March 29, 2009
Two weeks ago, Mayor Yule was “pretty p****d off” that his sports park was jeopardised by High Court and Environment Court appeals. You would have thought opponents of the Percival Road complex were terrorists, not concerned citizens exercising their legal prerogatives. Now, with Sam Kelt abandoning the cause, the Mayor is “incensed.” Next week, no [...]
March 29, 2009
“Hawke’s Bay province is, in my opinion, the most suitable for growing vines I have visited,” said Italian wine expert Romeo Bragato at the end of a six month tour of New Zealand in 1895. “The wine industry is an immense source of wealth to a nation.” Bragato’s enthusiasm for Hawke’s Bay viticulture was influenced [...]
March 29, 2009
In the coming fiscal year, ending 30 June 2010, the Hastings, Napier and Regional Councils will spend a combined total of $281 million. Ratepayers, including businesses, will furnish most, though not all, of these funds. Other sources include earnings from investments, fees charged to developers in payment for council-fronted infrastructure (e.g., water and sewer lines), [...]
March 29, 2009
Setting aside issues surrounding spending on this or that specific project or activity, arguably there are more generic questions to consider about councils’ spending levels, financing methods, engagement in commercial activities, and – these days – even their role in fighting recession. I invited Nick Stewart, Executive Director of the Stewart Financial Group, to take [...]
March 29, 2009
Mayor Yule says he is “pretty p****d off” that the sports park is being held up by a group of “five or six” people. Exactly 14,880 people voted to put the track out on Percival Road, he says. The sports park trust chairman, Rex Graham, adds: “Who do they think they are? It’s arrogant and [...]
March 29, 2009
Glass artist John Owens was in Morocco last year when he got a phone call saying Jim and Jenny Scotland had placed the winning bid to commission a piece of his work. Many months later, a fused glass, abstract sculpture now shimmers in the Scotland’s Havelock home. Jenny Scotland likes art, but doesn’t consider herself [...]
March 29, 2009
I recently had occasion to hear Rodney Hide speak in Napier. As most BayBuzz readers will know, he holds rather conservative views on the role and spending of local bodies. So given our focus in this edition on our Councils’ budgets and planning, and his post as Minister of Local Government, I sought this follow-up [...]
- Andrew Reyngoud on DAM(N)! A half-billion dollar water storage scheme
- Margaret Donnelly on WATER. What's all the fuss about?
- Elizabeth Sisson on 'Dump Council' campaign
- Paul Bailey on Cows in Karamu Stream
- Rob Pharazyn on Cows in Karamu Stream
- John J Harrison on 5 mayors in HB ... 'Yeah right' says Tui
- Anne Parker on Let's get Council meetings online
- Stuart Nash on 5 mayors in HB ... 'Yeah right' says Tui
- Kylie Fowler on Let's get Council meetings online
- Paul Bailey on Let's get Council meetings online
- ‘Dump Council’ campaign
- Cows in Karamu Stream
- Questions for HB ‘regional study’ director
- Let’s get Council meetings online
- 5 mayors in HB … ‘Yeah right’ says Tui
- Crucial Environment Court hearing underway
- Regional Council warns on pollution standards
- Democracy in action?
- 1+1+1 = 3 hours
- Councils’ reorganization survey results
