Letters to the Editor - Hawke's Bay Today

Published in Hawke's Bay Today - 5th November 2024, p. 10.

Paul Bailey, Lead Advocate for Wise Water Use

Gren Christie, Lead Advocate for Wise Water Use

These letters to the editor were published in response to the CHB District Council voting 7-2 in favour of establishing the 'Hawkes Bay Community Water Trust' at a meeting on 31 October 2024. Read about the meeting here.

The core purpose of the 'community' trust, which the community weren't consulted about, and won't be able to make appointments to, is to hold the consents and IP for the Ruataniwha dam. It's simply a Trojan Horse to advance the dam.

Wise Water Use understands that the trust was needed to provide the veneer of community buy-in in order to secure public funding for redevelopment of the dam's business case, the next step in its progression under this government's environmentally destructive Fast Track legislation.