First 100 days … what matters to HB?

The Government has announced 49 actions it will take in its first 100 days.

Some of those would affect all New Zealanders, at least indirectly, like #14: Stop blanket speed limit reductions, and #42: setting five major targets for health system.

Some won’t affect us in Hawke’s Bay, like #5: Withdraw central government from Let’s get Wellington Moving, and #35: Sign an MOU with Waikato University to progress a third medical school, and #10: Remove the Auckland Fuel Tax.

Some will affect a few of us in Hawke’s Bay, like #38: Ban the use of cellphones in schools, and #26: Introduce legislation to ban gang patches, stop gang members gathering in public, and stop known gang offenders from communicating with one another.

But others will have specific ramifications for Hawke’s Bay’s road ahead. Here they are (italics are editor’s comments):

#4: Begin efforts to double renewable energy production, including drawing up a national policy statement on renewable electricity generation. [HB’s smart businesses are already moving ahead with solar, and our first wind farm is coming on line.]

#6: Meet with councils and communities to establish regional requirements for recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle and other recent major flooding events. [Our region is well rehearsed for this, with a comprehensive briefing ready for incoming ministers, prepared by our Regional Recovery Agency.]

#7: Make any additional Orders in Council needed to speed up cyclone and flood recovery efforts. [This is the sort of thing that allowed us, given the urgency, to temporarily burn flood debris that might contain hazardous material.]

#20: Introduce legislation to repeal the Water Services Entities Act 2022. [This is the assault on 3 Waters reform. Very dangerous waters ahead for HB ratepayers.]

#21: Repeal the Spatial Planning and Natural and Built Environment Act; introduce a fast-track consenting regime. [A case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. HB desperately needs a regional spatial plan … and our local officials know it. And a stable environmental regulatory framework.]

#40: Begin disestablishing Te Pukenga. [Back to good old EIT … pros and cons here.]

#41: Begin work on delivering better public services and strengthening democracy. [Sounds innocuous and certainly vague, but here is where much of the roll-back of ‘excessive’ tilt toMāori inclusiveness and cultural respect is hidden.]

#42: Introduce legislation to disestablish the Māori Health Authority. [Obviously this reaches, as does #41, beyond HB, but with our 27% Māori population, clearly underserved by the previous health system, this has major implications for our region.]

Plenty here to keep an eye on … stay tuned!