After years of coming to grips with ,or trying to come to grips with local government in Hawkes Bay, Mr Belford of Baybuzz has announced he will throw his name into the ring for the Hastings seat of the Regional Council.
What is it about the Hastings District Council that makes people avoid standing up for the ratepayers in this district.They desperately need changes around that table but there must be some bad smell that puts them off.
Mystery surrounds the situation involving Venture Hawkes Bay where it is reported that losses run up by the ratepayer funded organisation amount to $500,000.
This is an extraordinary amount to lose and many questions need to be asked of the Chairman of the organisation and the CEO of the Regional Council.
For the staff numbers to rise to 22 shows how people spending ratepayers money do not show the restraint of a business that has to account for every dollar.
This body was kicked off with HB Tourism and a staff of 4 or 5.
What has been achieved? Promotions like everythingunderthesun appear to be a dismal failure with no measurable outcomes.JUst what on earth was all this money being spent on? Who is accountable ? Why does the chairman not explain where the money has gone.
The lame explanation offered on baybuzz is not an explanation but a move to expand this body into areas it just should not become involved in.
Scary stuff indeed.
The farcical situation surrounding the Regional Councils secret attempts to set up a company to make money for the ratepayers ,has finally been exposed and at least delayed.
Commentators have picked up on the fact that major assets would be removed from the publics scrutiny but little comment has eminated from the inclusion of water as part of this proposal.
The secret agenda is to have this damn council get control of water throughout Hawkes Bay and to screw producers by making this renewable resource cost so much it would be ‘owned ‘ by large corporates. No-one has asked the questions that are required to expose this wrought led by people who have no idea about the productive sector or water for that matter.
The election can’t come soon enough.
The SST has provided information on the credit card spending of Mayors from around the country.
For Hawkes Bay the figures only show Les Probert as a small spender for Wairoa,but the figure for the Hastings District Mayor needs further explanation.
The common factor with the troughing MP’s and now the Mayors, is not the fact that there is some expenditure but some of these people are already being richly rewarded salary wise and yet have no problem using ratepayers money to further enhance their positions.
The near $5000 expenditure for the Mayor of Hastings is questionable.Where has this expendituire gone?
What makes the troughing more interesting is the fact that the Hastings Mayor is also President of Local Government NZ. Does this position include a credit card on top of a large salary?
We need some answers.
The suggestion that Geoffrey Palmer be given the job of investigating the Israeli attacks on supply ships to the Gazza is the worst idea of the year.
This over trumpeted lawyer has caused more grief to this country than any other single person and how he keeps popping up with pathetic views on a raft of major issues beats me.
Palmer if listened to carefully, says nothing,states the obvious, yet is lauded by the lefties.
A disgrace of an idea.
The passing of legislation creating the new Auckland super city will ensure a few rocky years ahead for local body politics in Auckland.
The Government was deaf when it came to voices of reason and it is always a worry for democracy when Governments just pass legislation over an obsessive approach to a flawed concept.
Auckland will now implode , even though it will take years it will happen because you cannot have local government that is not local government.
There is no local any more and the ratepayers will find out in the next couple of years what a shocking move this has been.
The Hastings District Council has been copping it from all quarters over pollutants that have reached important waterways around Hastings.
There is a lack of explanation about who is discharging contaminants into the system (or a lack of follow up on who is ) but the extraordinary part is that Hastings do not seem to like the fact that they are there to do a job on behalf of the public yet attack the Regional Council for pointing out there is a problem and attack members of the public who do likewise.
Hello?
It is just not good enough that streams are being continually used for waste disposal by unscrupulous operators and for Hastings DC to appear to ignore whats happening is shocking.
The recent hearing decision forcing their hand over this issue should ensure action at last.
Local radio today stated in no uncertain terms that in the future Hakes Bay rivers were going to be co-governed or co-managed by iwi.
This is a giant leap into a major loss of democracy and a step that many unsuspecting ratepayers are just not aware of.
To go so far as holding a public meeting to discuss this at the EIT before any agreements or discussions have been held is the height of arrogance.
At the present time there seems to be no connection between the foreshore and seabed debacle and these approaching treaty settlements but the public are going to be furious when they finally realise the ramifications of the Nats agreements.
The last week in parliament would have to go down as one of the worst in history. The National Government passed legislation under urgency ,putting the skids under a democratically elected council and at the same time thumbed their noses at years of work by many people and bodies and said we don’t care about the environment and water conservation orders don’t count any more.
Minister Nick Smith has been in parliament too long and appears to be mounting the start of a personal agenda to wipe out any environmental protection in NZ.
The arrogance displayed by the government is unprecedented and as bad as that shown by the last Labour government over social policy.
Democracy is being challenged like never before.
It is apparent there are serious problems with the Hastings District Council.
Mystery surrounds many council issues as there are so many meetings held behind closed doors.
Cr Bradshaw has asked that expenditure by the sports park trust be approved by the council or at least discussed with council but the Mayor is making sure as chair of the trust, that no-one can get such transparency.
A shocking situation especially when moved by councillor Bradshaw that he wanted greater transparency and only had the support of two or three councillors.
Something is wrong with those councillors that cannot support ratepayer accountability.
