Flak flies over councillor's dam view

Rex Graham in action at the Ruataniwha Dam forum in Napier last Thursday. Photo / Duncan Brown

Hawke's Bay Regional Council chairman Fenton Wilson won't be admonishing Councillor Rex Graham, who ruffled more than a few rural community feathers when he told Thursday's Ruataniwha Dam meeting "very few" Hawke's Bay farmers own the land they farm.

Mr Wilson doesn't agree, and doesn't "quite know where Rex was coming from", but said he was a politician free to express his own views, and "big and ugly enough to handle himself".

But he believes Mr Graham is sensitive, and as an orchardist has been in in the "same space" as farmers and others among the packed-house crowd of nearly 700 who were offended by the tailpiece remark.

One asked Mr Wilson to seek a formal apology from Mr Graham, one of three Hastings representatives on the council.

Mr Graham, who was confronted on the issue by at least one person immediately after the meeting, says he's prepared to take "the flak," but reckons it didn't come out quite as it was interpreted.

He explained in a letter to Central Hawke's Bay Mayor Peter Butler, whose constituents appeared to be the most upset, his address was cut short, and he didn't get the chance to elaborate - although he had gone over his allotted time.

"It is not in relation to debt, (as some assumed), but in regard to trusts as the legal ownership entities," he wrote.

"Most farms in New Zealand, and indeed many family farms, are owned by trusts, and when you transfer your property to a trust you effectively transfer ownership," he said. "Hence my comment.

"It is my view that this is one of the reasons that the (council-owned) Hawke's Bay Regional Investment Company are not endeavouring to get security over the land, as no independent trustee in his right mind would sign off on this water contract, given their legal liability and exposure to existing and future beneficiaries," he said.

"I have a deep respect for any farming family that battles the elements, the markets and debt, and am sorry that I didn't get a chance to explain the rationale behind the comment."

A large contingent of Central Hawke's Bay farmers travelled to the meeting, which heard from the scheme's promoter, the HBRIC, and two opponents - economist Peter Fraser and Fish & Game environmental manager Corina Jordan.

During a closing address to the meeting, Mr Graham said one of his concerns about the scheme was that none of the contracts HBRIC was signing with Central Hawke's Bay farmers to take water from the scheme were "unconditional" and the prime security over the contracts - in the event farmers defaulted paying for the water they signed up for - was a two-year banker's guarantee.

HBRIC was not contracting to use security over farmers' property "which was deemed too hard and unnecessary", Mr Graham said.

"As a matter of interest, probably very few farmers in Hawke's Bay actually own their farms anyway - that's just not the way we do things here," he said.

Mr Butler said later most farmers owned their own land but had a mortgage, so he did not understand why Mr Graham made the comment.

Mr Butler said farmers took on a mortgages for a wide range of reasons such as to buy out a neighbour, increase stock numbers or make improvements.