Rebecca Turner: Single council will put region first

Rebecca Turner

I completely support Andrew Austin's and Hawke's Bay Today's call for all Hawke's Bay's politicians and leaders to come together to develop a long-term economic plan for Hawke's Bay

Andrew Austin has rightly identified that something big needs to happen to stop Hawke's Bay slipping even further back with all the wrong statistics.

It is utterly appalling that, in such a beautiful and vibrant region, we have high unemployment rates, high rates of child poverty, high crime rates and few opportunities for people to break free from these horrific cycles.

We live in a region with an increasingly elderly population, we hear that there are few jobs or reasons for our older kids to come back home after they leave for tertiary study and we have very little influence over central government policy.

These are the reasons why A Better Hawke's Bay has promoted amalgamation of our councils, these are the reasons we got together as a group four years ago. Amalgamation won't be the great panacea to Hawke's Bay's ills but it will change the structure forcing our politicians to work together to create these long-term changes that benefit the region.

The reason why no such long-term plan has already been created is they work against the vested interests of the current local government structure. Mayor Dalton needs to work to please the ratepayers of Napier and likewise with Mayor Yule pleasing Hastings ratepayers. Often these local and parochial interests work against the needs of the region.

A long-term plan will mean prioritising and focusing efforts, something politicians find difficult if they want to be seen as being pro-Napier, CHB, Wairoa or Hastings. No one is being pro Hawke's Bay .

A single council for all of Hawke's Bay will put the region first. The current position of the Local Government Commission will see representation from across the district meaning no one area will have dominance. Local boards will ensure there is a strong local focus on those areas that communities hold dear.

We cannot continue with the petty squabbling that has plagued our region for decades. It is this squabbling that has stopped a long-term plan being developed. It is the current structures of local government in the region which creates this squabbling.

I don't actually blame our current politicians for this constant bickering, they need to be looking after the vested interests of their ratepayers.

Mayor Dalton is not accountable to the people of Hastings so why should he be thinking about their interests, he needs to be seen to be defending Napier.

Likewise all the other mayors need to be seen as doing the same.

There has been some effort by the councils to work together but it's not enough.

Sure it's fine to have shared insurance etc, that's a no-brainer, but these things stall when council officials' reporting lines mean they are reporting to five council chief executives all with different accountabilities.

The only way is to have council structures that supports this type of activity.

Hopefully soon we will see the Local Government Commission come up with their final position, this is out of anyone in Hawke's Bay's control but I hope that they will push for a single council.

It's when we have a Hawke's Bay Council that we will have politicians looking after the interests of all of Hawke's Bay.

The debate is being seen as being divisive but this is only because people are naturally protecting their own patches, there is no incentive to think of the greater good.

It's only when these structural issues are resolved that Hawke's Bay Today will get its wish and see a long-term plan that actually changes things and looks to grow the entire region with a common vision.

* Rebecca Turner is chairman of pro-amalgamation lobby group A Better Hawke's Bay.

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