Bill Dalton

Greetings – its 2012. In fact the first month is almost gone. Time flies when you are having fun!

2011 was a tough year and frankly 2012 looks like being tougher. In terms of the world economy, the New Zealand economy is like a cork in the sea – it goes in whatever direction the tide is going. The economic tide is certainly not going in New Zealand’s direction right now. Corruption and excesses have destroyed the economies of several Eurozone countries to the point where the Euro currency is under threat. These things impact negatively on the New Zealand economy.

However, if we are having to endure tough times, there is no better country in the world in which to endure them than New Zealand and no better place in New Zealand than Hawkes Bay.

Why then are there so many people in Hawkes Bay bagging the place? Why do we have people in positions of influence, determined to make Hawkes Bay look like the lawless, economic basket case of New Zealand?

Whilst I vehemently disagree with them, Lawrence Yule and his cohorts in Better HB, have taken an understandable position. Appalling but understandable. They are so determined to force amalgamation on Hawkes Bay that they are prepared to blacken the image of our wonderful province. Their modus operandi is clearly one that endeavours to show that we are such an economic and social failure, that only amalgamation can save us.

Their argument is lost on many and in my view, only undermines the good work that is going on in the Bay.

Now the HB Today has joined the fray and insists on running negative headlines wherever possible.

On Saturday they ran the headline “Bay among worst for AOS call-outs”. Anybody walking past the newsstands would immediately conclude that the fact that the Armed Offenders Squad was being called out more frequently would suggest we were becoming a much more violent place. The article went on to quote senior police officers saying that a change of responsibility meant squads now provided assistance for drug operations. More robust risk assessments was another factor. Frankly the article did not support the alarmist headline.

The world we live in is certainly not a perfect place. But the place in the world we are lucky enough to live in is as good as it gets. Sure it can be improved and there is good solid work going on to see that, that happens.

But that work is not being helped by those with an alternative agenda.

Somehow today I feel at peace.

Unusually there is no council meeting today so I can’t upset anyone there. The new version of the same government is taking shape and Winston Peters has shut up long enough for me to ignore the fact that he and his rag tag bag of lightweights have their snouts in the public trough. Those in Hawkes Bay who seem determined to paint us as some sort of backwater where only the unfortunate live, seem to have gone into Christmas mode or perhaps – just perhaps – they have cancelled their full page advertisements so they can donate those funds to the Christmas Cheer Fund. At least there, the funds will make a difference.

I think of my daughter battling the cold in London – although she must like the cold because she’s off to Russia for Christmas – and my son who will be rushing to catch the commuter train with all those who are heading for their offices in central Melbourne. Their choice I suppose.

Where on earth would you rather live? We live in an area that features two vibrant but distinctly different cities just 23km apart and small rural towns each with their own character. For those who want to get on and make a dollar, there is opportunity despite what the negative doomsayers say. We have a very good climate and good access to beaches, rivers, mountains and lakes.

For those who like to, and are fortunate enough to be able to travel, Hawkes Bay must be the best jumping off point in New Zealand. In less than one hour you can be in Auckland and from there you can fly to anywhere in the world. Always when I fly back into the sprawling metropolis of Auckland, I am thankful that one more short flight will have me home in Hawkes Bay.

One of the things I am often asked when I return from holiday is “what was the best thing you saw on your trip?” The answer is always the same – the green hills as we descended into Hawkes Bay.

Hawkes Bay has been home to my family since 1867. My father was the youngest of 13 born in Napier and I am the youngest of 4 all born and still living in Napier.

I only hope that in time my three kids all end up here. They all still regard the Bay as home so here’s hoping.

The so called anti-greed rally which began in Wall Street, New York, has spread globally. The protest which is fuelled by extensive use of social media, is typical of this type of mass hysteria.

A small group of concerned citizens, in New York’s case they appear to be mainly broken down old hippies, begin a protest. They are then joined by all those who for whatever reason are against the system. In America the anti Afghanistan war people are out in force, the gay rights groups, the anti-Democrats, the anti-Republicans – you name the cause and they are there.

In Rome the protest seems to have been taken over by the anarchist movement with hooded and disguised louts roaming the streets smashing windows and setting cars on fire.

In Australia the anti-greed protesters have been joined by the supporters of Aboriginal rights and a whole bunch of other protest movements. New Zealand too has its copy-cat protests under way.

It is always the way. Start a protest or a campaign and everyone who feels wronged, disadvantaged, angry or in need of publicity will join you.

And yet interestingly enough, if the anti-greed protesters had kept their campaign free of all the hangers-on, they could have made a far stronger point. That’s difficult to do of course because there is always some group or individual who grasps the opportunity to self promote – but if they had kept their message simple and direct, they could have exposed all sorts of examples of greed within the financial sector in the United States. And let’s face it, there’s no shortage of those! They could have got public sympathy on their side. Instead they are denouncing all bankers and politicians and their campaign has lost all credibility. It is now just a rallying point for everyone with a burr under their saddle.

You really do have to wonder at the intelligence of some of these people. I saw one young fellow being interviewed in New York and he said that we need to get rid of all the politicians. It doesn’t matter whether they are Democrat or Republican, they all have got to go. How clever is that!

As is always the case, many who have joined the protest have not thought trough the implications of their actions. They see the protest as a vehicle for their frustrations but in many ways they are creating an environment which will result in far greater frustration in the future.

But that sure as hell won’t stop them!

The article on the front page of Monday’s Hawkes Bay Today still has me chuckling.

A couple of our sports administrators have decided that Cory Jane and Israel Dagg have a booze problem because they have spent time in Hawkes Bay. It must be a very contagious condition because Cory Jane wasn’t here for long.

These two young guys went out for a few beers three nights before a game. Israel Dagg was injured and wasn’t even in Saturdays side. We are told that Jane lit a cigarette. Frankly if he played that well on Saturday night after just one smoke on Wednesday, they should have tossed him a pack a day!

To suggest that, the fact that these two young fellows went out for a beer a few days before a game means that Hawkes Bay needs to take a look at itself is simply bizarre. It’s almost as silly as Lawrence Yule suggesting that the loss of 300 jobs at the Ovation meat plant in Central Hawkes Bay is somehow the result of the failure of our local bodies to amalgamate.

The simple truth is that young people need to behave like young people and they need to enjoy themselves. And there is nothing new in All Blacks sneaking out at night to enjoy themselves. My father used to tell me stories about the All Black Manager who had a drinking problem on the 1935-36 tour to Britain. Despite that he used to sit on the stairs of the teams hotel to ensure that all players were back within curfew. The players made sure the old bloke had plenty before they went out and they came home when they were ready and stepped over him, sound asleep on the stairs. I am sure that every All Black team could tell similar stories.

Of course these days the players are professionals and they should behave appropriately. But being professional doesn’t suddenly make young men older and wiser. So the All Black management team and the senior players need to look at how they can protect these players from themselves.

But to suggest that suddenly Hawkes Bay needs to look at itself could almost be described as a Yuleism!

Let’s not build these incidents into something they are clearly not. I see the owner of the bar that Dagg and Jane were in has already said that some of the stories that are swirling around are pure fiction.

Critics seem to concentrate on the fact that these fellows need to be punished and frankly that is a disappointing view indeed.

Go the All Blacks!

There is no doubt that wage increases are not keeping pace with the rising cost of basic food items. I am told that those with young families are finding it particularly difficult and I can understand that. But I wonder how much effort some people put in to producing healthy low cost meals for their families. Lately I have taken particular note of the contents of supermarket trollies being pushed by young parents and I am often appalled at the amount of pre-prepared, pre-packaged foodstuffs in the trollies. And don’t even get me started on the amount of money that must be being spent on cat and dog food.

I am also amazed at the frequency with which many of these families have takeaways. That must really stretch the budget.

So I thought I would try an experiment.

I went to the wholesalers and bought a huge piece of Chuck Steak. It cost $53. I then went to the cheap vegetable place and bought $6 worth of vegetables. I came home and cut all the good bits out of the meat, putting anything even slightly fatty to one side. I then browned the big chunks of meat in a pan out on the BBQ, and put some in a casserole dish, some in the croc-pot and some aside to be frozen ready for a good stew sometime in the future. There was enough meat for 20 generous servings and no doubt enough left over for a bit of lunch the next day. So I peeled the swede, the carrots and plenty of onions and biffed them into the casserole dish and croc-pot together with some water, pepper and salt, some Worcester sauce and a bit of beef stock.

The end result of all this was a croc-pot of beautiful meat and vegetable stew that will serve at least 8 which we will freeze, a casserole that will serve 4 for now and enough meat for another casserole which will serve at least 8 in the freezer – and I’m a big eater – with kids the meat would go much further.

I then minced the rest of the meat for the cat and the dog and Shirl tells me – that amount of meat in the pet food department of the supermarket would have cost $20 to $30.

So, if you deduct the value of the pet food from the total cost of $60, we have ended up with at least 20 very generous servings of meat and vegetables for $40 or $2 per head per meal. And I scored a few brownie points as well. Surely that can’t be bad.

But I’m not spending all my retirement hours trying to save a buck in the kitchen. This week, Napier City Councillors and Senior Officers have got two full days of strategic planning as we begin the review of our Long Term Plan. This is a really important undertaking, not made any easier by some of the rubbish that is being bandied about regarding the immediate future governance of our city.

And the following week looks like being a busy one as well. We’ve got a workshop with the Hastings District Council to discuss a Joint Alcohol Strategy, a Regional Events Strategy and the levels of service agreement with the Hawkes Bay Museums Trust. All this from a group of people who Lawrence Yule says can’t and won’t work together. Later in the week we’ve got an Officers presentation on Park Island and a Finance Audit and Risk committee meeting which I chair, followed by a Regulatory Services committee meeting.

So it’s all go for Councillors at the moment and that makes my wife very happy because it keeps me from getting under her feet in the kitchen.

Now it’s not very often I agree with comments made by Willie Jackson. But the other day he made a very perceptive comment. It was during a wide ranging discussion on politics and the interviewer raised the subject of recent political polls. John Key was bolting away as preferred Prime Minister and Phil Goff was continuing to languish – down to single figures.

And Willie Jackson quite clearly pointed out how difficult it was to be in opposition, trying to unseat a Prime Minister who is the darling of the media. Just that week, Phil Goff and his unfortunate choice of shadow finance minister Cunliffe, had announced Labour’s capital tax policy. But rather then a serious discussion of the pros and cons of that policy filling our newspapers, there were photos of John Key – or was it John Keys – sitting in the oval office with the most powerful politician in the world. It was impressive stuff and no-one took much notice of poor old Phil’s ideas of capital gains tax. Perhaps for Labour, it was just as well.

But the fact remains that an incumbent politician has all the aces in their pack when it comes to promoting themselves and more importantly, getting the attention of the media.

We see it on a local basis too. Some of the most frequent questions I get asked are: What do you councillors do? Does Barbara totally rule the roost? Does she make all the decisions? And the answers are that no, she doesn’t rule the roost and no she doesn’t make all the decisions. And the councillors are actively involved in the debating and decision making process within council. Sure Barbara is a clever politician and she wants her name out front. And why wouldn’t she – she is the Mayor. But the media have a big part to play in this as well. Naturally they want comment from the Mayor rather than any individual councillor’s comment. And they know that Barbara is usually keen to oblige.

So clearly, in political promotion terms, the incumbent politician has the cards stacked in their favour.

But that’s the way it has always been – nothing has changed. It just demonstrates how important the media are in our otherwise boring lives.

I went to listen to visiting Australian academic Professor Graham Sansom the other night. He is a specialist in local body reform and he certainly presented an interesting point of view.

And I must congratulate the Hawkes Bay Chamber of Commerce for providing a forum to enable us to hear Lawrence Yule’s invitee. The more information we have the better decision we will eventually make.

Professor Sansom began his address by saying that doing nothing was not an option – that the status quo was unacceptable. He then went on to explain that the metropolitan area of Sydney has over 40 councils, Melbourne has more than 30 and Adelaide more than 20. He is adamant that change must take place and frankly without knowing the slightest thing about it, over 40 councils in metropolitan Sydney does sound ridiculous. I wonder however, how the fact that Australia’s metropolitan areas have too many councils is relevant to the debate we are having about the governance of two distinctly different cities 20 kilometres apart.

During the course of his address, which was very well presented, Professor Sansom told us that the Brisbane City Council was one of the most successful councils in Australia and it has had the same structure for 80 years. A very perceptive Napier City Councillor, Maxine Boag, raised this apparent contradiction with the Prof in question time. “If doing nothing was not an option in terms of possible reform – if the status quo was unacceptable, how come Brisbane, one of the most successful councils in Australia, has had the same structure for 80 years and there was no pressure to change it?” I have to say the Prof handled the question well and he admitted that it really was a contradiction. Eventually he said that Brisbane hadn’t changed because it had an electoral system that suited the city. Interesting isn’t it!

To his credit, considering he was in Hawkes Bay at the request of Lawrence Yule, Professor Sansom did point out that if amalgamation did take place it would be extremely disruptive and extremely expensive. He of course, believes that disruption and expense will be worth it in the long term. He also said that amalgamation was unlikely to result in any reductions in rates as any savings would be retained by the council to fund further services.

Because Professor Sansom claims that amalgamating councils is generally a successful process, I was alarmed to find that when checking to gauge this success, they didn’t bother to ask the ratepayers what they thought. Surely councils are simply servant organizations of the people and the peoples opinion is the one that really counts. Certainly the polls I have seen reported in the press in Queensland suggest that the ratepayers are very dissatisfied with the process.

So in summary I found the lecture informative and interesting but frankly it just reinforced my view that rushing in to amalgamation is absolutely the wrong thing to do. As this discussion continues, I hope that all councils will continue to work to align all regulatory and contract matters so that any impediment to economic growth, whether real or imagined is removed.

Several things have happened lately that reinforces my view that we live in the best spot in the world.

Yesterday Shirl took me to lunch and then we walked the Rotary Pathway from the Port to the fishing club and back. It was just glorious. There was no wind, the summer sun was shining off the water and the place looked a picture. Kids were playing in the sand and people were enjoying ice creams – yes and this is late July.

Then last night we rugged up and after a delightful meal at the rugby as a guest of my old firm Somerset Smith Partners, we enjoyed seeing Hawke’s Bay beat Southland. It’s funny how a win always makes you feel good about things. When we got home we had a good chat over a cup of coffee and discussed just how fortunate we are. The only downside being that so many of our young ones have to head out of the Bay for education or career opportunities.

Then just this morning I stepped out of the shower to hear Shirley talking to my daughter Jane on skype. It was a perfect picture, the sound was excellent – Jane could have been in the room not thousands of miles away in London. And it made me realise that even though they are a long way away, modern communications allow these youngsters to keep in touch. Our generation is so lucky. Often, when our kids start having kids, they head home again so they can have built in baby sitters and the whole process starts again.

Modern communications have changed the way we think about where we want to live. And that’s why the ultra-high-speed broadband that’s being reticulated through Hawke’s Bay is one of the most important economic opportunities we have seen for generations. It opens up all sorts of opportunities for families to return to the Bay when previously they would be stuck in the big cities.

High speed broadband and the water storage system the HB Regional Council is looking at are likely to provide the economic impetus that Hawke’s Bay has been lacking since sheep numbers were cut so drastically.

I commend those who are taking these initiatives and look forward to increasing prospects in the Bay.

I promised myself that I wasn’t going to mention amalgamation this week but Rodney Hide talked me into it.

On Monday of this week the Hon Rodney Hide addressed the Local Government Annual Conference. Now I’m sure you all know that Rodney is the Minister for Local Government and was responsible for creating the super council for Auckland. Clearly he knows a great deal about local body amalgamations. He is absolutely convinced that the Auckland local body set-up was shambolic at best and needed radical reform. However during his address, when talking about amalgamation in the rest of the country, he had this to say:

“Amalgamation is risky. It’s too easy to end up with councils even more remote and more bureaucratic – losing the local in local decision making.
So looking ahead I see benefits in shared services and councils working together, on both projects and plans, for the wider regions of which their communities are a part. I believe in that way we can enjoy the benefits of amalgamation while keeping the local in local government and avoiding the risks of amalgamation”.

Interesting isn’t it. The Minister of Local Government telling us that amalgamation is risky. The Minister of Local Government telling us that amalgamated councils can end up more remote and more bureaucratic – that the local could be lost from local decision making. The Minister of Local Government telling us we should look to working together and sharing our services so that we get the benefits of amalgamation without the risks.

I’m sure that would have taken the smile of Lawrence’s face even if it didn’t change his mind. And that’s what worries me. Lawrence and his silent few are so convinced that amalgamation is the answer to all our ills, both perceived and real, that they are not looking for an open well researched debate, they are looking to justify their entrenched position.

Three years ago, the Queensland State Government imposed amalgamation on their local bodies. It has been an unmitigated disaster. On the 10th April the Sunday Mail published the results of a survey they had undertaken and they were astonishing. Rates have risen 30% since amalgamation and council debt levels have trebled. On the Sunshine Coast 71% of residents said they would now vote for de-amalgamation and that figure rises to 97% in Noosa town. An amazing 95% of those polled said they were either worse off or no better off. Almost 50% said that the service they received from their council is worse and only 3% claimed overall satisfaction. Six regions in Queensland were surveyed and in those amalgamated areas, 6 out of 10 said they were getting less value for their rates.

Perhaps Rodney Hide is right. Amalgamation is too risky to undertake and we should be looking to simply work together, share services and retain local representation.

My position on amalgamation has not altered. All the evidence I have gathered supports my original view despite the fact that I have endeavoured to retain an open mind. And for those I haven’t already bored to death it is this:

A shotgun amalgamation is not in the best interests of Hawkes Bay as a whole. We should share services, align regulations and contract dates and extract all the efficiencies possible. Only then, at an appropriate time in the future we can say either (a) We are now working so closely together that the next sensible step is amalgamation or (b) we are extracting all the efficiencies and have retained our local representation, why would we change things.

So that’s how I see it. And I promise you that next week I will prattle on about something else. The amalgamation debate is an important one but my dear wife for one, is sick of hearing about it.

In October 2010 Lawrence Yule was elected Mayor of the Hastings District following a campaign largely funded by anonymous donations. And that’s OK – I’m not suggesting any wrongdoing on Lawrence’s part.

However he now appears to be representing the “Secret Squirrel Society” who are hell bent on amalgamating our districts local bodies. The members of this secret band who, unlike Lawrence’s campaign supporters are known to him, seem determined to keep their identities secret. Why? Many of us already know who they are – why don’t they just front up and openly add their opinions to the debate. Presumably they have put together a good case for amalgamation – why don’t they simply share it with us? In fact why don’t they share it with Lawrence because he obviously has no idea how amalgamation is going to magically make us better off. If he did, I am sure, in his open and honest manner, he would be telling us about it. Instead we are being told what is wrong, that we should amalgamate and that all will be better. Simply not good enough.

In the absence of reasoned arguments from proponents of amalgamation, we are getting letters to the press full of ill-informed nonsense like the one published on the 4th July from Mark Annand. Let me make a few points for Mr Annand.

1) As stated, twelve years ago the Local Government Commission decided Napier and Hastings constituted a single community of interest. The people of Hawkes Bay did not agree.
2) His suggestion that the Napier Council will ultimately be irrelevant says everything about where he believes the powerbase of Hawkes Bay should be.
3) His suggestion that things like resource management planning, regional transport planning and public transport planning are managed in a piecemeal fashion is complete garbage. All these matters together with the landfill and many other services are now considered and/or administered on a regional basis.
4) His comment on Mayor Barbara’s supposed opposition to the airport runway extension is pathetic. Once a sound business plan supporting the runway extension was put to us by the Airport Company, the Mayor and most of the Napier City councillors supported the project.
5) His suggestion that we could have all been enjoying the benefit of jet services and freedom from Air New Zealand’s monopoly much sooner is equally pathetic. I invite Mr Annand to ring Nigel Sutton, the Chief Executive of the airport company, and ask him when Air New Zealand or any other airline for that matter intend scheduling jet services into Hawkes Bay.

Most things that the likes of Mr Annand are suggesting could be better done under an amalgamated council are currently either being done on a regional basis or could easily be done in that manner. That doesn’t require our region to loose our significantly advantageous “Twin Cities” status.

As I have said – until the proponents of amalgamation are prepared to share their business plan and vision with us all, we will get all sorts of irrelevant and erroneous information being bandied about.

I have no doubt that the Napier City Council will come under attack for, at this stage at least, refusing to contribute $50,000 towards a feasibility study on amalgamation. Frankly we are simply being prudent with our ratepayers money. Lawrence’s covert poll shows there is no clear majority supporting amalgamation in Napier at the moment and besides, no one has determined the terms of reference for the study. We are being asked to toss $50,000 in to fund a project we have had no input into.

There is one question I would like answered and it’s this:

We as ratepayers pay our rates to the Napier City Council where our councillors are paid to act in our best interests – in the best interests of Napier. How will paying our rates to a council, which by sheer weight of numbers will be dominated by Hastings councillors, improve the lot of Napier ratepayers and Napier as a city?

It’s a simple question isn’t it!