60% of our economy falls outside what is defined as “land-based”. Who are these firms and what role will they play in our economic development?
Wanted: Superstar Farmers
What separates our top-performing farmers and growers from the average and the mediocre?
CHB dam moves to next stage
I write this fresh from a meeting of the Regional Council today, where the decision was made to seek a resource consent, through a special Board of Inquiry process, for […]
Why the dam(n) hurry, Tim?
On Wednesday, the Regional Council makes its critical political decision on whether to proceed with its dam scheme for CHB. After this, there will be no turning back … unless […]
BayBuzz posts Tukituki submissions
Here on the BayBuzz website is an initial batch of submissions filed with respect to HBRC’s Tukituki Choices and the proposed dam project. Included are submissions by: Angela Hair Barrie […]
Arrogant, petrified or just dumb?
HB Today reported over the weekend that the HB Regional Council has decided to keep secret the 161 submissions that have been made as part of its Tukituki Choices ‘consultation’ […]
HDC forum on genetic modification
No, this isn’t about the Council’s representation review! On Wednesday October 24th the Hastings Council will conduct an all-day (9:30a-4p) forum in the Assembly Room of the Opera House presenting […]
What does ‘feasibility’ mean?!
What does “feasibility” mean? After two+ years and $8 million of studying the Tukituki catchment and preparing justification for its proposed Central Hawke’s Bay dam, the Regional Council has still […]
Tukituki Choices Submission
What follows is my submission for the Tukituki Choices ‘consultation’. Tukituki Choices is a breathtakingly deficient consultation document. As one Regional Councillor, a staunch supporter of the Council’s Tukituki plans, […]
Trading gumboots for boat shoes
Help Wanted Only competent farmers need apply According to the Regional Council, there’s only one way its proposed dam scheme for Central Hawke’s Bay can be commercially viable. And that’s […]
Groupthink
Groupthink is a term used by social psychologist Irving Janis (1972) describing a situation where a group makes faulty decisions because group pressures lead to a deterioration of “mental efficiency, […]
Consultation or seduction?
The window closes next Monday the 15th on the Regional Council’s ‘public consultation’ on its plans for the Tukituki, including the proposed CHB dam. For the Regional Council to call […]
Comments, please
I’ve received numerous messages lately about the recent lack of Comments or the difficulty of Commenting on BayBuzz posts and articles here on the website. First of all, let me […]
“We beg you to build the dam!”
Last Wednesday the Regional Council enthusiastically ‘received’ the staff report recommending the ‘feasibility’ of the $600 million CHB water storage scheme. The depth of Councillor questioning of the staff/consultant cadre […]
How NOT to make a $600 million decision
The Regional Council locomotive is thundering down some very wobbly rails, determined to get its dam project ‘fast tracked’ by the Environment Minister while the Nats are in power and […]
Don’t drink the Kool-Aid
Are the wheels starting to fall off the Regional Council’s dam? Two weeks ago, I published Hawke’s Bay’s Biggest Gamble Ever in the September/October BayBuzz magazine … an article about […]
More from Sep/Oct BayBuzz
[REMINDER: Can $600 million dam be a win/win? You can hear this issue debated by the Regional Council’s CEO, Andrew Newman, Tom Belford, EIT’s Roger Maaka, CHB farmer Hugh Ritchie […]
Debate: Can $500 million dam be a win/win?
You can hear this issue debated by the Regional Council’s CEO, Andrew Newman, Tom Belford, EIT’s Roger Maaka, CHB farmer Hugh Ritchie and Vaughan Cooper of Forest & Bird on […]
Sep/Oct BayBuzz Now Online
The latest BayBuzz magazine is now online. View it as published with our nifty online reader. Or check out individual feature articles here … Hawke’s Bay’s Biggest Gamble Ever, by […]
War of words
The black caped figure strode quickly through the alleyways of Napierion. As the figure reached Fortress Barbarossa, the closely-guarded headquarters of Barbarous Arnottus, Napierion’s legendary woman leader, he smiled to […]