Letters
Demise of Democracy – What about a rate strike?
I want to thank Herb Harris for his inspirational letter (GBW 15/4). “The elected representatives of the people are now just figureheads to keep the illusion of democracy alive” – absolutely. What can we do?
Within living memory Golden Bay had its own council which enjoyed enormous local autonomy. As in all other “democracies” the world over, power is increasingly centralised in remote, complex bureaucracies run by rich, secretive men. This is apparently “progress”; they demand our money and we must do whatever they say.
Five of the nine letters in last week’s GBW were essentially complaints about TDC activities, attitudes or proposals. Something doesn’t seem right.
As our two TDC councillors will always be outvoted on any issue which doesn’t fit Richmond’s agenda, we have been robbed of the ability to make Golden Bay the place we might wish for ourselves and our children’s children.
If 100% of ratepayers in Golden Bay refused to pay TDC rates until we are provided with transparency regarding the rate take from Golden Bay, the rate-derived cash spent in the Bay, and genuine delegated authority with a budget for our Golden Bay Community Board – perhaps the TDC might listen. What about a rate strike?
Bruce Collings
Circular Bush - The Landmark of Takaka
You stand out proud and bold
On the Anatoki Range of old
For many years you have held my gaze
From sunrise through to evening haze,
As seasons come and seasons go
You are at your best in the autumn glow.
When your tussock faces turn to gold
And the autumn chills take hold
It was time to pack our gear,
For those of us who venerate our hills and deer
We knew the roar was almost here
Great times were had out on those hills
Without all the modern frills,
We did not have gas, GPS and all the rest
But we knew that dry turpentine burned best
We lived on venison steak and stew
And topped it off with a good hot brew.
The golden years have long since gone
As choppers came and went
But now there is a nastier trend
To poison paradise is all the go
And all DOC and its disciples have to say
Just let the 1080 flow.
Times have changed, not always for the best
But my eyes still seek you out
High up, on Anatoki’s crest.
Karl Pratter
Port Tarakohe
Comments reported in the 15 April GB Weekly are absolutely right. Port Tarakohe is a great asset. It is likely to become even more so as rising fuel prices see a return to coastal shipping. Tasman District Council must get its administration costs under control. When TDC first claimed that the port had accumulated a debt of $3.1M they refused to provide accounts showing how this had accrued despite repeated requests.
Even the Ombudsman was unsuccessful, being told by TDC that “no accounts existed”. The Ombudsman advised that he could only request accounts that exist.
A former TDC manager said he was charging $500 to the port each time a letter was written about Tarakohe. TDC was also not invoicing some port users at the time.
There is some thought in Golden Bay that the TDC Richmond end-game was to neglect to collect monies due, load the port with debt and declare it is “uneconomic” to try to justify its disposal. We need to remember they sold the Motueka wharf for $1.
Fortunately, the Port User Licence, held by the present owners of the former cement works land, is a barrier to the council selling this asset.
Joe Bell
Multi-function centre
It was good to see some feedback about the proposed multi-function centre, even if it was negative.
I’m not sure that I will personally use the centre either, but I don’t actually mind spending $41 per year (which is the current figure quoted per household) on a facility that I might not use. It works out at 79 cents a week. Try to see it as a donation to the youth, the young adults, the middle aged and those in their old age, who just want to stay fit mentally and physically.
There are 1300 people in Golden Bay (represented by 30 local clubs) who do support this venture.
The users of this facility will still have to pay for it to cover the running costs, as they do at Richmond, Moutere Hills, Murchison, Westport and Greymouth.
If Golden Bay does not spend the $4.2 million it will be spent outside the Bay, and we will still have to pay that $41 per year per household on something we haven’t even got.
If Golden Bay raises more money from local business or funding agencies, or the facility costs less than $4.2 million, the rates increase may well be less than $41 per year per household.
Please come along to one of our public meetings to raise your concerns and have your questions answered.
Peter Blasdale
It is no coincidence that discussion of the proposal for a new multi sport/recreation complex closely follows that of substance-fuelled delinquency in Takaka.
The Journal of Rural Health (2007) reported on the increase in substance abuse in American rural towns. Amongst other socioeconomic and cultural factors, “participation in team and individual sports, extracurricular clubs, and other school organisations are particularly related to lower frequency of alcohol and illicit drug use” through mitigation of peer pressure. Such activity raises self esteem, instills pride and responsibility and often offers strong positive role models and intergenerational interaction.
Pediatrics (2000) reported that “adolescents who used a community recreation center reported markedly higher levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity than those who did not” and that high physical activity levels are inversely related to crime levels.
Young people are our most important investment; society has a collective responsibility to them. This generation will inherit an unprecedented burden in caring for the “baby boom” and subsequent generations as they age.
Providing opportunities for organised recreation in a safe and appropriate environment is vital to their development into “good citizens”. They should not be denied this simply because their parents live and work in a rural area.
Struan and Margie Clark
CEO meeting
Defence of Tasman District Council CEO’s unacceptable rudeness to ratepayers by Messrs Borlase and Kempthorne in The Nelson Mail article of 13 April is astounding. Especially when Mr Kempthorne hadn’t attended the meeting. The scary thing is that both men have been on the CEO performance review panel.
The implication that ratepayers gatecrashed the East Takaka meeting is wrong. There was an open invitation from Mr Borlase via a Golden Bay email list. No mention was made of restricting attendance to the naïve, gullible or uninformed.
There was no chairperson. As with his 2007 PowerPoint presentation cartoon character http://tinyurl.com/3ohkqxo Mr Wylie sat behind “the desk” and spoke on a series of topics mostly to do with “governance” not “management”. Some of the information was wrong. This included understating projected TDC debt by $20m ($250m instead of $270m) and claiming that 4000ha of aquaculture space “would be available from day one”.
Far from displaying “disgust”, Mr Borlase was observed grinning at the furore. Paul Wylie was rude, abrasive, confrontational and condescending. He appears to believe he is in charge of both governance and management.
Our mayor and councillors have lost control of our council. Commissioners need to be bought in.
Joe Bell
Members of the Lions Club of Golden Bay are concerned that our organisation has been singled out in an article in The Nelson Mail about the meeting with the CEO of Tasman District Council at the East Takaka hall. As an organisation we aim to serve our community but do not become involved in its politics.
Julie Langford, secretary
Pakawau Beach
The Coast Care people are more then delighted to plant dune plants everywhere on the sandy beach reserves in Pakawau. However, do keep in mind that one planting in isolation next to static structures (concrete, rocks, tyres etc) does not work, as clearly shown with the experimental planting a few years back next to the concrete boat ramp south of the motor camp. It would be a good start to remove that concrete boat ramp to benefit the beach reserves in front of the property owners to the south.
Marion Corby
Wednesday Wanderers
Wednesday Wimps just didn’t cut it, so we have changed the name to Wednesday Wanderers.
Our two previous walks have been the Pohara Walkway to the Clifton Cemetery and the Kaituna Track to the forks of the river, with about 9 to 11 people each time. By the time you read this we will have done the Takaka Hill Walkway hopefully with some fresh snow still around. School holidays and travel will take some of you away for a week or two, so if there are others thinking about coming along we would love to see you.
The next walk will be on 27 April when we go by car to Pigeon Saddle on the Totaranui Road. From there we will walk to Lookout Rock, through forest and then out into the clearing and up to the rock. Just a shorter walk of about 1.5hrs return so you may like to join us for a coffee on the way home. Our May, June and July programme is available at the Information Centre. I can also email it to you. Contact paxandjo@xtra.co.nz and I look forward to hearing from you.
Jo Northover
TDC and rubbish
For four weeks now there has been rubbish dumped at the State Highway end of Hamama Road in cartons, non-official plastic bags and a bucket.
Two-and-a-half weeks ago I reported it to the Takaka Service Centre and was told it would be noted for collection.
Today, Monday 18 April, it is still there after the normal rubbish collection, ie the rubbish collection has bypassed it five times so far. This the third or fourth time in the last 12 months this has happened. Shortly I will phone again and this time it will be collected, but it may take another week or two.
Could I ask TDC Richmond several questions through this column please?
1. What else could I do? NB I have taken rubbish left there to the dump myself; it was disgusting stuff, it does not solve the problem and it is a 30km drive. If I write an email to TDC Richmond it goes into a big hole and I never get a reply except the automatic one.
2. Why does it always take a minimum of two phone calls to be attended to?
Paul Marcusssen
Ed. The above letter was forwarded to TDC for comment.
Integrated health centre
My major interest in the six-year saga of the Integrated Family Health Centre is the retention of rest home care in Golden Bay. My preference has always been the continuation of the Joan Whiting Rest Home in situ. However, the funding bodies have continually denied us that option, whilst spending hundreds of thousands of unaccounted dollars discussing behind closed doors the one and only integrated option.
Has Ministerial approval been granted to the DHB to hand over the hospital and land to the recently formed property trust as its contribution? Has the extra land needed been acquired?
In GBW 28/1/11 Andrew Swanson-Dobbs said concept, preliminary and then detailed designs (would be developed) over the next six to seven months. Or were resource consent applications lodged by the end of January as previously advertised. Have the IMG been granted money from any of the three charitable trusts that they applied to? How much local money has been pledged to the project? When will the property trust be opening their meetings to the public?
The Integrated Management Group is now six months into the eighteen months of help offered them by the Ministry of Health during which time Joan Whiting gets special financing.
Can Martin Ridgeway, the Ministry-appointed project manager, complete the building as promised by mid 2012? If not, we need to seek reassurance from politicians up for election that they will work to enable us to keep our rest home open and our frail elderly close to their families and friends in Golden Bay.
Liza Eastman
Ed. Liza’s letter has been forwarded to the IMG, who will respond for next week’s paper.
No sponsorship for Northern Rata
This year Project Crimson are focusing on the Rugby World Cup and have not been able to stretch funding to cover the Annual Golden Bay Rata Distribution.
Four hundred trees have been grown and are available at Titoki Nursery in Brightwater for $5+GST per plant. The Golden Bay programme has been funded for 12 years and put thousands of trees into our lowland landscape. Project Crimson is seeking sponsors to continue with our programme. If you are able to help or know of someone who can, please contact Caroline Wallace of the Project Crimson Trust: cwallace@doc.govt.nz
Greg Napp
Mātaitai
Whirlwind at Paturau on Friday afternoon. Pots and pans, enough food to feed 25 or 250. Two tents appear from nowhere. Place for the portaloos? People, most arriving unannounced, looking for a bed for the night. Little Kingston decides to grow up to be a horse.
Saturday, waking up to the smell of lamb burgers. Last minute, paint sign for a car park. Bucketing with rain, brighter in the horizon. Who will come, only 18 have RSVPd? More cars, more people, more food, more rain. Two cars are parked where they were supposed to. And where is Harvey? Is the sign up?
Water cascading on the hillsides, goats sheltering under the limestone ledges, great day for ducks. Sign is up, the Archdeacon has made it, all is well in the world. Local reporter without trousers or shoes – genius or mad? The rest of us get wet to the bone, huddling under backwards umbrellas. We touch the sign with our blessings. Rain is good luck, tears of Ranginui parting from Papatuanuku.
After, the sun appears, warming us up, drying our clothes. Kai is plentiful, we all go home with a sausage, cockle or a pear in our pocket. In a heartbeat everything is returned back to normal, tents collapsed, floors swept.
Thank you to everyone who braved the weather for the memorable opening, thank you to Kathy Hindmarsh for being a magician in the kitchen, and thank you to our local iwi for our new mātaitai.
Rita Virtama
