Council decides to act, establishing trust protecting water security

Central Hawke’s Bay District Council voted to support the establishment of the Hawke’s Bay Water Trust and appoint a trustee to it.

Seven councillors were in support of endorsing the appointment of a trust, two councillors, Deputy Mayor Kelly Annand and Councillor Pip Burne, voted against. However, both Annand and Burne voiced their support of water storage.

“Central Hawke’s Bay knows better than most that water is the most precious resource we have. It is key to our livelihoods and will be key for our children and grandchildren’s future in our community and in our country,” Mayor Alex Walker said.

“That’s why we have voted to appoint a community member to the trust. The purpose of the trust is to explore water security, including the already consented dam as one of the tools in the kit. As a council, we want our legacy to be something that enables the district to thrive for generations.”

The Hawke’s Bay Water Trust is a charitable trust that supports the exploration of water security initiatives in the district, for the benefit of the district and the wider region. The community charitable trust will have appointees made by Tamatea Pōkai Whenua – the legal treaty settlement partner – Water Holdings Hawke’s Bay Limited, and Central Hawke’s Bay District Council.

A key objective was to ensure the trust operates separately from council, meaning ratepayers are not financially encumbered by it.

“We need to address water security, but we can’t fund everything we need to do which is why a trust is being stood up.”

The trust will explore the water storage consents related to the Makaroro River and intellectual property from the previous ‘Ruataniwha’ scheme. “It will have to set out a business case and seek funding. As a council we can encourage progress, we just can’t be responsible for all of it. If we were, other core areas of council business would suffer, including potholes on roads not being fixed, rubbish collection, and keeping the lights on at the library.”

Council has taken measures over the years to address the water issues in the district, including compulsory water tanks on new builds, streamlining consent requirements for household water sustainability, supporting the regional water assessment undertaken by HBRC, centralising a water reservoir between Waipawa and Waipukurau to future proof the district’s water supply, and supporting regional mapping projects. Council has also been exploring the importance of land use diversification to grow and strengthen the local economy for which a secure water supply is pivotal.

The trust could also be an opportunity to tackle injustices in resource allocation, Walker said. There are things we will need to consider over the next few years, including urban water meters and whether a regional or national regulator will be brave enough to consider reform to New Zealand’s ‘first in first served’ approach to ground water allocation, Walker said.

“Two weeks ago, the draft deed of this trust was brought to councillors for the very first time. In the weeks leading up to it, and since, we have had a barrage of misinformation streaming in, from outside of the district.

“Those that have done it, have used emotive language, not based in fact. “This is not democratic behaviour. This is scaremongering.

“We welcome disagreement and robust conversation. But any action we take needs to have a grounding in fact, because it is our district we are fighting for, not the appeasement of the small number of people who appear to be purposefully misleading on information for decisions facing our district. “We have seized this opportunity to protect water security in Tamatea – Central Hawke’s Bay.

“But we have to ensure that we do this the right way.”

ENDS 

11 November 2024

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