Hawke's Bay mayors split over amalgamation poll

A new poll shows growing support for amalgamation in Napier, giving hope to those backing local government reform.
But almost half of Napier residents were still against a council merger with Hastings and the Hawke's Bay Regional Council.
The poll has also highlighted a growing divide between the Hastings and Napier mayors on amalgamation, with Lawrence Yule saying the poll revealed a mood for change, and Barbara Arnott saying it was not the time for reform.
The poll of 500 Napier residents showed 46 per cent were opposed to a merger of the two local authorities and the regional council, while 39 per cent were in support. Thirteen per cent were neutral.
Mr Yule, who paid for the poll along with unnamed supporters from both cities, said results showed the tide had turned since three quarters of Napier residents voted against amalagamation in a 1999 referendum. "It does give me some confidence that absolutely the ground has moved," he said.
The next step was establishing whether the councils were willing to fund a study on amalgamation, but so far only Hastings and the regional council had agreed.
Mrs Arnott was critical of the "covert poll" and said Mr Yule had withheld results for two months to make a strategic release. She said he was ignoring advice to consider the outcome of the Auckland reforms before pushing for changes here.
"He's clearly had a message from Hawke's Bay that this is not the right time," she said. "He's ignoring that and made it quite clear that he's going to draw us into amalgamation whether we like it or not."
To avoid two years of uncertainty the region should go straight to a binding referendum, she said. "I think Lawrence hasn't the patience at the moment to wait and see so rather than spend this two years of angst we should ask the people now what they want, one way or another."
Mrs Arnott said feasibility studies had already been carried out when amalgamation was last considered in 1999.
"I think that a feasibility study is really just a smoke screen. You've got to assume that people are intelligent enough to make a decision for what they would want for their future," she said.
Mr Yule said a referendum couldn't be held now as people wouldn't know what they were voting for.
The poll also sparked a divided response from MPs. Napier MP Chris Tremain said he was encouraged by the results. "Napier people are, at the very least, showing an open mind to the debate, which is excellent," he said. "I, for one, want to move forward as a united Hawke's Bay putting behind us the silo thinking forced by three big councils with separate constituencies."
But Labour list MP Stuart Nash questioned why Mr Yule was polling Napier residents. "He should be concentrating on his own city and working for the people who elected him in Hastings, and not interfering in the internal politics of Napier," he said.
The poll asked 500 residents whether they supported a merger of the Napier City Council, Hastings District Council, and Hawke's Bay Regional Council into one unified body.
Results showed 32 per cent were strongly opposed and 14 per cent somewhat opposed to a merger, while 22 per cent were strongly in support, and 17 per cent somewhat in support.
It was conducted by telephone on May 1 by Curia Research in Wellington, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 per cent.