Warwick Lynch: Better Hawke's Bay? Dream on

Warwick Lynch says A Better Hawke's Bay have spent large sums of money on slogans and supposedly feel-good one-liners. No facts

As a founding member of DAD and a former president of the Hawke's Bay branch of Federated Farmers, I am disappointed at the complete lack of factual evidence from A Better Hawke's Bay in their media campaign on the proposed Hawke's Bay amalgamation.

To date, they have spent large sums of money on slogans and supposedly feel-good one-liners. No facts.

No cohesive plan of what they actually wish to achieve. Just stating that amalgamation will save $10 million. Not one word about the huge cost of amalgamating administration services, the cost of integrating computer services, or the cost of increased salaries for the chief executives of the main council. Add that to the salaries for the administration for the main council, local boards, the Regional Planning Committee, the Maori Board and the Natural Resources Board, and that $10 million and much more will be gone.

No savings there.

To my knowledge, no one has been game to put a monetary sum on those costs, but judging from the costs incurred by Auckland, which are massive and still climbing, we as citizens and ratepayers will have to pay large increases in rates and rents to cover all those costs. Is that better for Hawke's Bay?

No it is not.

The Local Government Commission (LGC) has stated that all council area offices in Wairoa, Napier, Hastings and Waipawa, as well as a service centre in Waipukurau, will stay open.

Those offices require staff to carry out the same duties that they do now under our separate councils.

No savings there.

It is of grave concern that the LGC has added another committee to what we have now and they require 21 members of the main council to be on the Regional Planning Committee, the Maori Board (plus the mayor), Natural Resources Board and the five local boards. None of these boards or committees can spend any money or order work to be carried out.

In short, they are powerless and toothless, as all decisions must be made by the main council.

So, if one board wants something done which is blindingly obvious, that idea or requirement must pass through at least one, probably two, other powerless boards before it reaches the main council for a decision. Permissions and actions will take longer than they do with the separate and far more local councils we have now.

Consents will take longer.

With 21 councillors required to sit on the various boards and committees, their workload will be horrendous as there are only 18 councillors and one mayor. The costs of meeting expenses and travel costs will also be huge. Whichever way it is looked at, the costs to set up amalgamation in the first place, ongoing administration, meeting and travel costs, will be well in excess of A Better Hawke's Bay's supposed $10 million. savings. The result will be much higher rates and other costs to businesses and ratepayers.

A Better Hawke's Bay has refused to acknowledge that the present councils do share services and regional planning arrangements, so these councils do work together now.

That is not saying that what is happening now is all that could be done. There will be more co-operation where it is practical, and present legal planning law permits. For instance, the HB Business Hub, and just look at the consumer confidence in HB. Up 2.8 per cent for the June quarter. House prices up 7.1 per cent on last year. Farm sales volumes up 40 per cent. Commercial building permits up 21.6 per cent. New housing permits up 16.6 per cent. Bay businesses are the fourth most optimistic in the country.

Those figures prove the lie to A Better Hawke's Bay's claim that amalgamation is the only way forward.

Our region is doing much better than most of the rest of New Zealand. The land-based industries, other than dairy, are having the best year they have had for some years.

Their incomes are not going to be improved by council amalgamation.

On the contrary, their costs in rates will go up and they will share the huge costs of amalgamation together with other businesses, ratepayers and other citizens through their rents.

Local boards have no power to do or spend anything other than what the main council allows them, so those issues which could reduce costs to all will take longer and cost much more.

I urge all to think carefully and vote no to amalgamation.

-Warwick Lynch is a foundation member of anti-amalgamation group DAD and a past president of the Hawke's Bay branch of Federated Farmers. -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.

-Viewpoints on the amalgamation debate can be submitted for consideration and will be used as long as no council resources, money, time or expertise are used in their preparation. This is a requirement of the Local Government Act 2002.