Napier Mayor talks about doing his bit for fellow man.

 

Napier Mayor Bill Dalton talks about doing his bit for fellow man....

It is interesting to note the number of pro-amalgamation people, when writing  to the press, that mention my name, usually in the first sentence. Their leading attack writer usually manages to mention me at least half a dozen times in each misguided piece he writes.

I suppose if they are having a go at me they are leaving someone else alone so I’m doing my bit for my fellow man!
In a recent piece, one of these writers, under a heading of amalgamation can and must be done, wrote a wonderfully fanciful story that added strength to those who oppose amalgamation – especially those who have changed their minds to support our position.

Of course he talked briefly about debt and suggested once again that Napier has under-invested in infrastructure. Despite the fact we have proven conclusively that is not true, these fellows cling to falsehoods the way a child clings to its mother’s skirt.

Like all fanciful stories, a bit of humour helps and our writer went on to tell us how changing the structure of local government will reduce unemployment and solve the problem of an aging population. The list of things amalgamation will do seems to grow every day. We have already been told it will sole the problem of mental health issues, excessive  smoking, hazardous drinking and too many teenage pregnancies. I’m sure the list will continue to grow as desperation really takes hold.

Our writer then goes on to suggest I have been both misleading and a liar to suggest that councils could co-operate. He even tells us that councils have never co-operated in the past.

It’s always a great shame when people write with great self appointed authority from a position of ignorance. There are well over 30 (I think the true figure is 38) areas where the Napier and Hastings councils are working co-operatively together. The HBRC, WDC, CHB and NCC have also been making great progress in terms of co-operating in the interests of efficiency. When the amalgamation debate has been put to bed and the HDC no longer has any need to try and show we don’t or won’t work together, I’m sure they will be happy to be part of the progress we have made.

When will some of these people get up to speed with the truth? To suggest that HB missed out on a velodrome because of a lack of co-operation is simply rubbish. It might help shore up the weakening ABHB campaign but it is not the truth. NCC contributed financially to the bid and put $1M aside if the bid was successful. The velodrome was always going to somewhere in reach of Auckland because it would be needed there if major international games were held in the queen city.

I won’t bother discussing our writers claims that surgery can now be done by robots. I have no idea what that claim lumped in with something about supermarket checkout operators has to do with the amalgamation debate.

Our poor old scribe, obviously running out of puff, then tells us that “those who stand (presumably for his mythical super-council) must want to make all of Hawkes Bay a better place.  What a funny thing to say! I don’t know one current elected representative, from any council, who doesn’t want all of Hawkes Bay to be a better place.

I have been out to the Horse of the Year for three days and I congratulate everyone involved on what is the biggest single event, in economic terms, in Hawkes Bay. Hastings as hosts, are doing a great job because they are able to focus on these “of the land” events. They do these sort of things (horse racing, polo, A&P show etc) much better than Napier could because they understand them better. In Napier we are able to focus on the things that we do well and of course the whole of HB benefits from the ability of both cities to focus on what they do well.

We need to work more co-operatively and collaboratively but amalgamation will remove our communities ability to focus on what they do well.

- Napier Mayor Bill Dalton.