Irrigation project comes under fire

Ikaroa-Rawhiti Labour MP and the Party's spokeswoman for water Meka Whaitiri. Photo / Paul Taylor

A Hawke's Bay politician has called out the Government and the Hawke's Bay Regional Council by asking them to conduct an "urgent stocktake" on the controversial Ruataniwha irrigation project.

Ikaroa-Rawhiti Labour MP and the Party's spokeswoman for water Meka Whaitiri said time was "dragging on" as the $275million Central Hawke's Bay project seemingly stalled.

"We now have a High Court decision that makes it clear that the board of inquiry has to rethink the environment standards on the dam proposed for the Tukituki River," she said.

Last month the High Court ordered the board of inquiry that approved the consent and plan change to reconvene and amend one of the conditions it imposed after a hearing that ended 11 months ago.

"If you add in the inconvenient facts that no other investor has stepped forward since Nga Tahu bowed out and farmers are not rushing to sign up for the project, then we have all the makings of a disaster," Ms Whaitiri said.

However, Hawke's Bay Regional Council chairman Fenton Wilson said the council was still waiting to see if the planned consents will go forward.

The board of inquiry is likely to reconvene next month.

He added Ms Whaitiri's claims for an "urgent stocktake" sounded like "political posturing" and said she appeared "six months behind" in the project's timeline.

Ms Whaitiri said Hawke's Bay ratepayers needed to be aware that they will "carry the can for the continuing planning morass" on a project that may not have enough backers to go ahead.

"This is a major decision that cannot be dismissed as simply insignificant as the backers of this dam are trying to lead ratepayers to believe," she said.

"Environmental standards were clearly not given due consideration and those responsible should be held accountable."

Legal delays involving the dam's resource consent and a related environmental plan change have hindered potential backers.

Ms Whaitiri added the only action left for the backers of the Ruataniwha project was to undertake an immediate review of the consenting process to ensure all RMA standards have been met.

Hawke's Bay Regional Investment Company, the ratepayer-funded promoter of the project, has said it was working on plans for dealing with the financial implications of a potential delay in securing sufficient farmer sign-up for the scheme.

HBRIC's owner, the Hawke's Bay Regional Council, has agreed to fund the cost of developing the scheme through until the end of March, while last month the HBRIC told a meeting of the regional council that it was working on funding plans to cover a possible delay in reaching financial close to keep the project afloat from April 1.