New council plan intact, not super, say critics

A plan to create a super regional council from Hawke's Bay to Wairarapa was labelled "flawed" and "not a runner" but its fate will now be decided by the Local Government Commission reviewing the proposal during the next couple of months.

The Hawke's Bay Regional Council voted 5-2 in favour of handing in its proposal for a new East Coast regional council to the commission when it met yesterday morning.

The plan was constructed in four weeks and was an alternative to another by A Better Hawke's Bay, which wanted to merge the Hawke's Bay Regional, Wairoa, Napier, Hastings and CHB councils.

Other plans to reorganise the Bay's councils were expected to be handed in to the commission by tomorrow, which was the deadline for alternative proposals.

Regional councillors were told an East Coast regional council would save money, improve productivity and simplify planning processes in the extended region. It would also allow flooding and water-management issues to be dealt with by one council.

It would meet the goals of the Better Local Government reforms released last year and the Government's wish to have better public services.

Regional council chairman Fenton Wilson, the plan's promoter, focused heavily on how it would ensure the functions of a regional council, and its job as an environmental caretaker would be preserved. There was a perception the regional council's function needed to be separated from the work city and district councils fulfilled for the community.

Only councillors Neil Kirton and Ewan McGregor opposed the plan. Councillors Tim Gilbertson and Liz Remmerswaal voted against the proposal when it was first introduced last week but did not attend yesterday's meeting.

Cr McGregor said he had talked with some councillors from the Wairarapa section during the past week.

"And the response tells me this is not a runner. No doubt the population of these areas would be against this if there was a referendum on it.

"I can't see it not involving the entire regions of Wellington and Horizons if you are going to take a fair chunk of their regions, it's going to impact on them."

Cr Kirton said the proposal lacked credibility and did not deserve to have a ruler cast over it by the commission.

"Councils are not just about function, they are about people. It is simply not credible to tell other councils what is best for them and how they should be run. This proposal seems to be all about protecting this little council and it is a smokescreen to do just that."