Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Heated crowd at dam forum

By Sophie Price
Hawkes Bay Today·
3 Mar, 2016 08:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

DEBATE: HBRIC chairman Andy Pearce and Hawke's Bay Regional Councillor Peter Beaven in discussion after last night's meeting at Karamu High School. Photo/ Sophie Price

DEBATE: HBRIC chairman Andy Pearce and Hawke's Bay Regional Councillor Peter Beaven in discussion after last night's meeting at Karamu High School. Photo/ Sophie Price

Calls for resignations were levelled at HBRIC board members at last night's Ruataniwha Dam meeting.

The forum, the first of a series of four such discussions, was the hottest ticket in Hastings, with more than 250 people turning up. HBRIC board members Andy Pearce, Jim Scotland and Sam Robinson were also in attendance.

Organised by Tom Belford, Rex Graham, Rick Barker and Peter Beaven at Karamu High School, the regional councillors started the conversation.

Mr Graham made it clear that while it supported water storage, it was the role of the council to support and encourage private farmers' investment and not frustrate it.

"In fact, our job is to be the regulator and insure that our rivers and streams are safe and that our farming industry, which is so important to us, works in harmony with our environment," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr Belford focused on the potential environmental ramifications of such an undertaking.

"Before looking at any water storage scheme the regional council should first demonstrate that it can and will ensure a cleaner, safer river by reducing nutrients and more substantially increasing flows," he said.

Mr Beaven touched on how the project and the information about it had been managed.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"This has been a badly run project: all information and messages have been controlled and managed by a small group within the council and often behind closed doors," he said.

"We four councillors were told so little about what was going on that we started calling ourselves the mushrooms - kept in the dark and fed lots of manure."

Mr Barker, who also chaired the forum, spoke on the latest decision of the regional council: the $43.1 million water-user buy-in.

The crowd didn't hold back on its views. "This dam is a dog, it is a very sick dog and it needs to be mercifully put down," attendee Richard Peach said.

Discover more

Mystery jet in Hawke's Bay

02 Mar 04:36 AM

Police search for stolen boat

02 Mar 09:23 PM

HBRIC defends water-user idea

03 Mar 01:00 AM
Business

Workers give strike notice on kiln over safety fears

03 Mar 08:28 PM

Mr Graham responded by saying it was difficult to stop when there were five councillors against four who relentlessly voted for everything put before them.

"That's fine, that is democracy - but the travesty of that was highlighted at the last meeting," he said.

"No matter how good our debate is, no matter how much we sweat it out, we lose every vote."

One person asked for Mr Scotland's view.

"We are appointed by council and unfortunately, because of the delays that this project has endured for the various reasons, our term has kept on being extended."

"And here we are, still going on this thing still with our brief from council to see that we can get a project that meets their conditions precedent and goes ahead."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr Scotland said he was not quite sure what he was meant to do as a director, "other than doing what the shareholders told me I have to do".

"Resign," a voice from the crowd shouted out, followed by a crescendo of voices calling out "Resign, resign."

When approached for comment after the meeting, Mr Pearce said he had no reaction to the call.

"I think the audience gave the councillors some support for the view that these councillors have got," he said.

"That's hardly surprising.

"I would have the view that some things that some councillors said were incorrect, in fact."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

Motorist dies after four crashes in 40 minutes in Hawke's Bay

Hawkes Bay Today

'We have you surrounded': Police stood down after Hawke's Bay stand-off, search continues

Premium
Hawkes Bay Today

Black Ferns: Tui pair on the big bird for matches in South Africa


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Motorist dies after four crashes in 40 minutes in Hawke's Bay
Hawkes Bay Today

Motorist dies after four crashes in 40 minutes in Hawke's Bay

Some roads remained blocked.

17 Jul 06:02 AM
'We have you surrounded': Police stood down after Hawke's Bay stand-off, search continues
Hawkes Bay Today

'We have you surrounded': Police stood down after Hawke's Bay stand-off, search continues

17 Jul 04:06 AM
Premium
Premium
Black Ferns: Tui pair on the big bird for matches in South Africa
Hawkes Bay Today

Black Ferns: Tui pair on the big bird for matches in South Africa

17 Jul 04:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP