Upgrade the Airport before its too late

For over 5 years a group of concerned citizens has been engaged in a battle with the Mayors of Napier and Hastings to get some action on upgrading the local airport so we can have passenger jets come here and perhaps even direct flights to Australia.

This battle has only been necessary because in 2004 the Airport Board accepted a very misleading $30 000 report from a well known firm of public accountants.

To put it bluntly the report was riddled with errors. Clearly the board did not realise how inadequate it was until the issue was exposed in local papers but then both they and the consultants failed to put matters right.

Incredibly neither the Mayors of Napier or Hastings did anything about it either.

Only after years of criticism did the two councils commission a second report in 2007 at a further cost to ratepayers of $60 000. At the same time a third privately funded report costing nearly $40 000 was commissioned.

The findings of both these new reports were so convincing, the Airport Board was instructed to develop plans to financing a runway extension to 1900 metres.

Another three years has been wasted but at long last the Airport Board has announced it is extending the runway to 1750 metres.

This will not give us flights to Australia, though it will allow other airlines such as Pacific Blue and Jet Star to fly domestic services and we badly need competition to break the Air New Zealand monopoly on on air services to Hawke's Bay.

Passenger jets will also allowed increased capacity at times or on special occasions when needed while providing the sort of aircraft that already fly to places such as Hamilton, Rotorua, Dunedin and Queenstown.

OK you say “who cares, doesn't affect me I never fly anyway”. This is a very narrow and selfish view of the situation. The same retarded thinking would have us still using stagecoaches, steam trains, morse code, or dial up internet instead of broadband.

If we are going to survive in today's tough world and compete with other cities for businesses, for conferences, for tourism and other forms of commerce then affordable, convenient air services are essential. Business people need regular contact with customers and suppliers.

The high cost of airfares has been given as the major reason local business people are deterred from travelling outside the area.

We should also continue the fight for direct links to Australia, this countries biggest source of manufactured imports, biggest export market, largest source of overseas investment monies, and biggest recipient of overseas investment by New Zealanders. Our business people need easy access to Australia to help them prosper and provide more employment . Right now they are seriously disadvantaged by having to fly via Auckland or Wellington at double the cost and double the travel time.

Over half of all New Zealanders travelling overseas, are heading to Australia. Many Hawke's Bay people have children, relatives or friends living in Australia who they would like to visit, or have visit.

And even more importantly Australia is the source of over half of all overseas visitors to this country. And that percentage is growing fast. If people in Australia find Hawke's Bay too difficult and expensive to travel to, they simply won't bother to come.

The visitor industry is a major employer. After the 3 main centres we are 7th largest of 29 regions for visitors but our growth rate is near lowest.

We pay through the nose for airfares and suffer from the other monopoly practices employed by Air New Zealand. Actions that should be illegal but somehow never seem to escape the attention of regulatory authorities. Excessive airfares could be robbing our community of at least $10 million a year.

So why has the airport board sat on its hands for so long? Probably because the airport is also a monopoly so there is no pressure for then to act. Its just a comfortable old man's club.

Why have our Mayors and other civic leaders dithered for so long? They seem willing to spend mega dollars trying to get people to come here, but have failed to make it easier for them to do so.

Remember it's not going to cost ratepayers a thing. The airport is profitable, about the only council activity that is, and has at least $5 million in reserves. More can be borrowed if needed.

In reality the extension should not stop at 1750 metres. The 1900 metres needed for direct flights to Australia has been estimated to cost as as little as a million dollars if done at the same time.

That's the order of money the Hastings District Council has to pour into Splash Plant or the Opera House every year.

Venture Hawke's Bay costs ratepayers $3 million dollars a year, and that organisation has a very unsatisfactory record of success.

May be you are one of the few who still don't agree with the runway extension. You are in the minority. The 2007 investigation found 90% support and only 3% opposed. A 30 to one majority of supporters over opponents.