The fuel rods are overheating. The pressure is building. The atmosphere is toxic. The pipes are bursting. The staff is exhausted. And making mistakes.
The HB Regional Council is nearing full meltdown.
All the result of HBRC’s operating motto …
The mess so far …
- A leaky roof on its headquarters building, costing $2 million to repair;
- Dead dogs after exposure to the Tukituki;
- Hazardous health warnings (human & animal) posted along the river;
- Poo ponds in Waipukurau and Waipawa still polluting;
- A deteriorating relationship with the region’s primary iwi, Ngati Kahungunu;
- Directors of its holding company seek major increases in fees, as per ‘recommendations’ of HBRC’s chief financial officer
(Ooops! He didn’t read the recommendation memo, despite his signature appearing on it!); - A half-baked reorganisation proposal sprung on colleagues inside and outside of HB by Chairman Wilson;
- A webcasting system, promised a year ago, that fails to record the meeting where the directors’ fees debacle and reorg debate occurs.
All this on top of public alarm at the Council’s speed, lack of informed consultation and – given the above circumstances – perhaps competence to manage its $600 million dam scheme.
Caution! Radiation Warning!
Pass along the warning.
Tom Belford
Tom,
you forgot the one about the company actively considering a “Public offer” possibly exposing the Directors to “large fines and even jail terms in the event that the Prospectus was subsequently found to be misleading.”
The ‘elephant in the room’ is the upcoming local body election. The elected councillors must be wondering what the CEO is trying to do to them with recent events. Regaining control is a matter of urgency for the councillors, or their political futures might evaporate.
Tom, you forgot about the councils Group Manger for Resource Management Iain Maxwell hob knobing with the oil companies at the Pertrolum Summit.