and the amalgamation debate has highlighted them all as parochialism has dredged them all up. The big question is: Has each of the five councils currently got the expertise, knowledge, financial resources and sustainability to solve them? Of course the answer is no they haven't, because if they did the problems would not be there and an amalgamated council would not have been recommended by the independent commission.

Would an amalgamated council solve them? That is the dilemma that many see. Yes it will take time but they must have the opportunity.

1. They would have greater financial resources at their disposal.

2. The level of expertise available would improve across the province.

3. It would be one united voice that would be developing and implementing the plan and/or the solution.

4. We would have one vision, not five conflicting ones.

5. We would become an even prouder province by celebrating all of our achievements together. Currently we are seen as being very disjointed and critical of each other and that sends negative messages that Hawke's Bay doesn't need.

Your vote will have generational impact, so it is important you get it right. Don't waste your vote by voting to stay the same. Vote for change and tell your friends and relations to do the same.

-Malcolm Dixon is a Hastings district councillor.