Letters to the Editor: Oamaru House, power and talking rubbish
People from all walks of life across North Otago, Southland, and Central Otago have relied on Oamaru House during some of their most vulnerable moments.
This stress-free accommodation, located conveniently close to Dunedin Hospital, has offered more than just a place to stay - it has been a home away from home.
The potential loss of Oamaru House would be deeply felt, not only by those who use it now, but also by future patients and families who depend on the certainty and comfort it provides.
In a time when so many aspects of life are becoming increasingly hard to navigate, especially during medical crises, Oamaru House has consistently been a source of relief.
I've always found it reassuring to simply make a call, book a room, and know I'll have a safe place to stay within walking distance of the hospital, with parking onsite.
That one simple convenience removes a major layer of stress when facing far greater challenges.
We cannot afford to lose this vital support. I urge everyone to remain open-minded and supportive of any collaborative efforts that may arise to ensure this much-needed service can continue for the people who rely on it.
Linda Wilson
Oamaru Penalty excessive
As a Pakeha, I fully support Te Pati Māori doing a haka in response to the appalling judgement of the government regarding the Treaty Principles Bill.
The 21-day suspension is excessive in an institution that is a product of colonisation and which has breached the Treaty of Waitangi many times. It mirrors the lengthy history of disproportionate punishment Māori have endured that has entrenched inequity and institutionalised racism.
There is a lengthy list of government MPs whose behaviour has been appalling but the only consequences have been a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket.
The punching down will continue with the Regulatory Standards Bill. This is a dangerous piece of legislation that I hope millions of us will oppose by sending in submissions.
The government appears to want Aotearoa New Zealand to be an oligarchy so those annoying bottom-feeders won't get in the way of enriching their wealthy mates.
Lou Scott
Dunedin Think of the future
I see Radio NZ has picked up on climate change scientists accusing the government of ''ignoring scientific evidence''. This is a worry as Kiwis need to invest in the future, not a dead-end delusion.
The $15 million upgrade for Milford Sound Fiordland is a case in point, but then the money is easily and most likely to be absorbed in lawyers and consultants before any improvements can be built.
It is a shame that this government could not take the job of governing well as seriously as punitive punishment for people they deem unworthy. When you have the privilege of power you should try to do a good job navigating the world's potential hazards. Please don't just give up on the right direction.
Aaron Nicholson
Manapouri Power supply going right down to the wire
I have been following the growth projections and associated infrastructure issues in the Wakatipu basin with respect to the power supply.
The only power supply to Queenstown is supplied from the national grid at Cromwell to Frankton, Queenstown. The supply consists of two 110kV lines sharing single towers along the route. Every time I travel through the Nevis Bluff I look with some trepidation at the towers located above this bluff prone to failure.
In engineering we design critical infrastructure with a factor of N-1. This is a security rating, i.e. if N = 2 and if you lose 1, there is still 1 remaining. This is true for the individual lines but not the tower line. This exposes Queenstown to a total blackout should the towers fail due to an earthquake or rock fall.
PowerNet is installing larger transformers at Frankton to supply the increased load. To supply them, PowerNet is increasing the temperature rating of the lines. What this means is the lines are going to be redesigned to allow for changed design parameters due to increased line sags due to higher current flow.
The change in tower forces will be calculated and structure changes made but this does not address the N-1 risk.
Steve Tilleyshort
(Retired engineer) Mosgiel A very proud Southlander talks rubbish
In reply to Cr Vandervis' letter (4.6.25) where he gives AB Lime some great free advertising and indicates Dunedin is doing Southlanders a favour by sending us their waste.
There is money to be made from waste. Yipee, it's coming to Southland. Yes, isn't it great Southland has businessmen and women with foresight who can also provide employment for many of its residents and can get on with a job? Perhaps we have a more enabling council.
But one has to remember that every truckload of waste from outside of the province that comes into our landfill is one less of ours in the long term. But I am sure our enterprising businessmen/women have this all factored into their equations because a 200-year timeframe can suddenly whittle away.
Dunedin ratepayers and residents really need to start asking questions of their representatives and getting them to challenge/ask pertinent questions of council staff because having an item of the table or being bandied about for 32 years is rather a long time.
Yes, I know, good things take time - like whisky and cheese - but in this timeframe one could have, potentially, had a child and become a grandparent or planted a forest (pine) and harvested it and had another almost ready for its first pruning.
So, as a child of an ex-ratepaying Dunedinite with family still in your fair city, how much has this exercise cost the council thus far? What is there to show for the money spent?
People need straight answers. In these times ,Dunedin ratepayers and residents need must haves, not nice to haves.
Yes, Cr Vandervis may think I am parochial with his attempted deflective remark regarding rugby and I would just like to remind him we do have the NPC series coming up where some more of our best can shine.
Jacqui Legg
Winton
Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@odt.co.nz
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
2 hours ago
- Scoop
Te Waka McLeod Facing Peter Moeahu For New Plymouth Māori Ward
In what might be the last election for New Plymouth's Māori ward, voters will choose between a young māmā ushering in the next generation and an experienced campaigner wanting land returned. Three years ago Te Waka McLeod won Te Purutanga Mauri Pūmanawa ward and on Friday confirmed she would stand again. She faces one opponent so far: kaumātua Peter Moeahu, who has been active in council chambers for decades. More may stand before the four week cut-off but candidates are competing for an uncertain prize. Like almost all Māori wards, New Plymouth District Council's newest seat might be pulled from under the victor after three years, via a government-ordered referendum at October's election. McLeod said the threat steeled her determination that the coming generation will know they belong in local government. "Māori faces at the table are vital so rangatahi can imagine themselves sitting there." "If Māori wards are voted down I worry people might forget how deeply we care about how our communities are run, how all our people and places are cared for." During her first term "quiet conversations and gentle educating" had brought progress, as had Taranaki's iwi liaison committees, other committees with tangata whenua representatives, and Māori staff. "Everybody in the room sees how useful it is." "Non-Māori councillors, staff and voters no longer have to guess what we're trying to achieve together with them." McLeod had a baby in office and wanted to show young parents - especially mums - they could be involved. "I don't need to be the loudest voice in the room. I work on kaupapa aligned with my values and my people and that's how change happens." Peter Moeahu often has had the loudest voice in the room. Across the reigns of five New Plymouth mayors he has stood up for mana whenua in Taranaki's council chambers. He sits on Taranaki Regional Council's Policy and Planning Committee and South Taranaki District Council's Te Kāhui Matauraura. Moeahu said several New Plymouth councillors who had become experienced with iwi and hapū aspirations are stepping down, leaving him worried about candidates from right-wing ratepayer groups and the Act Party. "That's why I'm throwing my hat in the ring," he said. "If this is the last term for the Māori ward I want to be there and face up to whoever they chuck at us." Moeahu wants a specific win: the return of land taken from Puketapu hapū in 1968, with no record of compensation. His grandfather Pehimana Tamati helped established a trust for Mangati E Māori Reserve. "Three years later, the county council just took the land. Just took it under the Public Works Act." Earmarked for sewerage works, nothing happened beyond the digging of two oxidation ponds Moeahu believes were never used. New Plymouth District Council inherited control and Mangati E is part of Bell Block's Hickford Park and the coastal walkway. In 2022 Moeahu asked for Puketapu's land back, but councillors halted progress to investigate how to deal with the range of Māori land it governs. "There are Māori reserves all around New Plymouth that were set aside for us to live on, for us to prosper on - and they're no longer in our hands," Moeahu said. He wants Mangati back as a priority and precedent. "I want to see the finalisation of this piece of land, Mangati E, in my lifetime so we don't leave the situation for the next generation." National's coalition deals with NZ First and Act promise referendums for wards elected by voters on the Māori roll. No other type of ward can be voted down. If voters ditch Te Purutanga Mauri Pūmanawa it cannot be resurrected for six years.
Scoop
2 hours ago
- Scoop
Youth MP Wants To See Pasifika Voices In Politics Amplified
Māngere Youth MP Marques Tominiko has returned home from Parliament feeling proud of how he represented his people, but he also thinks that South Auckland remains under the radar. "I feel like I represented my community to the best of my ability, and I just feel very proud at this moment," Tominiko said. The 16-year-old admitted that it was intimidating to be surrounded by young people from bigger electorates, places with established political histories and strong connections. But Tominiko stood firm, wearing his ie faitaga and ulafala through the halls of Parliament, making a distinct impression among the suits and Western attire. After participating in debates and questioning ministers, Tominiko said the experience was powerful and frustrating, reflecting the promise and persistent gaps for Pasifika youth in politics. "Something that I wanted to make sure of whilst I was at Parliament was that I didn't come as an individual," he says. "I came as the representative of not only my MP, the Honourable Lemauga Lydia Sosene, but also my Māngere community, the voices of Māngere youth, Pasifika as a whole, and South Auckland. "Walking around, people would ask me where I'm from, and when I said South Auckland, Māngere, they'd ask, 'Where's that?' It shows we're still unknown and underrepresented." Despite New Zealand having its most diverse Parliament to date, Tominiko said Pasifika priorities remained low on the agenda, and young people were increasingly frustrated by being excluded from decisions that directly affect them. One issue that struck a nerve was the debate over race-based scholarships. Marques said some argued these should be scrapped in the name of "equality" but that ignored the reality for many Māori and Pasifika families. "Yes, we have more Pasifika MPs, and even our Deputy Prime Minister is Pasifika, but we're still unseen and unheard. Our priorities aren't high on the list for this government. "It's not about equality. It's about equity. Look at the stats: Māori and Pasifika are at the bottom for NCEA pass rates, retention and university entry. These scholarships exist to give us opportunities we're not given otherwise." Manukau Ward Councillor Lotu Fuli agreed, supporting Tominiko's stance. "I believe in scholarships for Māori and Pasifika. The whole point of such scholarships is to address the inequities that exist to try to even up the playing field. If we get to a stage as a society where those inequities no longer exist, then the need for such scholarships will go." Tasi Poumale, McAuley High School teacher and community leader, said ethnic scholarships could help break barriers and that visible role models are equally important. Poumale suggested that councils should prioritise civic education to encourage more young Pasifika people to vote, engage, and raise their voices. "Our Pacific students need to see Pacific role models in those leadership spaces. Education is access to a lot of opportunities ... ethnic scholarships are equitable because not every family has the same resources. "Council should be going into schools, especially year 11, 12, 13, running workshops ... If they go in and educate and encourage, then our rangatahi will have more exposure and opportunity to participate." Tominiko also said that young people felt excluded because they lack genuine opportunities to challenge decision-makers. Associate Education Minister Barbara Edmonds said Youth Parliament's handling of challenging issues showed the importance of allowing young people to speak truthfully, without fear of censorship. She hoped for the growing number of Pasifika youth MPs this year, but said that the government must allow them to speak openly. "The whole point of Youth Parliament is to give young people and rangatahi a chance to be heard. The issue of censoring their speeches so they don't criticise the government goes against the spirit of this. Youth MPs should feel safe to say what they think and not let anyone force them to think any other way. "What was pleasing to see was so many young Pasifika Youth MPs come to Parliament. Their engagement and speeches were outstanding. It gives me so much hope for this next generation I think they could have done an even more important job if their speeches weren't vetted and they weren't told not to criticise." For Tominiko, the experience reinforced his belief that Pasifika youth must become comfortable with discomfort to claim their rightful place, even when politics felt unsafe. "Politics is not safe for Pasifika youth right now," he says. "But by getting into those spaces where we're not welcome, we can make them safe. Not just for ourselves, but for our people and our future."
NZ Herald
6 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Jack Karetai-Barrett's 900km ride for Māori wards reaches Whanganui
Schoolboy campaigner Jack Karetai-Barrett has reached Whanganui on his quest to push the case for Māori wards. The 15-year-old is cycling to Wellington from his hometown of Whakatāne during his school holidays to deliver a letter to Parliament explaining why Māori wards matter. Karetai-Barrett (Kai Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha, Rapuwai)
