Second Council Quits Hawke’s Bay Climate Committee

Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 6:55 pm
Article: Linda Hall - Local Democracy Reporter

Wairoa District Council has pulled the plug on the Hawke’s Bay Climate Action Joint Committee after councillors questioned its value.

Napier City Council voted to leave in March with Deputy Mayor Annette Brosnan saying it was an “ineffective structure with little to show to date for its existence”.

That leaves Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, Hastings District Council and Central Hawke’s Bay District Council.

Wairoa District Council mayor Craig Little said it was important Wairoa was recognised as a large catchment of Hawke’s Bay and given the same priorities as the rest of the region.

“The HB Regional Climate Change Risk Assessment report predominantly uses data that already existed,” Little said.

“It did not involve a visit to Wairoa, that we are aware of, or discussions with our relevant staff.

“It highlights the fact Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has collected very little information on the Wairoa district, eg the Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazard Strategy 2120, which doesn’t carry on into the Wairoa district, and the fact the Wairoa River was never included in HBRC’s ‘outstanding water bodies’.”

A spokesperson for HBRC said it was important every district felt seen, heard, and accurately represented in regional work like the Climate Change Risk Assessment.

“While the report does rely heavily on existing data, we want to acknowledge the Wairoa District Council staff who were involved in the process, including attending in-person workshops facilitated by Urban Intelligence, and contributing local insights and data.

“We’ve also had multiple meetings to try to ensure Wairoa-specific information was included. If any parts of the process didn’t feel meaningful or inclusive, we want to learn from that.

“The Joint Committee is a collaborative effort, with equal representation from all five councils – including Mayor Little and Councillors Roz Thomas and Denise Eaglesome-Karekare for Wairoa.

“We value their voice and remain committed to working in good faith with all partners to strengthen trust, improve future processes, and ensure every district – including Wairoa – sees itself reflected in this important work.”

They said all councils were committed to the Joint Committee until the end of the trimester (October this year).

Hastings District Council mayor Sandra Hazlehurst says it has two key focus areas for climate change, adaptation (preparing for the physical impacts of climate change) and mitigation (reducing greenhouse gas emissions).

“Adaptation considerations include a focus on designing and building core infrastructure and ensuring our land use planning and rules support development in areas not subject to significant natural hazards.

“Mitigation includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable transport, energy efficiency and waste reduction.

“These are vital for ensuring the future wellbeing of our people, and whether it’s a regional joint committee or some other arrangement will be decided by Hastings’ councillors in the next triennium,” Hazlehurst said.

Central Hawke’s Bay District Council mayor Alex Walker says the region is no stranger to climate change.

“We’ve experienced the brunt of it and know how vital it is to be resilient, the impacts are real. We experienced two years of sustained drought in 2020 and 2021, the ‘wettest year on record’ in 2022, followed by Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023,” she said.

“Where and how we live, and work in our district will change, and how we invest in our infrastructure must be responsible and informed.

"Our council is kaitiaki of over $1 billion of infrastructure assets and we must ensure every dollar we spend to repair, rebuild or improve is done through a lens of a changing climate. This is why we are part of the collaborative work in the region on climate change."

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