Bruce Bisset: Anti-dam mandate must be followed by action

Bruce Bisset

As heartening as the election of a revisionist majority to Hawke's Bay regional council may be, I believe the new broom councillors must not allow the politics of caution to outweigh the need for immediate action.

The clear mandate they have obtained to can the dam must now be backed with forthright and if necessary brusque intent; to fail to grasp the nettle presented would be to let down the majority of voters who, as I see it, have unequivocally said "No" to the Ruataniwha water storage scheme.

This means changing the culture that has petrified the council and hindered its ability what in my view is its primary job - to protect and enhance our environment.

Changes to the way the council and its investment company HBRIC function must start at the top.

Any chairman or CEO looking to reinvigorate HBRC / HBRIC must be prepared to reform senior management by removing the politics that in my opinion appears to be in staff performance, to ensure officers do their duty fairly in the best interests of us all.

I have been told of cases where reports critical to aspects of the RWSS and Plan Change 6 were reportedly amended to present a "sanitised" picture.

One might expect a profit-driven corporation to adopt such tactics in order to get its pet project over the line, but for a publicly-owned and environmentally-responsible organisation to do so is untenable.

Yet that is, I suggest, the current "performance measure" of our regional council.
Having been given opportunity to expunge this culture, the newly elected representatives must not equivocate.

There is a suspicion they might if only because two of the six who can, post-election, be said to be part of the revisionist majority - Rick Barker and Neil Kirton - are men with long experience in the art of pragmatic politics.

While coming from different ends of the political spectrum, both tend to keep caution as a watchword and work in ways that outwardly are always seen as reasonable in order to achieve what becomes an inevitable result.

That's a perfectly valid political strategy; but one that takes time, so needs to be dispensed with in this case.

Amongst the many steps needed to revitalise and refocus our regional council - and its investment company - a review of the performance of senior management must come first.

Current CEO Andrew Newman, an unwavering advocate for the RWSS , has only just been reappointed, and his new contract period has not yet begun. The new council could in my view justifiably argue that given the change in emphasis they are sure to demand, the CEO's appointment should be reviewed and, if necessary, the appointment process revisited.

Who knows, perhaps Mr Newman can reinvent himself and do what his new masters require of him. But if not, it would be flat-out disastrous for the region to attempt to progress if the council and CEO are at loggerheads with each other. The situation could get exponentially worse.

Nor should councillors be worried about what central government may or may not do; one year out from a general election, National is unlikely to chance losing by moving to usurp the HBRC's responsibilities, as it did in Canterbury - and in my opinion keeping management as is might actually heighten this possibility.

We the people have made our choice, and in my view, it is clear: we do not support continuation of the Ruataniwha scheme.

Our new councillors must show the spine and grit we demand of them to act without restraint.

# Bruce Bisset is a freelance writer and poet.
This column is the opinion of the columnist on a matter of public interest and does not necessarily represent the view of Hawke's Bay Today.