Councillors critical of response to court ruling

Councillor Rex Graham

Eight principles have been suggested by the Hawke's Bay Regional Council in response to the High Court ruling on the Tukituki Catchment Proposal.

Yesterday the council met to discuss a response to the Board of Inquiry referral following last month's challenge from three environmental groups against the board's findings.

A successful appeal was lodged by The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, the Hawke's Bay and Eastern Fish and Game Council, and the Environmental Defence Society against the regional resource management plan.

Outlined were eight suggested principles or outcomes, including that the re-written condition proposed by HBRC is based on evidence and material already before the board, rather than fresh technical evidence.

The re-written condition should reflect the Board of Inquiry's view that it is not appropriate to require individual farmers or applicants for consents to meet a DIN limit in the receiving waters.

However, these principles in particular drew criticism from councillors.

"These conditions are fatally flawed and will take us right back into the issues that have already been relitigated," councillor Tom Belford said when indicating he would vote against the suggestions.

Councillor Rex Graham said it was a "huge tragedy" for the regional council to "have to be instructed by a court to talk to other people in our community".

The board has granted consent to Hawke's Bay Regional Council's investment arm, Hawke's Bay Regional Investment Company (HBRIC), to build the Ruataniwha water storage scheme in Central Hawke's Bay.

In the court's ruling, the matter was sent back to the board of inquiry for further consideration, delaying the project billed as New Zealand's largest irrigation scheme with a budget of more than $250 million.

The board is holding a conference on Monday to discuss procedural issues following the High Court decision.