A petition presented by Paul Bailey on behalf of Wise Water Use Hawke's Bay sparked a robust discussion in the council chambers on Wednesday. Photo / Warren Buckland
A petition presented by Paul Bailey on behalf of Wise Water Use Hawke's Bay sparked a robust discussion in the council chambers on Wednesday. Photo / Warren Buckland
Hawke’s Bay Regional councillors have revealed that a decision on whether to wipe nearly $400,000 of consent debt owed by a group of farmers could end up in the hands of staff rather than at the council table.
The regional council faces increased pressure to make a decision about $382,956in unpaid fees related to Ruataniwha water storage consents for what was formerly known as the Ruataniwha dam, held by a private group - Water Holdings Hawke’s Bay.
At the June meeting, staff were unable to present the legal advice to councillors and the decision was removed from the agenda until the advice could be clarified.
Former regional councillor Paul Bailey presented a petition with 343 signatures on behalf of local environmental pressure group Wise Water Use to the council yesterday, urging councillors not to remit the fees.
After the presentation, Cr Neil Kirton said that the councillors’ decision could “define the term of the council” and emphasised the importance of transparency with the public.
“It would be strange indeed if we were to part with a prior resolution to ensure these charges were collected and went down another track, so we need to be clear with the public where we are heading [and] the reasons for going down that particular direction,” Kirton said.
He claimed the decision was about one of the biggest consents in New Zealand, and it was a large sum of money, and should made by councillors rather than staff.
“I don’t think it is acceptable to just simply go quiet on this and expect something to happen at a different level than this table.”
Cr Xan Harding said councillors had all been informed by council chief executive Nic Peet that this should be a “management issue” rather than one for governance.
“I felt the need to signal today that we had an understanding from our new chief executive that this may come off the table,” Harding said.
Dr. Nic Peet, recently appointed Chief Executive for Hawke's Bay Regional Council, said in a statement that it was consistent with Regional Council practice for decisions on remissions to be made by council officers. Photo / Supplied.
Peet said after the meeting that it was consistent with regional council practice for officers to make decisions on remissions.
He earlier said it was still being considered, and a final date for it to go before councillors had not been identified.
Bailey said after the meeting that once the decision was “on the table” it should “stay on the table”.
Wise Water Use argued in its petition that Water Holdings knew of the legal impediment to exercising the consents when they bought them and had the opportunity to make a submission when the council made changes to the way consent charges were calculated.
It also argues it is not fair on ratepayers for the fees to be remitted, especially after Cyclone Gabrielle when ratepayers face increasing fees.
Water Holdings is required to pay Section 36 freshwater science charges on the consents annually, but it has not paid any for nearly three years now.
The council changed the way charges were calculated in June 2021 and the new methodology, based on the amount of water consented for, led to significantly higher costs for Water Holdings’ consents.
Water Holdings has previously stated it is willing to pay consent charges, but has disputed the increased fees.
James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz
