Editorial: Newman wrong not to attend

Andrew Newman should attend the public meeting on the Ruataniwha dam project tonight, says Andrew Austin.

Andrew Newman, chief executive of the Hawke's Bay Regional Investment Company (HBRIC), has made the wrong call in declining an invitation to attend a public meeting on the Ruataniwha dam project tonight.

Lobby group Transparent Hawke's Bay organised the meeting at the EIT Marae at 6pm to "provide the public with an overview of all sides of the discussion". Mr Newman was invited because the group believes he is "the project's biggest advocate and influencer". He declined.

I have not personally spoken to Mr Newman about his decision, but his response to this paper's inquiry was: "We are in the middle of a process and once we're through that process, if we think it's sensible to have a conversation we'll do so.

There is a perception, fair or unfair, that the Ruataniwha scheme is shrouded in secrecy. We know projects like this are commercially sensitive and that the Board of Inquiry process is underway, but I can't see any harm in Mr Newman fronting tonight.

This is not an anti-dam declaration by this paper. It is a simple statement that Mr Newman should continue answering the public's questions, even if he feels he has already answered them.

It is good that the council's chief executive, Liz Lambert, and its resource management group manager, Iain Maxwell, will be attending, but so should Mr Newman.

He has written opinion pieces in this paper, but I would have thought he would be taking every opportunity to sell the dam to the public.

Mr Newman's focus has been the farmers who may buy the dam water, but he must not forget that ratepayers have a vested interest in the project as well.