The Makaroro River, on which the Ruataniwha Dam was to have been constructed. Photo / Warren Buckland
The Makaroro River, on which the Ruataniwha Dam was to have been constructed. Photo / Warren Buckland
Two members of a council-formed consultation group have resigned over a Central Hawke's Bay District Council decision to financially help a group that owns the rights to the failed Ruataniwha dam project.
Tukituki Leaders Forum members Clint Deckard and Louise Phillips resigned this month, citing a change of mandate,conduct of forum members and the $58,000 grant.
A $330 million plan to build the Ruataniwha dam on the Makaroro River was blocked by the Supreme Court in 2018, despite almost $20m of expenditure by Hawke's Bay Regional Council on consents and planning.
But Water Holding Hawke's Bay (WHHB), which owns the intellectual property for the dam, lives on.
At a meeting on July 31, CHB District Council agreed to provide financial support to WHHB to assist with annual "science charges" being asked for by HBRC.
WHHB director Tim Gilbertson has been approached for comment. He previously told media the group doesn't have the money to pay for the charges itself.
The Tukituki Leaders Forum, formed by CHBDC and HBRC, are an invited group of community leaders who provide feedback about critical issues that affect people in the Tukituki catchment.
Deckard, a former co-chairman of CHB Forest & Bird, said the pair had concerns that WHHB, a stakeholder in the Tukituki Leaders Forum, had a "direct financial interest" and failed to declare a conflict of interest during discussions.
"We no longer have confidence in the forum's composition or processes, and do not wish to be aligned with its outcomes," he said.
HBRC chairman Rex Graham said the funding "deeply offended" Clint Deckard and Louise Phillips, who resigned last week. Photo / Paul Taylor
HBRC chairman Rex Graham said although funding has "deeply offended" Deckard and Phillips, all members of the forum had agreed to "act in good faith".
Central Hawke's Bay mayor Alex Walker said she was "saddened that two members decided to resign publicly" from the forum and thanked them for their contributions.
"Both have been very successful in bringing a viewpoint of environmental cost and benefit which has changed conversations and broadened the viewpoints of other participants," she said.
In an open letter to Graham and Walker, Deckard and Phillips cited "shoddy" procedural concerns, as meetings are held in private, with no minutes kept and no public statements released.
"The decision-making process is presented as being a commercial secret," Deckard said.
"This lack of transparency, once it becomes apparent to the CHB ratepayer community, will undermine public confidence in any outcomes from the forum. It certainly cannot be considered as representative of the wider CHB community."
Graham said the forum is a space to debate freely in a non-public way before taking the ideas to the wider community.
"It's absolutely vital that we connect with all our community on important topics like the ones that the forum were working through and so we are working through how we best run these sorts of groups in future and bring everyone back in to the room," he said.
Deckard added that he and Phillips would be willing to discuss the idea of a new group with a clear mandate and representative of the CHB community in the future.
