Bob Edlin: Tensions over co-governance spread from Far North to Hastings....

Tensions over co-governance spread from Far North to Hastings – but Simon says he sees no cause to intervene

A headline on the OneNews website suggests Simon Watts might be earning his keep – at last – on the wretched issue of elected councillors sharing their powers with unelected iwi appointees.

It says: Local Government Minister puts scrutiny on Far North District Council.

That’s his response – presumably – to a councillor in the Far North hoping to put him on the spot by calling for his intervention.

But he’s not ready to intervene. For now, he has delegated the exercise of his authority to departmental minions:

Mike Butler: An iwi and some Maori wards

For those of you about to vote on whether or not to continue with the Maori ward your council has imposed, a bit of published bragging shows what “iwi Maori” think about seats on councils.

The August 25 edition of the Hawke’s Bay Today included a two-page advert displaying what looked like 63 candidates for eight councils from Wairoa to South Wairarapa.

The Wairoa District, Hawke’s Bay Regional, Napier City, Hastings District, Central Hawke’s Bay District, Tararua District, Masterton District, and South Wairarapa councils are listed on a map in the background of the advert.

Bob Edlin: Open letter sharpens focus on the Treaty influence on governance

A champion of the growing practice of appointing iwi representatives to sit with elected representatives on local authority decision-making bodies didn’t have a great deal to say, when questions were emailed to her.

Much of the little she did say – published on Point of Order last month – has been challenged by Bruce Moon in an open letter posted on Breaking Views.

The thrust and parry were triggered by governance changes on the Hastings District Council, which last month voted to appoint Māori representatives with speaking and voting rights to its four standing committees.

Bob Edlin: Another Battle of Hastings – and one in the eye for those bloody democrats

It was the Battle of Hastings, 2019. On one side, the stalwarts of democracy intent on defending their ideal of the best form of government for their district.  On the other side, the champions of attenuated lines of accountability between citizens and those who govern them.

The democrats were outnumbered and the Hastings District Council – 33.3% of its members of Maori descent – voted to fortify iwi influence by appointing four members of the Maori Joint Committee to the council’s four standing committees.

This was decided after a debate which the NZ Herald curiously said became “divisive”, apparently because four councillors argued the decision should be taken to a public poll – a suggestion which, given the constitutional implications of the issue, had a great deal of merit.

Mike Butler: Opera House could be used as-is

The life risk of the Hawke’s Bay Opera House is very low and there is no legal requirement to leave the building empty so it could be used now, risk specialist Ian Harrison said on Monday.

Mr Harrison, who is chair of Evidence Based Seismic Strengthening, addressed more than 70 people at the Havelock North Function Centre.

Mike Butler: Opera House safer than driving

In Hastings, a health and safety saga that is likely to affect the owners of around 25,000 buildings in New Zealand involves a push to spend megabucks on earthquake strengthening.

The drama involves two buildings, the Hawke’s Bay Opera House and the Municipal Building which was the council assembly room and offices, both built in 1916. Both buildings withstood the devastating 7.8 (Richter scale) February 3, 1931, Hawke’s Bay earthquake that killed 256 people. Both buildings have been strengthened.

Mike Butler: Amalgamation and race

Hastings Against Amalgamation campaigns on four points – that amalgamation for the five councils in Hawke’s Bay would increase rates, increase debt, reduce representation with powerless local boards, and introduce race-based spending through an appointed Maori board.

I had a phone-call from a Napier councillor who thanked us for campaigning against amalgamation but asked us to stop talking about the Maori board because it upset some people. An earlier email from another person suggested we were “playing the race card”.

Mike Butler: Amalgamation cons by the pros

A proposal being steadily pushed on to Hawke’s Bay residents is to absorb the councils of Hastings, Napier, Wairoa, and Central Hawke’s Bay, plus the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, into one super council with five local boards, and a Maori board, with the headquarters in Napier.

Amalgamation is a central government initiative, with similar proposals in Northland and Wellington at the same time as the Hawke’s Bay push. I presented the case against amalgamation to 54 people at a public meeting at the Havelock North Community Centre yesterday.

Mike Butler: Hastings resists amalgamation

As decision time looms with the proposal to merge the five Hawke’s Bay councils into one super council based in Napier, a new group has formed in Hastings to fight amalgamation. Hastings Against Amalgamation is holding an initial meeting at the Havelock North Community Centre on Tuesday, February 24 at 7pm, to plan the next step should the Local Government Commission opt to proceed with amalgamation.

That next step is to collect around 4400 Hastings signatures to trigger a poll on the issue.

Mike Butler: Here come the woodburner police

A plane equipped with a thermal tracking camera will patrol the skies over Hawke’s Bay during the chilly season when domestic fires may be lit, homing in on chimneys with strong heat images. This will be matched against a record of every compliant fire that has been installed since 2005 in Napier and Hastings, as well as regional council records of every loan or grant that has been given since the programme started in 2009.

Any homeowner thus found out will be pinged with an abatement notice. Infringement of an abatement notice will attract a $300 fine.

Mike Butler: Consent fees reduction needed

Forget about fevered opposition to proposed Resource Management Act changes from the Green Party, Labour, Maori Party, Environmental Defence and Forest and Bird. If you want to build or modify your home or garage, some consent fees have increased by 600 percent since implementation of the Building Act 2004. Building consent fees for a new garage were $231.35 in 2005 soared to $1401 this year, with an extra resource consent fee of $510 added in a project to relocate an existing garage. Crippling requirements have meant many building improvements have become too costly and difficult to be worthwhile.

Here are some building consent charges levied by the Hastings District Council since 1994.