May 04, 2016
Dam scheme corporate viagra
The chair of Ngati Kahungunu Inc says the giant Ruataniwha irrigation scheme is a shot of corporate Viagra designed to turn water in the central Hawkes Bay into a saleable commodity.
The regional council subsidiary promoting the scheme, Hawkes Bay Regional Investment Company, said last week it had enough farmers signed up to take water for the $333 million scheme to go ahead.
But Ngahiwi Tomoana says not only does the company’s environmental modelling not stack up, but its economic viability relies on the ratepayers of Waipawa and Waipukurau paying for water they now get for free.
"The ratepayer will bear the burden of a 'corporate viagra', i'll call it, where businesses and corporates are pushing to corporatise water and they are using any means in which to do so", he says.
Ngahiwi Tomoana says the Hawkes Bay Regional Council has kept Ngati Kahungunu at arms length through the process, choosing instead to work with the only two out of 24 hapu who support the scheme.
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