Craig Little: Wairoa Mayor calls for apology from Hawke's Bay Regional Council following flood damage

Wairoa's Mayor is demanding an apology from the Hawke's Bay Regional Council after last week's flooding.

The bill is expected to top $40 million, with more than 100 properties significantly damaged.

The district is still recovering from Cyclone Gabrielle last year, and ratepayers are already facing a 20 percent rates rise.

Mayor Craig Little says the council hasn't been able to pinpoint what went wrong.

"They treat us like we're a small population, yet we're 30 percent of the land area of Hawke's Bay, 60 percent of the water mass - they do other things down there and they don't do it here."

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
That's all Wide We're talking about this. Yesterday, the mayor
of Widehwall wants a public apology from Hawks Bay Regional
Council for its response to the flooding last week. As
I told you, when they get bad weather in Widower,
they go on through the contractor and they clear the
bar at the mouth of the Widewer River in order
to make sure that as much water gets out to
see as possible. But ahead of this bad weather coming

(00:21):
in the council and I'm talking about the Hawks Bay
Regional Council only got that contractor there about twenty four
hours in advance, which was not nearly enough time. We
asked Hawks Bay Regional Council to come on the show today.
What a surprise. They didn't want to talk about it.
But Widawa Mayor Craig Little is with us. Now, Hey, Craig,
hi there, how are you? I'm very well, thank you.
You get a call from Mark Mature yesterday saying there's

(00:41):
going to be an inquiry one hundred.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
So that's good. That's the first start. I'm ready to
go yet, but you know it, just asking it on
the street and they'll tell you what went wrong.

Speaker 1 (00:52):
What went wrong?

Speaker 2 (00:54):
O from the bar in time, too little, too late,
and you know, don't talk down to us.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
Actually to us, they say, if they had gone in
there like on the on the Monday, let's say, before
the bad weather, it would have simply filled the bar
up again by Wednesday. Is it true?

Speaker 2 (01:11):
There's incredible that he can say that when you sit
in an office probably two and a half three hours
drive away and then from the road that gets closed
anyway it rains. So no, that they're not correct.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Do you think that they're up to actually? I mean
should they be doing this or should you guys be
doing this? Because they seem like they're numpties.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
We've asked them what's gone wrong because we used to
have local decision makers here based on why they didn't
really get it wrong very often, but now it's just never.
It's just, you know, nothing happens and we can plead
like hell and nothing happens.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
What do you know the scope of the inquiry? Do
you know how long it's going to take or anything
like that.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
I think it's going to be. I don't think Mark
wants to muck around. He's heard something out and care
what went wrong. We've got a lot of information there
now we're sort of we're saying that people, hey, you've
got any information, can give it to us, because now
people saying, what do I do with this? And I'm
not happy, and I say, give it to me. And
so we've got a folder. Hopefully by the time they
started that they can just grab and have a look
at it.

Speaker 1 (02:04):
Oh, so they haven't started yet. When are they starting.

Speaker 2 (02:08):
I think they're starting as soon as possible. I don't
know as he announced that yet, he didn't tell me
it's going to happen.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
No, well, look, we have our ways of finding these
things out. We were speaking to Nichola Willis on the
show last night and she let it slip.

Speaker 2 (02:19):
Yeah, I think I think he's in town tomorrow. I'm
pretty sure by the sound have.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
We have we pre announced his announcement? Do you think?

Speaker 2 (02:26):
I don't know. I don't know, because everyone's been asking,
everyone's been telling me about it. Quite I was saying, hey,
it looks like you have an inquiry. I'm going, oh, okay,
that sounds good.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
I'm stoked for you that you have in an inquiry.
What is the relationship with Hawks Bay Regional Council?

Speaker 2 (02:38):
Like, ah, look, look we get on but but it
We've always felt that they treat us like we're a
small population. Yet we're thirty percent of the land air
of Hawk's Bay, we're sixty percent of the water mass,
and we just you know, never get what we want.
And you know, they just they do other things down

(02:58):
there and they don't do it here.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
Craig, these are the same people who stuffed up the
Esque Valley response.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
Right.

Speaker 1 (03:05):
I don't know if you remember this, but when Cyclone
Gabrielle came through, people were calling Hawks Bay Regional Council
saying do we need to evacuate? And they were saying, no, absolutely, fine,
you're overreacting, and then guess what happened in this valley.
So these people have form when it comes to not
making the right calls. Do you think that it should be?
What was that?

Speaker 2 (03:23):
I just think they don't listen. They're above listening to
the public, and that's where the elected members should come
in their role as a conjuc between the public and
the operations. And is it working here in Viiral while?
I'm beginning to wonder because that, you know, people just
feel like they've been just spoken down to every time
they complain.

Speaker 1 (03:42):
Do these people Craig, should these people actually be in
charge of this stuff? Shouldn't it? I mean, should an
outcome of this, of this inquiry be that if it
is found that they have stuffed this up, they do
not get to do this anymore, someone else us to
do it.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
Do you think that we believe we could do it
better than our say, look, you've got gisbel Gizmeal is
a unitary council. They make their own decisions, they do everything.
We have to go cap in hand down to hooks day.
You know, it's just not working. Yeah, working, it can work,
but not working like it should work.

Speaker 1 (04:08):
What do you want? Do you want an apology?

Speaker 2 (04:11):
Oh? Gosh, yes, with us for apology, because that gives
people a bit of hope that we can move on.
But with no apology, it's just like saying, well, actually
nothing is wrong here.

Speaker 1 (04:22):
Yeah, good stuff. Hey listen, Craig, thank you very much,
the best of luck, and I hope the inquiry finds
exactly what I think we're going to find. That is
Craig Little, the Mayor of whir Or. So stand by
for the announcement tomorrow, which you appear to know everything
about already.

Speaker 2 (04:35):
For more from hither Duplessy Allen Drive, Listen live

Speaker 1 (04:38):
To news talks they'd be from four pm weekdays, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio