Central Hawke’s Bay District Council has not approved a new version of the controversial Ruataniwha Dam — but its councillors were told their decision to endorse a trust deed that could help revive it, could in future be seen as their definitive stake in the ground.
Amid backlash from speakers at the Waipawa meeting, the council voted on Thursday to endorse the Hawke’s Bay Community Water Trust Deed.
The purpose of the Hawke’s Bay Water Trust and its draft deed, is to explore water security in Central Hawke’s Bay, and initiatives that could help it, including a new version of the failed Ruataniwha Dam, called the Tukituki Water Security Project.
It is proposed that the intellectual property and consents for the dam on the Makaroro River, currently owned by a group of local farmers, would be transferred to the trust’s ownership.
Members of the community and representatives of Wise Water Use HB had their chance to voice their views before the vote, and they used it to raise concerns about the revival of the Ruataniwha Dam.
Wise Water Use HB spokesperson, Dr Trevor Le Lievre said the council’s claim that Central Hawke’s Bay had a water shortage was not true.
“If there’s a water shortage it’s because it’s been used for intensified dairy farming by a select few.”
He said to progress the dam would divide the community.
“If this trust is endorsed it’s not the end, it’s the beginning, and it would define forever the councillors at this table.
“We recommend rejecting this trust and directing officers to other options.
“We would love to be involved in exploring these options.”
Other speakers included Gren Christie who said council had stated that the trust would not cost the ratepayers any money but “it would come at the highest cost — our river”. He asked councillors to back away from the move.
Johnny Nepe Aputu said he was at the meeting on behalf of the three generations that accompanied him, and for those that would follow. He said the dam would “kill our lifeforce” and then “kill my mokopuna in 40 years time”.
“Give me one good reason why this dam should go ahead?” he asked.
Council CEO Doug Tate then addressed the meeting saying the decision that councillors were making today was not about a dam but about the involvement in the community trust.
“We are not approving a dam. There’s a huge amount of work to do and that it’s not the only option the trust would look at.”
Mayor Alex Walker then spoke, saying the process had been challenging because it had provoked conversation about “what’s not in front of us”.
She said “none of this is going to be perfect”and that “going forward, we should be thinking about what we are doing alongside the trust”.
The meeting followed a protest by members of Wise Water Use HB at CHB Council’s meeting on October 17 where a proposal establishing the Hawke’s Bay Water Trust and its draft deed was presented to the council for the first time.
Council also invited a social media forum for feedback. Council papers said “a key theme in the feedback has been the misrepresented information shared publicly by organisations and others relating to council’s decision to establish the trust”.
“This feedback related predominantly to matters relating to the previous Ruataniwha Water Storage project. Matters relating to the project would be further assessed as future due diligence, on the basis a Trust is established.
“The constructive feedback on the trust that was provided has been noted and is for a future trust to progress.”
The council’s responsibilities in the trust extend only to the appointment of a trustee and the approval of the process for the appointment of an inaugural trustee on behalf of the community.
Various attempts to get the Ruataniwha Dam off the ground have been mired in controversy since it was first supported by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC) almost a decade ago.
It was eventually abandoned by HBRC in 2018 after a Supreme Court finding against it, and the $20 million it had spent on development went down the drain.
The consents were then sold to Water Holdings Hawke’s Bay Ltd, a group of local farmers who haven’t given up on it.
By Linda Hall, Local Democracy Reporter
Local Democracy Reporting is local-body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
