Reading Time: 4 minutes Gisborne is not facing local government reform ructions but is going to have to speak louder to central Government to get a better regional deal, Charlie Reynolds says. “The Government’s failure to come to the table on forestry slash management and retiring the worst of our erosion-prone land is a glaring example of Wellington’s ‘out of sight, out of mind’ approach to Tairāwhiti,” the Federated Farmers Gisborne-Wairoa president says. “Just as bad is their ‘patch it up and fingers crossed it
will hold together’ attitude to our state highways. “We’re going to have to fight harder for our share of central government attention and funding to help secure our future prosperity.” The coalition Government’s is moving to abolish New Zealand’s 11 regional councils from 2028, and is pushing for bigger unitary councils – ones that perform the functions of both regional and city/district councils. Gisborne is already served by a unitary council, as is Auckland and four other districts. “We may consider ourselves immune from some
of the heated amalgamation debates being generated in other parts of New Zealand by this seismic jolt to local government. “But the Government says one of the reasons it wants fewer, larger councils is that it makes it easier to negotiate regional and city deals when a larger area is united on what it needs, rather than squabbling over district priorities,” Reynolds says. “Gisborne, on its own, may find it even harder to get the Government’s ear when councils in places such as Waikato, Canterbury,
Northland and Southland combine.” In terms of proximity, Wairoa is more aligned to Gisborne than to Hawke’s Bay, but it seems unlikely Wairoa residents would seek to throw in their lot with Gisborne District Council. “That would be like a pretty broke district want to be part of one that is just as financially stretched. “At least the Hawke’s Bay region appears able to deliver on roading standards.” Reynolds says on a recent trip to Whanganui he was struck by the relative economic buoyancy of
that district compared to Gisborne/Tairāwhiti. “We’re both destination districts. You have to make a deliberate turn off main routes of travel to get to us – more so us than them. “Primary industries underpin both our local economies and Gisborne even has a slightly bigger population. “But Whanganui has more supermarkets and other city businesses, and their roading networks are so much better.” Reynolds says he detoured to look at Marton, where he’d gone to prep school as a lad. “I got off the state
highway onto council-funded roads and, my god, those roads are better than our SH2. They’re country roads and they’ve got passing lanes. “Even on SH3 from Whanganui to Palmerston North, there were passing lanes every five kilometres or so. “I know I may not be comparing apples with apples but it really does feel like our roading projects are left in the slow lane. “There hasn’t been any move to get input from us as stakeholders in the Waioeka Gorge. “NZTA has cleared the slips,
and it’s very welcome news the gorge is get a share of $400 million earmarked to tackle drainage, slope stabilisation and rockfall protection at known weak spots on key provincial roads. “But there’s no talk about how we might future-proof that route in the longer term.” Reynolds says he’s equally stumped on where Gisborne can go on forestry and land use issues. Foresters continue to claim Gisborne District Council’s tougher resource consent conditions on road engineering and clear-fell harvesting are regulatory over-reach. “Farmers with forestry
blocks are getting caught up in that too, and it impacts succession planning because revenue from timber has in the past been an important way to fund that process of passing the land on to the next generation. “But at least farmers have options to plant poplars to stabilise slopes and we can graze the land.” Federated Farmers and Gisborne council applied to the Government for $359 million to help with retirement of 100,000 ha of the most erosion-prone land back into native bush. “They
told us we were being unrealistic, and now it’s stalemate. “Farmers and foresters are willing to do their part but the Government also needs to front. “They’re part of what got us here. They and everyone else treated East Coast land as being best for pines and little else, and then drove that further with the ETS. “It’s clear to me that if Tairāwhiti is to get a better deal over it’s future, we’re going to have to stand up and push harder with whoever
is in government.” Federated Farmers, New Zealand’s leading independent rural advocacy organisation, has established a news and insights partnership with AgriHQ, the country’s leading rural publisher, to give the farmers of New Zealand a more informed, united and stronger voice. Federated Farmers news and commentary appears each week in its own section of the Farmers Weekly print edition and online. Views shared does not represent that of Farmers Weekly.
Gisborne, Tairāwhiti, Charlie Reynolds, Federated Farmers, regional councils, unitary councils, roading, Waioeka Gorge, NZTA, $400 million, forestry slash management, erosion-prone land, $359 million, 100,000 ha, ETS, poplars, resource consents, AgriHQ