Peter Winder to conduct prosperity study

The mayors and chief executives of the five Hawke's Bay councils have engaged management consultant Peter Winder to undertake the Hawke's Bay prosperity study.

Mr Winder is the former chief executive of Auckland Regional Council and Local Government New Zealand, and a director of management consultancy firm McGredy, Winder & Co. Mr Winder said he could draw on a range of experiences for the study, in both the public and private sector.

"In terms of why I'm interested in that piece of work, it is a pretty amazing opportunity to look at a region and what can be done to improve wellbeing," he said.

He declined to discuss any specific focuses or areas he would consider, saying they would be approaching it with an "open mind".

In March the lobby group A Better Hawke's Bay accused Hawke's Bay's local government of being dysfunctional in its attempts to agree on a prosperity study, but yesterday it welcomed the appointment of Peter Winder.

"We're very pleased with the appointment, he is very highly regarded from an independent perspective," spokesman Simon Tremain said. "We just wanted to make sure he was very independent and had no former view about Hawke's Bay and our government.

"He is very highly regarded New Zealand-wide, he's done a lot of work which we believe puts him in the right frame to deliver the study for us."

He said they were still seeking a timeframe for the completion of the study, and that it included an examination of local government. He also hoped the group would be given an opportunity to engage with Mr Winder.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council chairman Fenton Wilson said they were "very pleased" to be able to secure someone of his experience. "He's certainly getting around a bit, he is making a name for himself in good, objective, thorough pieces of work," he said. "He is well known to everyone in local government, but the beauty of him is he has a lot of experience in the private sector as well."

The study is to be funded by the regional council.

Mr Wilson said $40,000 was already set aside, but he expected it to cost more. The study aims to identify anything which inhibits the prosperity of Hawke's Bay but does not specifically spell out a review of council governance or the pros and cons of amalgamation.