You might not be aware, but Hawke’s Bay has a Regional Economic Development Agency (REDA).
Its Board was appointed in December 2022. It was officially incorporated as a limited liability company in September 2023. And its CEO, Lucy Laitinen was appointed in August 2023. It is funded by HB’s five councils at the rate of $1.7m per year.
Its mission is to advance the economic growth of Hawke’s Bay including, under the tutelage of its current Chair, Alasdair MacLeod, a firm commitment to growth for all – improving the economic prospects of those on the bottom rungs of HB’s economic ladder.
REDA gave the HB Regional Council an update on its activities last week. Its agenda is heavy on studies, commissioning for example a detailed economic profile of Hawke’s Bay (done by Infometrics and reported here by BayBuzz) and a review into the telecom service failures and vulnerabilities encountered during Cyclone Gabrielle (reported here by BayBuzz).
More such work is in the pipeline – for example, building a case for significant improvement of State Highway 2 to Wairoa as an essential to improving that area’s economic prospects, inquiring into the persistent gap between HB employers’ workforce needs and available suitable local employees, and identifying the economic costs of poor health outcomes for parts of the HB community.
Not exactly ‘edge of your seat’ stuff, but informative underpinnings for understanding the region’s limitations and opportunities. And probably not what most folks – simplistically – think a REDA should be doing … like somehow luring new businesses from Auckland to our province.
So it remains to be seen whether this REDA will succeed – and build an enthusiastic, appreciative constituency – where a number of its predecessor agencies have failed.
Amalgamation by stealth
Already REDA is under review as part of a ‘behind the scenes’ rethink of how a number of HB’s ‘regional’ enterprises should function, collaborate and be held accountable — a ‘Regional Architecture’ review.
On that review list would be the Matariki Governance Group (there’s a phantom you’ve probably never heard of!), the HB Regional Recovery Agency, REDA, and HB Tourism (each with its own Board). Also considered will be the ramifications of whatever regional entity is set up to deliver our water services.
And I would ask, why stop there? HB has at least a dozen more council-created entities floating around to pursue ‘regional’ objectives.
In case you are wondering, the Matariki Governance Group (MGG) is made up of leaders from the five HB Councils, Iwi and six Post Settlement Governance Entities (PSGEs). Presently co-chaired by CHB Mayor Alex Walker and Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa Chairperson Leon Simes.]
Seems like all of a sudden we have so much ‘regionalism’ in Hawke’s Bay that we don’t know what to do with it. Including what the accountability mechanisms and transparency requirements should be.
And so MGG has directed that a ‘Regional Architecture’ review be undertaken. From the Terms of Reference for the review:
“MGG has heavily invested in the establishment of REDA to form a long-term structure to provide a regional view of economic development, supported by funding from each Council. MGG has also heavily invested as a region to establish the scaffolding of the RRA as we recover from Cyclone Gabrielle. From these agencies, the region has seen the benefits of taking a unified regional approach to advocacy – especially to central government.
“It is an appropriate time to consider how the region organises itself to ensure it can meet the big opportunities and challenges ahead. This includes thinking about how the region is best positioned to own, lead, and/or have appropriate oversight over, initiatives and responsibilities that might flow from a future Regional Deal and/or Central Government regulatory reforms.”
The review objectives:
Provide clarity on Matariki Governance Group (MGG) regional functions and the options for delivery of those functions within a simple, efficient, and enduring regional architecture.
Provide clarity on the funding implications of regional support and delivery options.
Provide clarity on local government requirements relating to accountability and transparency.
This exercise is being overseen by ‘Project Sponsors’ HDC chief executive Nigel Bickle, CHBDC chief executive Doug Tate and Darren Russell, chief executive, Tamatea Pōkai Whenua, with the grunt work carried out by a consulting team led by HDC staffer Gus Charteris (author of a previous examination of HB’s economic development efforts).
Amalgamation by stealth … hoorah! Stay tuned for a draft report due late-February.
Amalgamation by any (or most anyway) means is definitely a plus in my opinion – I still have no idea why such a small population base needs so many councils – roll on amalgamation (by stealth is fine!)
I agree unite Napier & Hastings let’s share the land of the Heretanga plains to help all communities prosper to thrive for the future generations. Without being GREEDY or thinking ones better than other, learn of each other to become equal. (Save money)
By all means, please…….30+ years too late….what a waste!
Hastings and Napier are definitely in competition for rates. Rates income is improved greatly by rezoning and building. So rather than making decisions on a rational regional basis, they are competing for a bigger slice of the pie.
The battle will be won by having land with a cheaper price tag, which means rezoning in convenient locations, not optimal locations. So Hastings will tack any development onto productive soils on the edge of the city, rather than looking as settlement on poorer soils such as Paki Paki or Te Awanga. I fantasize about a settlement with its own solar/wind power generation, on top of a grand septic system, with sheep to keep the grass down. The future is decentralisation.