Alas, say Smith and Jones
Councillors who voted no to the Waimea dam project deserve the wrath of the community if there is a dry summer with crop losses, job losses and disruptions to domestic and industrial water supplies, says Nelson MP Nick Smith.
‘‘This decision puts us in the hands of the weather gods,’’ he said. ‘‘The naysayers have won the day without putting forward a credible alternative.
‘‘I appreciate the $38m cost to the Tasman council was a big ask,’’ Smith said. ‘‘I’m disappointed I wasn’t in Government to help fill that $23m gap.’’
The National MP, who has been a longtime supporter of the dam project, said the ‘‘negative decision’’ by the council meant millions of dollars of investment from the Government and private investors had been ‘‘thrown away’’. ‘‘Every major infrastructure project, whether it was the Cobb or Maitai dams or the Ruby Bay or Stoke bypasses, seemed expensive at the time, but in hindsight were great value for money,’’ Smith said. ‘‘The worst outcome for the region is doing nothing. We cannot as a region go on kicking the can down the road and deferring the difficult decisions.’’
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones, who advocated to keep the dam project as part of the coalition agreement, said the thinking of councillors who opposed it belonged to ‘‘economic midgets, not regional leaders’’.
Jones said the decision by ‘‘political mannequins’’ reinforced the need for a reform of water services – drinking water, stormwater and wastewater – including the potential aggregation of local government water functions.