Letters to Editor: water, Al Jazeera, Ardern
Recent opposition to the Waitaki District Council's preferred Water Well Done proposal is probably a reflection of the general lack of trust in the council rather than misinformation.
Take the Proposed District Plan. This now legally enforceable plan allows that certain people are allowed to access private properties to cut, dig and build without the landowner's permission within the new wahi tupuna overlays. Conversely the same landowners can be required to consult with and pay whatever fee iwi deem appropriate in addition to council's own consenting requirements.
The consulting process was haphazard and ultimately ignored the concerns of affected landowners. To their credit, councillors John McCone, Guy Percival and Brent Cowles opposed the plan which to the detriment of the Waitaki District community was approved in December.
One councillor even stated that people affected by the PDP can now "share the same feelings of loss and disempowerment and identity ... caused by the Kemp Purchase of 1848". Our community deserves much better representation than being held liable for what happened over 175 years ago.
Mark Hay
Oamaru In-house backed
I am tired of reading Ben Bell's accusations that Waitaki's decision to nix a joint water company with Gore, Clutha and Central Otago is the "misinformed" decision of only 161 submitters in our public consultation.
Out of 300 submitters in the consultation, 85% favoured another option instead of the tie-up with those three districts. Only 15% supported Southern Water Done Well. Sentiment throughout the district was strongly in favour of keeping water in-house.
Faced with an election in three months, the Waitaki councillors suddenly realised that public sentiment was so strong that it had to be respected. That's why the vote was 9-2 for continued in-house operation.
The Gore councillors are wrong to claim that government required them to approve Southern Water Done Well. There are 19 councils nationwide which have chosen in-house. Minister Simon Watts may be trying to bully councils, but this hasn't scared the stronger councils in the past, nor will it in the future.
Mike Sweeney
Oamaru No, it's dire
Dire wolves, mammoths, moa ... .why? Any effort to bring these back from the dead, at this stage is ridiculous, what you get is nothing like the original. What you get is a Claytons version.
As has been shown, the dire wolves are only that in name. They are nothing like the originals, simply a white wolf with a few shredded DNA strands that amount to nothing.
If there was going to be money sunk into these sorts of folly projects I would much prefer it be spent on saving our current flora and fauna
Graham Bulman
Dunedin Higher huts
Re the tragic death of Wednesday Davis on Mt Ruapehu (ODT 14.7.25). This is very sad indeed and the circumstances appear to be particularly distressing for the family, and they have my full sympathy.
I note however that the Whangaehu has been repeatedly reported as the "highest alpine hut in New Zealand". This is not the case by a significant margin. Whangaehu hut is at an altitude of 2080m while Empress Hut (at the top of the Hooker Glacier at Aoraki/Mt Cook) is at an altitude of 2472m, Plateau Hut (also on Aoraki/Mt Cook) is at 2200m, Centennial Hut (on the Franz Josef Glacier) is at 2400m.
Stating that Whangaehu is the highest hut in New Zealand puts an erroneous perspective on the story.
Derek Chinn
Queenstown Overwhelming news and the bare essentials I watch the Al Jazeera news channel. Their news coverage can be difficult to watch. Images can be overwhelming and leave you questioning why some events on this planet are allowed to continue. The only thing on television at the moment that can put a smile on your face is an advertisement. It shows a naked skier, beautiful snow views and the background music is Age of Innocence by Enigma. It is very peaceful and you have to smile.
Lorraine Adams
Oamaru Enduring legacy
I was horrified to read Neville McLay's letter (ODT 14.7.25). Can it really be true that the stadium will only last another 35 years, especially when you think that most old villas were built between 1890 and 1910.
Many will have been renovated in the past 35 years when the houses were already nearly 100 years old.
So the stadium is only to last about a quarter as long as the average old villa?
George Livingstone
Roslyn Boo Sir Ian
It is so very sad to see all the knives pointed in direction of Dame Jacinda Ardern, the latest poison from Sir Ian Taylor. The combined threats and personal attacks made on her mainly through the cowardly medium of social media disgusted me.
Dame Jacinda succeeded in saving many lives when the country faced a relentless and deadly Covid virus. She was applauded and recognised upon the world stage. The mosque massacre and Christchurch earthquakes, she resolutely and bravely faced up to with utmost dignity sincerity and compassion.
Clive McNeill
North East Valley Bravo Sir Ian
"Better late than never" as the saying goes. Recent comments ridiculing and criticising Sir Ian Taylor about his about-face opinion of Jacinda Ardern just goes to show that changing one's mind and an admission of being wrong, is frowned upon and not appreciated by many. I, however applaud his honesty and bravery in publicly admitting his previous error in judgement.
Joyce Yee-Murdoch
Cromwell Boo Sir Ian
I was disappointed by Sir Ian Taylor's article on Jacinda. It read like a lovesick virgin teenager's lament on finding the object of their adoration had feet of plasticene and a far-from-saintly past.
Most politicians who get the top job, with some exceptions, and Jacinda was no exception, do the best they can with the hand they are dealt. And with impeccable timing she quit when she realised she was no longer the solution but part of the problem. We don't need to look far in the contemporary world to find exceptions who did neither. So we should be grateful.
I am absolutely delighted that Jacinda has found things to do and a means of earning a crust, after leaving us Kiwi ingrates for what she must see as greener and safer pastures.
I suggest Sir Ian plants his sour grapes in our great Central soil where they can turn to fine wine, and saves his rocks for his own rockery rather than use them as ammunition.
Morley Williams
Cromwell
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Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Otago Daily Times
‘Scary' 30% rates rise on cards
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However, the size and cost of that was put into perspective by two Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) representatives at the workshop. They reiterated their points from a previous meeting that the in-house model would have to meet the government's financial stability rules for a period of 10 years, even if the plan involved a joint venture with other authorities before then. The in-house model would have to stand on its own merits for a 10-year period for assessment purposes. If those rules were not quite met, a facilitator could be appointed to work alongside the council to help the plan meet the targets. Department of Internal Affairs representatives Marlon Bridge (left) and Warren Ulusele at the workshop. The other, "more intrusive" option was to send in "the specialist", DIA representative Warren Ulusele said. "That person is appointed in the council, they make decisions on behalf of the council. They can look up across the council finances, potentially look to redirect funding from other purposes and redirect it back into Three Waters investment. "They can look at the revenue streams and determine that they need to go up. So I point that out, not in a threatening way, but just to be absolutely clear about this conversation around control and that's concern, again, not just this council, consultation across the country and it's understandable. "That person is appointed by the minister with one objective and that is to develop a financially sustainable plan. They will look to do that as quickly as possible and their focus is meeting growth. So they're not looking across the range of responsibilities you have, the range of considerations you have." WDC chief financial officer Amanda Nicholls then laid out the council's finances saying they would look "scary" at this stage of the process, pointing out external debt per rateable property would significantly exceed the benchmark of $4000, while debt continued to grow over the years. However, it would require a rate rise of about 25.61 % in the 2028 LTP year to fund the in-house unit, and then rate rises of about 4% for each of the following years. All those rises and the 2028 rise could also increase by a further 5% if the council, as was likely, was required to fund depreciation of water assets. When it came to council debt, the workshop heard the WDC would breach its debt cap in 2035 and every year thereafter, potentially requiring further rate rises to lower it. Two weeks ago, Waitaki district councillors voted to exit the Southern Water Done Well partnership with Clutha, Central Otago and Gore in favour of an in-house water services delivery unit. The joint arrangement was previously the council's preferred option before it was put to public consultation. Public consultation across the four councils drew in over 1000 submission with the in-house business unit model the preferred option in Waitaki (54%) and Clutha, while only 26.7% supported the joint entity, most popular in Gore and Central Otago. Prior to that the Department of Internal Affairs said joining a four-way, multi-district water company was the "only viable option" for the district. The DIA representatives this week said they had heard nothing to allay their "concerns" over the council's chosen path, saying they could not see a pathway for the council to develop a plan that was credible. "Hopefully, it'll come to light as you uncover more of what information discloses as you put more of the facts into the equation." The council intends to hold weekly public workshops, videos of which will be posted on its website, every Tuesday this month to keep people up to date with progress. A recording of this week's meeting, with chapter points for each section, the presentation given by the council's finance team, and the letter from the DIA are all available on the council website. "Council encourages the community to watch the videos, read the presentation and the letter from the DIA to be fully informed about the development of the WSDP," a council statement said.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
In-fighting and claims of bullying at Southland licensing trust
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Scoop
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Western Bay Councillors Push Back Against New Subcommittee Rammed Through Without Approval
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