New Ruapehu District Council to decide fate of Government's Better Off funding

The social housing upgrade in Raetihi is the only project of nine put to public consultation to have money dedicated to it. Photo / Bevan Conley

Ruapehu District Council is applying for $4.12 million in Better Off Government funding, although most of that isn't heading towards projects it asked for community feedback on.

Of the nine projects, only the $540,000 Waimarino social housing upgrade is included in the application.

The council has been allocated $16,463,190 of the $2 billion Better Off fund from the Three Waters compensation package.

The $4.12m is Tranche 1, with the remaining funds - Tranche 2 - being available from July 2024.

Outgoing Ruapehu Mayor Don Cameron said it had been decided the next council should be in charge of how the majority of the money was spent.

"There was one project that must go ahead as soon as possible, before next winter, and that is the upgrade of the elder care facilities in Raetihi.

"Now it can be done with Government money rather than ratepayer money."

The new council would consult with the community and iwi on community fund projects as part of the 2023/24 annual plan process in February/March next year, Cameron said.

"It should be noted that the circumstances and timeframe around which Council needed to make some difficult decisions on the Tranche 1 Better Off Funding has been far from ideal."

Mayor Don Cameron said the upgrade of the elder care facilities in Raetihi must go ahead as soon as possible. Photo / Bevan Conley

Other projects up for community feedback included Te Hangaruru Cycleway
Pōkākā to Erua ($2,509,000), traditional and contemporary art in open spaces ($250,000), district-wide accessible walkways ($341,000), Morero Stream revitalisation Taumarunui ($133,000), and Raetihi Pool extension of life ($50,000).

Current councillor and mayoral candidate Elijah Pue said the money from Tranche 1 would go towards projects already in the council's long-term plan, such as town centre revitalisation.

None of the nine projects up for feedback were part of that plan.

"We [Council] agreed that when we determine our annual plan, which is in June of next year, we will consider those Tranche 1 projects again," Pue said.

He said given the circumstances, the council made the best decision it could.

"At the last council meeting on Wednesday, the gallery was packed. I've never seen so many people there in my three years.

"That in itself meant that people found this kaupapa to be significant.

"There was no way we could have agreed to go ahead without proper consultation."

Ruapehu councillor and mayoral candidate Adie Doyle said the Government had made it very clear that accepting the funding didn't signal the council was on board with the proposed Three Waters reforms.

"Councils are still able to oppose the reforms while accepting this money," Doyle said.

"We are going to accept the money and what's going to change? Nothing."

Doyle is the council's spokesperson for the Communities 4 Local Democracy coalition (C4LD).

He said community feedback on what to do with the funding had been mixed.

"Some were in favour of pushing ahead and some were in favour of leaving it to the next council to do.

"This decision gives us more time and consideration for 2023/24."

The community was only given two weeks of consultation on the funding, Ruapehu mayoral candidate Fiona Kahukura Hadley-Chase said.

"It was a failed, flawed process from the get-go.

'We already had ideas within the community - a garden project, a parks project with shade, and a training and employment hub within Taumarunui and Raetihi.

"The only one that was accepted was the Raetihi Pool, which has already had a huge business case on it. It's at the end of its life."

Hadley-Chase said the $50,000 pool proposal was only enough to "build a para pool out the back of someone's house".

"It's just a band-aid. Raetihi needs a new pool and they [the council] still won't invest the money in it."

The "number two" project on the list was the Hangaruru Cycleway Pōkākā to Eru, Cameron said.

"What held that up was a lot of people from the North saying that wasn't fair because their people don't use those cycleways.

"Public consultation will continue with that immediately after the election."

Another 35 kilometres of cycleways costing $2.5m wouldn't make the community better off, Hadley-Chase said.

"Consultation for that [Hangaruru Cycleway Pōkākā to Eru] was at the chambers in Raetihi, which was half businesspeople and half community.

"Really, the community is voiceless. In their own words, the businesspeople say they have invested millions into the community, so they want something back.

"It's become the rich and the rest. It's rich people stealing poor people's money."

Pue said the cycleway project had received a lot of feedback.

"My position is very clear. I'm very supportive of tourism and I'm very supportive of the cycleway, given the ongoing economic benefit it provides to our community.

"If there is one thing that affects this district, it's lack of people in stable work. Building the cycleway will result in jobs."

If projects had been given the go-ahead, the new council would be left to pick up the pieces, Hadley-Chase said.

"New councillors could say, 'Well, it wasn't my idea, we were forced into it'. There would be an excuse for why it failed.

"At least now the new council can drive it and be responsible for it."

Hadley-Chase said the Waimarino social housing upgrade was the perfect project to spend the funding on, but the houses were only in a decrepit state because nothing had been spent on them "for years".

Ruapehu mayoral candidate Weston Kirton could not be reached for comment.