TDC candidates split over dam

The Waimea dam project caused a division at a meet-the-candidates gathering for Tasman district mayoral and Richmond Ward hopefuls on Wednesday evening.

More than 100 people filled the Richmond Town Hall to listen to the four mayoral candidates – Maxwell Clark, Tim King, Brent Maru and Dean McNamara – along with six of the nine people running for four vacancies in the Richmond Ward – Mark Greening, Stan Holland, Kit Maling, Trevor Tuffnell, Gary Watson and Dana Wensley.

Clark is running as a ward candidate as well as for the mayoralty. Ward candidates Maurie White and Peter Lynch did not attend, although comments from Lynch were read by MC Victoria Guild.

Each candidate had two minutes to speak on the multimillion-dollar dam project now under construction in the Lee Valley.

Maling, an incumbent Richmond Ward councillor, rounded on Clark over a claim the mayoral candidate made about bedrock at the dam site. Clark has repeatedly made claims about a lack of bedrock in the past few months, including at a candidates’ meeting at Ma¯ pua in August.

Maling said he had asked Waimea Water Ltd chief executive Mike Scott about the matter, and been told that no drilling crew had been looking for rock. Waimea Water is the council-controlled organisation responsible for the construction, operation and maintenance of the dam.

Outside the meeting, Scott said the overburden had been cleared and ‘‘we’re on bedrock’’.

During the meeting, King said the dam had a long history and for the first 12 years, it was a ‘‘positive conversation’’.

‘‘However, when the conversation turned to cost and who pays, that positivity changed. It’s been one of the most challenging periods I’ve been through on the council, and it is very disappointing that we’ve ended up with such a diverse split in the community.’’

‘‘It’s been one of the most challenging periods I’ve been through on the council.’’

Tim King, mayoral candidate

With the governance in place and the contractors engaged, the dam would be built successfully and the water it provided ‘‘will benefit this region for many generations to come’’, King said.

Maru said that in terms of the process, ‘‘it’s not flash, and I am a little bit worried about what else I’ll find out’’. He would dedicate ‘‘100 per cent of my time’’ to making sure the project came in on budget and on time.

McNamara said information had been released about ‘‘secret contracts’’ locking in ratepayers to the dam build.

‘‘These are only some of the contracts and clauses that I found were not in the ratepayers’ best interests. Many of these remain hidden from the public.’’

Wensley said she was known as the U-turn councillor, but ‘‘I voted strategically at each stage to get the very best deal for my ratepayers’’.

‘‘Sometimes, yes, I voted for the dam, sometimes I voted against it, depending on the question in front of me,’’ she said.

Watson said he would like to see a complete review of the dam project. He feared that costs were going to ‘‘rise dramatically’’.

Tuffnell said that of 31 council projects over the past two years, 29 had been completed on time.

Holland said Waimea Water was in control of building, operating and maintaining the dam but the council was the majority stakeholder ‘‘and is in the position through good governance to enforce accountability’’.

Greening said he agreed with McNamara. ‘‘In fact, I’m endorsing Dean for mayor.’’ The dam proposal was fundamentally flawed on financial and environmental bases, he said.