Protest over secrecy of dam investment decision

Tomorrow’s Hawke’s Bay Regional Council meeting to discuss their proposed investment in the Ruataniwha irrigation scheme will again be the subject of protest from public groups opposed to the secrecy of proceedings around the use of public monies to support construction.

Organiser and CHB mother-of-three Paula Fern said it was past time the “bare facts” of the council’s investment company HBRIC’s recommendations as to why public funds should be invested in the scheme were revealed, rather than being hidden behind closed doors in a public-excluded meeting.

“Public exclusion is becoming far too common, New Zealand-wide,” she said. “There’s not one river that’s ever been improved by being dammed, and we need more transparency of process when councils attempt to justify backing such schemes, not less.”

Fellow CHB resident and political scientist Trevor Le-Lievre said the promised employment benefits from the irrigation scheme would be mainly short-term, during construction, and would lead to a typical boom-bust cycle.

“Central Hawke’s Bay residents will endure increased cost of living expenses, including higher rates commensurate with likely house value rises, and local Council’s obligation to provide infrastructure and roading. No forward planning has been undertaken by CHB District Council, who are currently incapable of even managing the town’s sewage pond outfalls,” Dr Le-Lievre said.

“Ratepayers will pay once more, having already footed the bill for the dam by way of Regional Council rates, Crown Irrigation Investments and the Irrigation Acceleration Fund, along with purported ‘institutional’ investor, ACC,” he said, adding that for most CHB residents “this mythical golden ship is destined to be dashed against the rocks of economic reality”.

Napier environmental scientist turned activist Chris Perley agreed, saying only “a few farmers, and of course the bankers” would win from ratepayer investment, calling it “corporate welfare at its most blatant”.

“But this protest is also about what sort of local democracy we want now and in the future,” Mr Perley said. “The process so far has been highly authoritarian, with all the trappings of dictates, bullying, media spin and smug arrogance, focused on schmoozing with the big guys, and stepping all over we little people. Who seriously wants this sort of local government by wannabe feudal lords - other than the wannabe feudal lords, of course.”

Among the many environmental concerns associated with the project, coastal protection group WoW chairperson Ann Redstone identified the lack of knowledge around impeded shingle flow via the Tukituki River system and the impact of such restriction on coastal communities.

“We don’t know exactly how much shingle will be held back by the proposed dam, starving the coast of nourishment and adding to erosion, nor whether the council’s plan to mitigate this loss by placing shingle at the river mouth each year will remedy it,” she said. “Further in-depth studies should be undertaken by HBRC before risking homes for the sake of increased farm production.”

Sara Gerard, of advocacy group Transparent Hawke’s Bay, said “The RWSS is an overly complex, over scaled, over-engineered solution for water management, storage and restoration in the Tukituki. Benefits are being exaggerated and costs and risks understated or ignored.

“The success of the scheme relies heavily on their due diligence, which appears to be inherently flawed,” she said.

Online “Stop the Ruataniwha Dam” site organiser Matt LeQuesne said even if the scheme were profitable, farmers would get all the profits while ratepayers would get nothing for an estimated 35 years.

“If the farmers can’t make a profit, I still pay for the dam through higher rates because all the port profits will go into construction costs for the dam,” Mr LeQuesne said. “So either way I’m paying for the dam to be built and I get nothing!”

The council will meet in two sessions on Friday: a public excluded session in the morning (10.30am) where it will hear HBRIC’s recommendations re investment; and an open public meeting in the afternoon (1pm) where it will look to make a decision on those recommendations. The main public protest will be before the afternoon session, so that members of the public can then “fill the room”.

It is believed the council will be asked to commit a promised $80 million now, rather than waiting until so-called “financial close”, a position Ms Fern labelled “outrageous, irresponsible, and repugnant”.

ENDS

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