Hawke’s Bay councils must pay wages of $1100 per day to Crown manager

Lawrence Yule has been tasked with speeding up flood protection work in Wairoa. Photo / NZME

Two Hawke’s Bay councils will have to pay a Crown manager $1100 in wages for every day that he works, despite the Government appointing him to the role.

Former Hastings Mayor and Tukituki National Party MP Lawrence Yule has been hired by the Government to speed up flood protection work in Wairoa.

After Cyclone Gabrielle, $70 million of government funding was announced for flood protection work along the Wairoa River, which has no stopbanks and weaves through Wairoa township.

The river flooded again in June, adding further urgency for a final design to be found to improve flood management and protection.

Local Government Minister Simeon Brown appointed Yule to assist with that work and he began on Thursday, working with Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and Wairoa District Council, who must pay his wages.

Yule’s role is for 18 months and a public notice in Hawke’s Bay Today stated his remuneration is $1100 per day.

“The remuneration of the Crown manager will be paid out of money belonging to the council[s],” the notice read.

Brown said the role was not salaried and would “only reflect the hours worked”.

A Wairoa resident cleaning up her flooded property following the June floods. Photo / Paul Taylor

“Each council’s share of the Crown manager’s remuneration will depend on how much time he spends on each council,” Brown said.

Yule said he would not charge a full day if he worked an hour or two on any given day, for example, and did not anticipate the role to be full-time.

“I think it is probably a two-day-a-weeker,” he said.

Yule, a former engineer, said “it might be a bit more in the formative days” and he would have a clearer picture of the role following a briefing in Wellington in the coming days.

He said there was a review after one year and the role would be ended at that stage if no longer needed.

If the role lasts the full 18 months and averages two days per week, it will cost the two councils about $171,000.

Wairoa Mayor Craig Little welcomed the appointment of Yule and said the cost falling on the councils did not come as a surprise.

“That is what happens with a Crown manager,” he said.

“The biggest thing for us was what was the cost to Wairoa if we didn’t get someone in this position, and we believe the benefits far outweigh the costs.”

Regional council chief executive Nic Peet also welcomed the appointment.

“This is standard practice and the most important thing is getting flood solutions in place as quickly as possible.”

None of the $70m in government funding for Wairoa flood protection work will be used to pay Yule’s wages.

Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.