Letters 16 December
1080 drop
The Animal Health Board is scheduled to drop 1080 by helicopter during 2012 between the Anatoki and Aorere Rivers. For anyone wishing to be more informed about 1080, and the reasons for and against its use, information can be obtained from the following websites:
www.1080.org.nz
www.science1080.co.nz
www.ahb.org.nz
www.epa.govt.nz
The public health and safety protocols for the aerial application of 1080 are defined by the local medical officer of health. To find out more about these protocols and the relevant resource consent, contact Tasman District Council.
If you wish to register an objection pending the 1080 aerial operation, on or near your property or in your recreational area, go to the ESPC (Environmentally Safe Pest Control) website at <www1080.org.nz> and click no.11 “what you can do”.
Fiona Cameron
1080 drop
In July an aerial drop of 1080 is planned by the Animal Health Board to cover an area between One Spec Road to the Aorere gold fields which includes the Pupu Springs. Rick Lowe of TDC has resource consent for Taylors Contracting to spray 25 river banks to control vegetation in the Tasman District. This is to be completed before April, length of river banks to be sprayed range from 1.3km to 30km. Plus TDC will be spraying our road sides with any combination of the following chemicals, Glyphosate (RoundUp), Metsulfuron, Terbuthy-Lazine, Triclopyr and Pulse.
Riverbanks in Golden Bay to be sprayed are: Takaka River: from Paynes Ford to 5km upstream of Lindsays Bridge. Anatoki River: from the confluence with the Takaka River upstream for 6km. Waingaro River: from the confluence with the Takaka River upstream for 6km. Kaituna River: from the confluence with the Aorere River upstream for 6km. Aorere River: between Ferntown Bridge and Rockville about the line of Pa Road. This is an aerial spray for gorse, broom, and mixed willow species. No spraying will be carried out over water.
As Paynes Ford, Aorere and the Takaka River are used extensively by swimmers I feel that we should be given information as to when it is to take place so those who want to avoid breathing in or having skin contact have a choice. As yet I have had no reply. If anyone has concerns regarding the river bank spraying Rick Lowe can be contacted at 03 546 0673 or email <Rick.J.Lowe@nz.mwhglobal.com>. Selwyn Steedman, regarding roadside spraying, is out of the office until 16 January.
A public meeting will be arranged for after Christmas to discuss the above toxins in our environment.
Felicity Fitz-William
Summer Boredom Busters
The Boredom Buster magazine is now at schools, the library, i -SITE, GB Community Centre and TDC office. There will be all the favourites like archery, mini MX bike riding, rifle shooting and pizza making. Armada Day at Parapara is also back. The programme starts on 16 January BUT please book early so you don’t miss out.
Dave Myall, Boredom Buster organiser
Pohara picnic table
Recently a crew of young people had a party on the beach and even though there was an abundance of firewood, they decided to throw on a couch and a perfectly good picnic table. That picnic table was enjoyed by many people in the community and had remained happily unbolted and unvandalised for a number of years. It seems that the police won’t do anything about it as it wasn’t any identifiable individual’s property.
Can these people please grow a conscience and replace the table for the community? If they can’t on their own steam, can the parents of this group please prod them into action.
Shane Rosemeyer
Dogs in CBD survey
I just wanted to let you know the results of the Golden Bay dog survey that a group of us recently carried out. Over a period of two months nearly 400 people filled out the survey.
We said “Takaka is the only township in the Tasman district with a total ban on dogs in the CBD. This is a survey to gain views in our community. Do you agree that the bylaw should be changed to allow dogs on a leash in the Takaka CBD?”
Owners of the following services offered surveys for people to fill out: The Top Shop, The Organic Shop, The Dangerous Kitchen, Monza, Schnapp Dragon Distillery, Brief Affair, Kuketa Designs, The Village Theatre and the Vet Clinic.
Just to give you an overview of the results - of the 391 people who filled out the survey, 343 people agreed dogs should be allowed through town on a leash. Just over one hundred of the people in favour of dogs in town on a leash either lived or worked within the CBD. Of the 42 visitors who filled out the survey, 40 were in favour of dogs being allowed in town on a leash. Even with the usual margin of error you find in all social research, those results speak for themselves. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this research.
Charlotte Squire
Professional bank service
I would like to comment on the professional, friendly response I witnessed being given to some very difficult customers at the Westpac Bank in Takaka over the last few days. I was astounded that part of the complaint was that the staff were not “locals”. To the officers in question – well done and please be assured that this narrow-mindedness is not the feeling of the majority. Welcome to Golden Bay.
Gillian Cunningham
Health care in Golden Bay
We have all been surprised by the news that land has been generously donated to the Rototai Centre Charitable Trust for a new medical centre opposite the schools on Rototai Road. What a wonderful Christmas present for Golden Bay residents!
It was demonstrated at the Takaka River Flood hazard open day last month that this site would not be flooded in the event of a major flood.
What affect will this land donation have on the plans for a Golden Bay Integrated Family Health Centre at the hospital?
I was pleased to hear at their open day on Monday from District Health Board chief executive officer John Peters that the integrated health group will meet the new Rototai Health Centre trust on 19 December to discuss the implications of this new option. I hope that the people in charge (on both sides) are able to come to an agreement which serves the need for a new medical centre as well as the need for a rest home. The Rototai option would cost far less than the $7.6 million required for the integrated project.
Maybe they will find that leaving the hospital where it is and incorporating a rest home with it and building a new medical centre at the Rototai site is the best solution?
Rudolf Samper
Health care in Golden Bay
Wait a minute. Hold that train. Trend need not be destiny.
The IMG has informed the community of the $5,000,000 mortgage intended for the Golden Bay Integrated Family Health Centre. IMG announced a 5.2% fixed interest rate for 20 years, though they admitted that nothing is guaranteed. Payments on $5,000,000 would be $402,632.40 per year, or $8,050,000 over 20 years. A 7% fixed rate, more likely, costs $9,300,000.
An unreasonable amount, millions of dollars of interest, added to the cost of a purpose-built facility without any healthcare delivered for all that money.
The best value for money is to retain, with renovations, the truly Golden Bay-owned healthcare assets – the hospital and rest home, and build a new medical centre. This could be fully locally contracted for the affordable price of $800,000 – the amount the IMG expects GB residents to donate before integration proceeds.
The Rototai option could incur no debt and be completely freehold. Golden Bay can maintain a high standard of healthcare delivery with improved facilities and a better location, and without staff reductions or the risks of co-location. Millions of dollars diverted from bank profits can instead be used for improved health care delivery. It just makes sense.
Ro Piekarski
Health care in Golden Bay
It is great to see an affordable alternative health care centre being proposed from within our community. The handy Rototai location will be a relief to those worried about accessing the facility. It is refreshing to see the complete transparency of the proposal in an easy-to-read website.
It is also a great relief to see that the Rototai proposal includes a full body X-ray capability for Golden Bay. As your radiographer for over 20 years I can confirm that the inclusion of this facility will save many Golden Bay residents and visitors a long, painful, and sometimes very expensive trip to the nearest X-ray at Nelson Public Hospital. It should be noted that Golden Bay residents raised the money to build and equip the existing X-ray facility at our ageing medical centre, because it was seen as a vital component of modern diagnostic medicine.
Providing full body X-ray is not an easy undertaking, with regular inspections by radiological physicists and substantial set up costs, however it is possible, by taking the extra effort, to make this available once again to Golden Bay people.
A huge thank you to those donating the land for the new centre.
Victoria Davis
Health care in Golden Bay
In light of the article “millions will be saved” (Nelson Mail, 6/12/11), the medical and nursing staff of Golden Bay Medical Centre would like to make clear that we support fully the plans of Golden Bay Community Health Te Hauora O Mohua Trust to create a rural integrated family health care centre, incorporating the current Golden Bay Community Hospital and building new primary care and residential aged care facilities, on the Central Takaka site.
Dr Struan Clark, Dr Peter Gibbs, Dr Joanna Howard, Dr Iain Russell, Dr Jocelyn Tracy, Kate O’ Byrne RN, Caroline Jones RN, Simon Latimer RN, Melanie Millar RN
Health care in Golden Bay
A huge congratulations to the Interim Management Group of Golden Bay Integrated Family Health Centre Te Hauora o Mohua in moving the vision of integrated health services to the point of building in 2012. Welcome Rhoda McDonald to the Bay to work on the next phase and looking forward to the opening this time next year.
Sheryl Nalder
Health care in Golden Bay
Rototai Health. Three points that concern us.
1. For a rest home to be viable and stand alone, which is the case in this option, it would need to have between 44 to 48 beds.
2. The present hospital much to my disappointment was not built to the future, and currently I believe one significant factor is that the rooms are too small to allow lifting aids for patients. These are required in current nursing practice and will be even more important in the future in our obese population trend.
3. It does not offer the advantages of integration, which is what our community has been moving towards for at least ten years.
Paul Marcussen, Shirley Marcussen
Cycleway project Pohara to the high school
We urgently need funds to get this project underway. A dedicated team is now working hard to bring this project into being, but, funds are needed for preliminary engineering studies, preparing resource consent submission, environmental impact reports, printing and miscellaneous. Please help by donating big or small amounts to our account at the Nelson Building Society in Takaka. Important: The form at the counter must be filled in when money is donated. Account number: 03-1354-0275102-00.
Robin Robilliard
Health care in Golden Bay
While Rototai Health respects the excellent health professionals who write of their support for the Central Takaka integration proposal (Nelson Mail 12/12/11), our opinion is that, in that they are not health administrators, they have made a mistake.
The Central Takaka proposal has already been rejected by one of the fundamental proposed participants, the Joan Whiting Memorial Trust. Rototai Health feels that when the euphoria of the integration concept subsides, when there has been time sit down and consider the alternatives and practical issues, then they will understand the inherent wisdom of our position. It is understandable that the proponents of the IMG scheme think they have the only answer, but given the opportunity for mature reflection, they will see that they are not pursuing the best option for Golden Bay.
Warwick Heal, trustee, Golden Bay Rototai Health Centre Charitable Trust
Gold mining
Jeff Woodward (Dec 9) asks why we shouldn’t exploit the huge reserves of gold in Sam’s Creek.
Under our insane rules, our gold can be given away to anyone, New Zealander or foreigner. The Crown gets a pathetic 5% royalty on accounting profits or (an even worse) 1% ad valorem. We are being hugely ripped-off!
Employment created? Most of the expert miners are flown in for the project, and flown out afterwards. Tax paid? Any multinational business is always able to ensure that the profit occurs in a tax haven somewhere else.
But Jeff is right, the project would indeed create a lot of work - for generations to come! In particular, all the work cleaning up when the miners have absconded with their gold (OUR gold). What about the massive disruption to our pristine Takaka river from siltation and from heavy metal pollution and its effect on downstream users? For example, what about our existing Golden Bay industries, including salmon, whitebait, mussels or recreational fishing?
It’s not a question of “warm fuzzies”, Jeff, it’s a question of the greatest benefit for Golden Bay, not just for the few.
Piers Maclaren
Village Green notice board
At this time of the year space is at a premium for Golden Bay community events so there will be less room for permanent or ongoing activities and workshops.
In the near future there will be a bigger and more attractive notice board on the Village Green. It is appreciated that as a focal point in Takaka the notice board is important for many groups, therefore posters that have been removed temporarily will be replaced at the earliest opportunity.
Village Green Society
Health care in Golden Bay
Congratulations to all those involved in the most successful Open Day for the Golden Bay Integrated Family Health Centre project.
Thank you once again for the huge amount of thought and care that you have put into this project which was very evident in all we saw.
This project deserves our full support in many ways. We are incredibly fortunate to have such a facility to be built in our small rural area when so many other rural areas in New Zealand are suffering from reduced or limited services.
With all the staff from the GB Medical Centre looking forward to this new facility and the bulk of Golden Bay’s population totally behind this wonderful change, we can look forward to great service and care from our health system for many years to come. Roll on opening day.
Anne and Des Gentleman
Tasman 370 gets underway
A very special opportunity marks the start of the 370th commemorations in 2012 of Abel Taman’s exploration of New Zealand waters, and the earliest recorded meeting between Maori and another people.
A small group will be able to walk to the end of Abel Tasman Point, Mui Poto, high above the Tata Islands, looking out over Golden Bay and Tasman’s 1642 anchorage. This headland has been revegetated carefully over 40 years, and is vested as a conservation area in a private trust guided by its founder, James Beard.
Twenty people are invited to register for the walk, which will include a cup of tea and a talk by James about his ownership and conservation of this special place.
Date: Sunday 29 January 2012, 2-3pm. Walk is 15 minutes each way.
To register please contact: abel.tasman.370@gmail.com (email preferred; or phone me on 524 8112). If more than 20 people are interested, a waiting list will be kept, in case a repeat is possible later in the year.
Penny Griffith
On radiation
As with so many other things in life, we’re reassured the safety of a new trendy achievement of our fast evolving technocratic age. Naturally, we so much wish to trust, for life without convenience of cell phones, fast internet, wifi etc is hard to imagine.
Years later ever bigger evidence about their dangers is impossible to deny.
Plenty of scientific research has been swept under the carpet by money driven corporations.
Finally, WHO made a clear statement on real health hazards of these invisible and dangerous rays.
My biggest concern is for our kids – the effects of electromagnetic pollution are of accumulative nature. And the new generation has been exposed to it from embryo.
Place a raw egg between two cell phones on call – it will be hard-boiled in 45 minutes.
It’s time we make our own informed choices.
www.powerwatch.org.uk
www.wiredchild.org.uk
www.wifiinschools.org.uk
www.radiationeducation.com (by kids, for kids)
Adelina Martin
