Included are submissions by:
- Angela Hair
- Barrie Ridler
- Bruno Chambers
- Chris Perley
- Gavin Kenny
- HB Fish & Game
- Jack Hughes
- Megan Rose & Andy Gifford
- Paul Bailey
- Pauline Elliott
- Phyllis Tichinin
- Te Taiao – coalition of HB conservation/environmental organisations
- Tom Belford
Some very probing analysis and insights here — economics, hydrology, environmental impacts, climate, farming practices … you name it. I’d match this team up anytime against the HBRC’s paid army. Happy to add more if submitters send them to BayBuzz (tom@baybuzz.co.nz).
If you want to point people to the BayBuzz page, it’s: https://baybuzz.co.nz//issues/tukituki-issues/
We’re promised that at some point HBRC will locate the manpower — or will power — to publish the submissions on its own site!
Meantime, here’s what Paul Paynter, general manager of Yummyfruit had to say yesterday in a Comment posted on BayBuzz:
“The dam scheme is now a dead duck. I’ve spoken to several prominent rural types and they are all saying pretty much the same thing – the assumptions are unsound, the risks are too high, economic uncertainty makes investment at anticipated levels unlikely…or they just say it’s plain bonkers.
Outside of dairying, not much stacks up financially. Even for dairying, check out the troubled Patoka conversions for sale on trademe – conversion costs were too high, production too low. These were smart commercial people playing with their own money – what do you reckon about councillors being smarter?
The HBRC are right to have looked at the opportunity. There is room for serious development in CHB; on the right scale, at the right time. I’m pretty sure we’re on the precipice of a big back-peddling PR phase, probably including a supplementary evaluation which will take a long time to produce and raise many concerns…that let this grandiose scheme die as quietly as possible.”
Paul … such an optimist!
Tom Belford
Hi while there may be argument to say this dam is a no go can I point outwe have been lucky over the last few yeas that we have not had the drought conditions experienced in the 90,s and some in the 2000,s One good summer drought and everyone will be looking for water. Having come from Canterbury where there has been very succesful water retention schemes one only has to talk to those farmers at Cust or Oxford to get feedback on the advantage of having water up thier sleeves as it were.Also being a keen fisherman the Lake Coleridge and upper Waimakariri catchments are a real asset in dry cycles. The council scheme isnt all bad.