Letters to the Editor: Q'town, therapy dogs and elections
Today's Letters to the Editor from readers cover topics including unsustainable housing in Queenstown, the joy of therapy dogs, and name recognition for electoral candidates. Vulnerable cash cow must be protected
Queenstown and surrounds are heritage treasures of natural beauty.
A cash cow, the area is vulnerable, endangered by tourism expansion and unrestrained development, unsupported by services and infrastructure.
Just released for public comment is the Homestead Bay development on SH6 beyond Jack's Point. Part of Te Tapuae Southern Corridor development plan, this slick document claims to address points including: "For the landscape to retain its timeless identity and its connections between Tangaroa, Tāwhiri-mātea and Tāne, land and waters, people and place."
Proposed development fulfils no stated aspirations with big interests and profits at play. Everyone interested in maintaining the area's unique beauty must comment.
The uninterrupted view from the Remarkables across SH6 to Homestead Bay, majestic Cecil Peak and the Bayonets will be trashed by 2800 sardine dwellings and retail area. Infrastructure discussion is fanciful, with "active travel" (walking or bike riding) suggested.
A moratorium on development must be placed, immediately. The region and country must decide, why and for whom development is proceeding, limits and the huge toll on this environment and landscapes.
If rubber-stamped, then infrastructure, services, building and staffing a new hospital, must leap ahead and in place before encroachment from unsustainable housing. Elizabeth Corbett McCusker Eloquent art
Excellent cartoon by Yeo in the ODT (20.6.25) — pictures speak louder than words.
There is not enough money to build our new hospital but the person called in to progress the build will be paid $2500 per day plus expenses for the three months of his contract. I query how $2500 per day would not cover anyone's expenses.
Yeo's cartoon (20.6.25) is what a lot of Dunedinites are thinking. It was absolutely mind-blowing to read the article about the appointment of Evan Davies. He said he was too busy to complete his previous time in the job because of a promotion. Apparently he still holds that job so how has the situation changed?
His remuneration (plus expenses) surely requires his full attention, not an hour or two here and there. More than a hall
As a Tahakopa Valley resident I must say that at no time have the locals been consulted regarding the last school reunion on March 29 2025.
The Board of Trustees decided it was their school to make all decisions and they are upset about community money going back to the Ministry of Education. A trust account would have been sensible to have set up for such money. Is there not a rule whereby such money if singled out, should be shared in such a community, not just to one entity?
There is the Our Hut heritage hub plus a local Sir Truby King railway bridge walking track which are visited by people from all over the world. Rachel Napier (Letters ODT 17.6.25) is making out that the community hall is the only entity in the district.
Over the past 10 years the hub has funded renovation of its building and created a world class walking track. It is about to start a project doing a "Storymapp" about the Sir Truby King Track, and his life and work here in the Tahakopa Valley.
Perhaps the Tahakopa Hall Committee will just have to do some work in raising some funds for the hall? Bedside visit from Staffy a delightful moment
During a recent stay in Dunedin Hospital I had the most uplifting moment with a 9-month old Staffy dog named Nancy, brought in for patients who wished to spend a few minutes with her to pat and cuddle. For my interactions with Nancy, a therapy animal, I was rewarded with facelicks.
Thank you to the hospital for permitting this, and very special thanks to Nancy and her owner, who brought myself and others a very real uplift. Cleaning bill
The taxpayer should not have to pick up the bill from failed coal ventures. ( ODT 18.6.25).
Compared to the budgeted $443 million the taxpayer is on the hook for to clean up the Tui oil field, the West Coast coal mess at less than $100m is relatively minor.
How much will the taxpayer pay if Aussie miner Bathurst Resources decides destroying what is left of the Stockton and Denniston Plateaus is not economic? Bilious rhetoric re Bill decried
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour's Facebook trolling of those exercising their democratic right to challenge the Regulatory Standards Bill reveals the extent to which he is not interested in any opinion other than his own.
When any leader is unable to engage with and reply to others' expert opinions they reveal their lack of respect for everybody's democratic rights. We should all be very grateful that Seymour has exposed his narrow definition of democracy and the depravity to which he will stoop to obfusticate legal processes. How do you do?
I read Brian Ellis' letter (25.6.25) with great interest and agree wholeheartedly with his observation that name recognition provides a real advantage in the upcoming 2025 local body elections. As he rightly points out, former MPs and high-profile sports figures benefit from this familiarity. To that list I would add incumbent councillors. The mechanics of the STV voting system only serve to amplify this advantage.
Unfortunately, name recognition can sometimes save underperforming or fatigued councillors from being removed, limiting the opportunity for new people bringing fresh ideas and renewed energy to council. That is a shortcoming in the system which has not served Dunedin well.
Mr Ellis goes on to criticise the campaign spending by myself and the Future Dunedin team, suggesting we are investing "vast sums of money". I'd like to reassure him and readers that this is simply not the case. Our campaign budget allocates approximately $9000 per candidate for media, considerably less than the $17,274.13 per candidate declared by Green Dunedin during the 2022 elections.
If not through a media campaign, how else are new candidates to introduce themselves to voters? Our campaign addresses the very issue identified by Mr Ellis at the outset of his letter. Mayoral and council candidate, Future Dunedin
Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@odt.co.nz
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The uninterrupted view from the Remarkables across SH6 to Homestead Bay, majestic Cecil Peak and the Bayonets will be trashed by 2800 sardine dwellings and retail area. Infrastructure discussion is fanciful, with "active travel" (walking or bike riding) suggested. A moratorium on development must be placed, immediately. The region and country must decide, why and for whom development is proceeding, limits and the huge toll on this environment and landscapes. If rubber-stamped, then infrastructure, services, building and staffing a new hospital, must leap ahead and in place before encroachment from unsustainable housing. Elizabeth Corbett McCusker Eloquent art Excellent cartoon by Yeo in the ODT (20.6.25) — pictures speak louder than words. There is not enough money to build our new hospital but the person called in to progress the build will be paid $2500 per day plus expenses for the three months of his contract. I query how $2500 per day would not cover anyone's expenses. Yeo's cartoon (20.6.25) is what a lot of Dunedinites are thinking. It was absolutely mind-blowing to read the article about the appointment of Evan Davies. He said he was too busy to complete his previous time in the job because of a promotion. Apparently he still holds that job so how has the situation changed? His remuneration (plus expenses) surely requires his full attention, not an hour or two here and there. More than a hall As a Tahakopa Valley resident I must say that at no time have the locals been consulted regarding the last school reunion on March 29 2025. The Board of Trustees decided it was their school to make all decisions and they are upset about community money going back to the Ministry of Education. A trust account would have been sensible to have set up for such money. Is there not a rule whereby such money if singled out, should be shared in such a community, not just to one entity? There is the Our Hut heritage hub plus a local Sir Truby King railway bridge walking track which are visited by people from all over the world. Rachel Napier (Letters ODT 17.6.25) is making out that the community hall is the only entity in the district. Over the past 10 years the hub has funded renovation of its building and created a world class walking track. It is about to start a project doing a "Storymapp" about the Sir Truby King Track, and his life and work here in the Tahakopa Valley. Perhaps the Tahakopa Hall Committee will just have to do some work in raising some funds for the hall? Bedside visit from Staffy a delightful moment During a recent stay in Dunedin Hospital I had the most uplifting moment with a 9-month old Staffy dog named Nancy, brought in for patients who wished to spend a few minutes with her to pat and cuddle. For my interactions with Nancy, a therapy animal, I was rewarded with facelicks. Thank you to the hospital for permitting this, and very special thanks to Nancy and her owner, who brought myself and others a very real uplift. Cleaning bill The taxpayer should not have to pick up the bill from failed coal ventures. ( ODT 18.6.25). Compared to the budgeted $443 million the taxpayer is on the hook for to clean up the Tui oil field, the West Coast coal mess at less than $100m is relatively minor. How much will the taxpayer pay if Aussie miner Bathurst Resources decides destroying what is left of the Stockton and Denniston Plateaus is not economic? Bilious rhetoric re Bill decried Acting Prime Minister David Seymour's Facebook trolling of those exercising their democratic right to challenge the Regulatory Standards Bill reveals the extent to which he is not interested in any opinion other than his own. When any leader is unable to engage with and reply to others' expert opinions they reveal their lack of respect for everybody's democratic rights. We should all be very grateful that Seymour has exposed his narrow definition of democracy and the depravity to which he will stoop to obfusticate legal processes. How do you do? I read Brian Ellis' letter (25.6.25) with great interest and agree wholeheartedly with his observation that name recognition provides a real advantage in the upcoming 2025 local body elections. As he rightly points out, former MPs and high-profile sports figures benefit from this familiarity. To that list I would add incumbent councillors. The mechanics of the STV voting system only serve to amplify this advantage. Unfortunately, name recognition can sometimes save underperforming or fatigued councillors from being removed, limiting the opportunity for new people bringing fresh ideas and renewed energy to council. That is a shortcoming in the system which has not served Dunedin well. Mr Ellis goes on to criticise the campaign spending by myself and the Future Dunedin team, suggesting we are investing "vast sums of money". I'd like to reassure him and readers that this is simply not the case. Our campaign budget allocates approximately $9000 per candidate for media, considerably less than the $17,274.13 per candidate declared by Green Dunedin during the 2022 elections. If not through a media campaign, how else are new candidates to introduce themselves to voters? Our campaign addresses the very issue identified by Mr Ellis at the outset of his letter. Mayoral and council candidate, Future Dunedin Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@
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