Michelle Pyke: Strategy was always for two cities

Michelle Pyke

Hastings district councillors Dixon (Talking Point, February 16) and Hazlehurst (Letters, February 16) have both exposed themselves as not allowing the facts to get in the way of their shared view on the current amalgamation proposition.

Although it is often said that the first casualty of any "war" is the truth, their factually incorrect statements must be corrected.

Councillor Dixon's assertion that " ... Hastings and Napier could very easily blend and become connected through housing alone" is an utter fantasy! The councillor obviously needs to read one of HB's key planning documents, the Heretaunga Plains Urban Design Strategy, which the Napier, Hastings and HB Regional Councils, fully supported by the NZ Transport Agency, worked on collaboratively over a number of years to better plan for the region's urban growth needs to 2045.

Nowhere does that strategy say the twin cities will 'grow into one'. In fact, HPUDS was designed to protect our fertile soils, the very soils that produce significant wealth for this province, from either city's urbanisation.

However, before HPUDS was even adopted, Hastings had already changed their own District Plan rules to build the Regional Sports Park on land that was clearly productive before that change.

HB did not miss out on the NZ Cycling High Performance Velodrome through any lack of collaboration between the HB councils - it was always likely to be given to Waikato, despite their bid being unfunded, because it put the velodrome in reach of Auckland in case that city decided to apply for major international games.

Councillor Hazlehurst is also rewriting historical facts to fit her pro-amalgamation picture. By agreement Napier's contribution to Business HB (BHB) in the first instance was the time and resources allocated by our then Tourism and Economic Development Manager to support BHB's work. At that early stage BHB said Napier's in-kind support was more important than a cash injection, which is what NCC happily contributes now, equivalent to HDC's contribution.

Napier absolutely recognises the value of regional strategies, where it makes sense to do so, but equally each community of interest within HB has its own special characteristics and location-based needs which will be ignored or heavily discounted as being "less important" if all five authorities are amalgamated into one.

Councillor Hazlehurst is also being economical with the truth about the Kiwibank call centre being located in Hastings.

My recollection is that the first time anyone heard of it was when Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule announced that HDC had chased, then secured the deal.

The fact is Napier supports all business newcomers to HB because regardless of which city these businesses are located, both cities are the winners through increased employment opportunities and population growth.

Attracting more business and therefore jobs to HB is firmly the core of BHB's purpose and they are not playing tit-for-tat or favourites - newcomers will make their own business decisions regarding location etc. according to their own business needs.

Councillor Dixon's reference to HB Regional Prison and HB Regional Hospital both being located in Hastings District is a completely irrelevant argument in the current context.

Yes, the loss of Napier Hospital is still a 'bitter pill' to many in Napier however we have moved on from that loss because we had no choice - the Government of the day took that away.

In the current context, the Government changed the rules on how HB people will vote in the coming poll on the amalgamation proposition by widening it to being a regionwide vote rather than recognising the wishes of the four individual territories/communities who will be affected.

We will still have the poll, but first we have to petition for it. Then the amalgamation proposition will either fail or succeed depending on where the majority of votes land.

While it'll still be a democratic vote, shifting the goalposts by removing the individual communities' right to self-determination is anti-democratic - that is why three of the four councils are vociferous in their opposition to it, because that's what the people we each represent respectively wants us to be.

If HB amalgamates its five authorities into one 'super council' we run the greatest risk of dulling down to the lowest common denominators rather than working smarter, not harder.

Napier City Council is forward-focussed, has a new mayor, half the councillors are new, as are many of our senior management team, and we prove every day that we do work collaboratively for the betterment of Hawke's Bay. A "NO" vote will enable all HB's councils to get on with the job of growing great things here.

-Michelle Pyke is a Napier city councillor.

-Business and civic leaders, organisers, experts in their field and interest groups can contribute opinions. The views expressed here are the writer's personal opinion. and not the newspaper's. Email: editor@hbtoday.co.nz.