HB Regional Council Chair, Sophie Siers, stonewalls discussion on Wise Water Use's petition.

HBRC Chair, Sophie Siers

Our Lead Advocates for Wise Water Use were frustrated at the lack of opportunity to address the pressing issues highlighted in our petition presented to HB Regional councillors on Wednesday 29 April.

The petition was presented by Lead Advocates for Wise Water Use, Gren Christie and Paul Bailey (also a past-Regional Councillor)

ACTION: Contact Sophie Siers NOW with the simple message below: 

“Attention Sophie Siers: I support Wise Water Use's petition and ask that you schedule it for discussion at the next public council meeting.”

Message:	Sophie Siers: via HBRC's Facebook page Hawke's Bay Regional Council
Email:	Sophie Siers: Cr.Sophie.Siers@hbrc.govt.nz  Cc: contact@wisewateruse.org.nz
Text:	Sophie Siers: 021 0820 0788
Please be polite with your message!

We received 826 signatures, 85% of whom were Hawkes Bay residents and ratepayers.  That’s a HUGE result – big mihi to all those who supported us by signing!

Final Signatures
Place of residence	No.	Percentage
Resident of Hawkes Bay	706	85%
Supporter, residing outside Hawkes Bay	120	15%
Total:	826	100%

We have fielded emails, texts and phone calls from supporters who watched the meeting online and feel they deserved better, using words such as “fobbed off”, “frustrated”, “not taken seriously”, and “our mana was trampled”.

Watch the petition presentation here (8 mins))

It’s hard to disagree when the one request the petition made, that the current Regional Council not purchase water from the proposed Ruataniwha dam if approached, was not discussed.  Regional Council Chair, Sophie Siers neither invited discussion nor any questions from fellow councillors. 

Cr Siers also shut down a motion by councillor Michelle McIlroy (Māui ki te Raki) "that the petition be received and referred to the Chief Executive for consideration, noting that any response will be provided through a future report to council” (i.e. so that thee matters raised could be discussed a future meeting). 

 

Tom Belford (BayBuzz editor), describes the meeting like this:

“The Chair simply dismissed the group with a ‘not to worry’ send-off while thanking them for ‘engaging’.  Five minutes and have a nice drive back to CHB. How insulting. If they planned to be so dismissive, HBRC would have been better off not granting the farcical Public Forum in the first place.”

Read the full BayBuzz story here (paywalled)

Linda Hall (LDR Reporter) interviewed Ruataniwha dam frontperson, Mike Petersen, who totally disrespected the 826 signatories by stating:

"it's easy to sign a petition calling for the council not to spend money." 

Notably, Mr Petersen did not deny that it was the dam builders' intention to approach the Regional Council and ask for ratepayer money to pay for so-called "environmental flows".

Read the full report here

Wise Water Use had anticipated questions such as:

• How did we arrive at their projected 10% rates increase figure if the Council were to pick up the cost of so-called ‘environmental flows?

• What are environmental flows, and why are they even being proposed?

• Do environmental flows work?

• How do you think we can address the current health of the river without having to buy water which is currently a shared community resource?

The fact that the Ruataniwha dam promoters even see a need for so-called “environmental flows” is an tacit admission that our Tukituki river is already polluted and will be polluted even more by the intensive farming practices that will occur if the dam proceeds.

The current problem of low flows is due to OVER ALLOCATION of water to the very same industry - primarily intensive dairy farms - that is the root cause of this pollution.

While the Dam promoters talk about treating the symptoms of intensive farming the Regional Council (i.e. the organisation responsible for treating the cause), is missing in action, despite several councillors wanting  it otherwise.

It was also very disappointing that Central Hawkes Bay Councillor Tony Kuklinski made no effort to welcome the WWU Lead Advocates from CHB to the council chambers.  This is in strong contrast to our previous council representative and current CHB Mayor Will Foley. 

We were warmly welcomed by several other councillors and Cr Siers, but unfortunately got little more from her.

PETITION

                                To Hawkes Bay Regional Council

"We, the undersigned, oppose the Ruataniwha dam promoters’ plan to use public money to pay for so called ‘environmental flows’.  We ask Council to confirm publicly that they will not agree to pay for this water, nor commit any more ratepayer money or resources to this project."