The proposed Ruataniwha dam site. Photo: SUPPLIED
A vote to establish a trust for the controversial Ruataniwha dam is a Trojan horse to advance the previously quashed scheme, a Hawke's Bay water advocacy group says.
On Thursday, seven of nine Central Hawke's Bay District councillors voted to support the establishment of the Hawke's Bay Water Trust and appoint a trustee to it.
Despite the council's repeated claims that a vote for the trust was not a vote for the dam, the Ruataniwha scheme dominated the discourse.
Plans for the nearly billion-dollar dam were scuppered in 2017 when the Supreme Court deemed a land swap unlawful.
But it has been recently revived under the government's new Fast-track Approvals Bill, and was back in the spotlight at a council meeting two weeks ago - for the first time in years - where a proposal for the trust was presented.
The council said the purpose of the charitable trust was to explore water security in the region, which included the dam.
"We need to address water security, but we can't fund everything we need to do which is why a trust is being stood up.
"The trust will explore the water storage consents related to the Makaroro River and intellectual property from the previous 'Ruataniwha' scheme."
But advocacy group Wise Water Use Hawke's Bay said the trust was "simply a Trojan horse to advance the Ruataniwha dam".
Spokesperson Trevor Le Lievre said the council's lawyers had delivered on a legal structure to transfer the scheme's intellectual property and water consents.
"This trust deed is almost exclusively dedicated to 'the scheme', defined as the Ruataniwha dam, with just a couple of passing references to unspecified water security initiatives."
He was one of four members of the public to address the council ahead of Thursday's vote - all of whom opposed the trust, using a variety of colourful language.
In a nod to the infamous 'Yeah Right' billboards from the beer company Tui, the first speaker said the trust's purpose was to advance the Ruataniwha dam under the guise of legitimacy.
"To say anything else, in my opinion, would simply be a Tui ad."
He disputed the council's position that the trust would ease the financial burden on ratepayers.
"We'll we're going to pay the highest cost ... and that is going to be our river, and also our conservation land."
Another speaker, drawing on long career in insurance and legal liability, said he would "be unlikely to recommend to any insurer that they provide comprehensive legal protection to either the council or the trust".
The final speaker, Mongrel Mob lifetime member Johnny Nepe Apatu, told the crowd why he opposed the trust and the dam.
"This dam is going to kill life force in our area and it's going to kill and my mokopuna in 40 years time.
"We've got a shortage of water now, and what you're going to do with the daming up the Makaroro is you're going to spoil 22 acres that were stolen from us."
He urged the councillors not to vote to establish the trust, and warned them that they should expect a fight.
"This is our last bastion. Our land's gone, our sea's gone, and you want to take our water - what my mokopuna are expecting.
"Where the hell are you fellas coming from?
"If you want a fight, we're going to give you a bloody good fight.
"I'll make sure that I leave here with my mokopuna knowing that I didn't sit on my arse and do nothing about this s*** that's going here, kia ora."
Council chief executive Doug Tate told councillors that despite public feedback on the trust focusing primarily on the dam, a vote for the trust was not a vote for the Ruataniwha scheme.
"That isn't the process for you to work through today in terms of your decision making.
"That is for a future trust, that is for a future entity and there are a number of significant steps that still need to be worked through outside of this organisation, this council."
Ultimately, seven councillors voted in support of establishing a trust, while two councillors voted against.
Mayor Alex Walker said the region knew better than most that water was the most precious resource.
"That's why we have voted to appoint a community member to the trust. The purpose of the trust is to explore water security, including the already consented dam as one of the tools in the kit."