Tomorrow's meeting of Hawke's Bay mayors is a very important step for our region.
Amalgamation is a thing of the past, but co-operation and unity are certainly on the agenda and very achievable.
Well done to the mayors for all agreeing to meet this week and regularly to discuss thefuture.
I believe a lot can be achieved in these meetings. Also, the elephant in the room - amalgamation - will be no more. Finally, all the mayors can concentrate on working together instead of being pro or anti-amalgamation.
The pre-referendum split of Napier Mayor Bill Dalton, Wairoa Mayor Craig Little and Central Hawke's Bay Mayor Peter Butler (and later Hawke's Bay Regional Council chairman Fenton Wilson) against Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule must end.
Mr Dalton has, on numerous occasions, said the only thing he and Mr Yule have disagreed on is amalgamation. It is time to see if that is true. The three anti-amalgamation mayors and the chairman need to stop seeing Mr Yule as the enemy - they won. The anti-coalition, led by Mr Dalton, ran a highly effective campaign, tapping into what people were feeling.
However, now is the time to work together. Mr Yule has probably received an unfair bashing over amalgamation. There have even been calls for his resignation. However, people forget that he has done a lot for Hastings and Hawke's Bay as well.
He has standing nationally and internationally, which must count for something.
