hawkesbaycouncilwatch

So many stories floating around about who is to blame for the price of petrol. Who do you believe?

Apart from this question what is really annoying and it is beginning to hurt big time ,is the way the government collects off petrol.
When the price was much lower it was not  so noticeable  as I guess everyone rolled over .Who would bother to try and  stop  this tax take, after all it was going back into the roads?
Well when it started to sink in that the goverment was raking off a huge take and depositing it in the consolidated fund ,it didn’t go down so well.
The worst aspect of this tax is that it is collected on a percentage basis.
It is now time to tell this and the next government that if you want 30c a litre tax then take that and no more.

Everytime the price goes up under the current setup the government grabs more  unnecessarily.

The whole country should be up in arms over this one.

 

The desire of HDC to get their way over any issue ,to beat off opponents,win at all costs, knows no bounds.

After going to the privy council and being given a strong message,then going through a hearing for designation,the Hastings DC now requests more time toconsult with landowners in the path of the proposed route.

Since this route was mooted there have been many changes to transport flows in HB ,the expressway extension has been opened ,the Meeanee flyover has been built and there have been industry changes that impact on truck movements to the port.

Hastings really needs to sit down and start again.

The Northern arterial is not a smart idea and it would be better to stread traffic movements between Hastings and Napier instaed of forcing all traffic onto the expressway.

To say that they want to consult and not negotiate  is seemingly arrogant .The time for consultationis over.

The case against the Northern arterial cutting through 10 blocks of highly fertile ,productive orchards and being responsible for consigning  a stand  of marvellous  majestic trees to the chainsaw  let alone other issues,surely means the answer from the commissioners should be ‘NO’.

An interesting situation this week.

We have the Mayor of Hastings District Council announcing he is standing for President of Local Government NZ .This comes with a nice remuneration package of around $82,000 pa on top of the Mayoral wage.

At the same time we hear the Mayors friend and fellow Mayor of Wanganui ,announce that the Wanagnui DC is not going to be a member of LGNZ and can put the annual subscription of $35,000 to better use for its ratepayers.

Is LGNZ of any use at all? What does it really do except run an annual conference which is a talkfest? Is their any value in HDC being a member?
The only thing is it now puts paid to the rumour that the Hastings Mayor is to be on the National Party list for this years election.
Or does it?

Some of the speakers at the public meeting on the proposed sports park had done alot of work on issues arising out of this proposal.
Dianne Charteris in particular pinpointed a range of major issues that must have reflected the thoughts of  many others present at the meeting.
The council considered they had consulted with the public previously but then stated that they had consulted with sports groups.So the idea  for this council is you only consult with those in favour of something.
They think the public are stupid.

The Regional Council are considering whether to let the general public have the opportunity to speak to council prior to council meetings. While this idea sounds good ,it is one that will  surely test elected members as it will soon be used as a forum  to  attack council  ,a forum for fringe elements to push barrows  and will attract  only rarely, people with real concerns.
There is already a host of opportunities to deal with councils  and genuine  concerns  along with the annual plan process and submissions on consent applications etc.
The best way to have a good council is to elect the right people.
 

The coverage of an outline of the RC regional plan was interesting but not overwhelmingly stirring.It must be hard to sit in front of a camera if you are not used to it so good on Rex and Andrew for fronting up.
Now get a copy of the annual plan and write.

Thursday 1st May and we will see a discussion on our local TVHB featuring Rex McIntyre and Andrew Newman helping ratepayers understand the regional council and issues it is facing in the Annual Plan.
The shift to a so called strategic planning approach has to be cloaked in caution.There are responsibilities of Regional Councils and the change in local government legislation allowing a wider brief is going to be a major disaster in the future.
The council has enough law to guide it and any move to shift the governance role from councillors to one  where they are interfering with the day to day running of council is doomed to failure.
They are there to makle decisions  not run the council. Some of those on council have private agendas that  will be promoted indirectly as a result of this new approach.

Also issues such as climate change are not being debated properly and the greatest con job in the world is taking place right now around climate change.

Ratepayers should take t6yhe opportunity to submit to the plan and keep the regional council on track ,sticking to its knitting.