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MANGAWHAI'S NO.1 NEWSPAPER
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Letters to the Ed20 Aug, 2021
Hands off Wilson’s Dam After all, the whole point of constructing the dam in the first place was to provide a regular supply of water for the Bream Bay area. This still has to be its primary purpose. Therefore plans to exploit it to solve Mangawhai’s problems is not on! Mangawhai needs to remember that further development can only take place provided the necessary infrastructure is in place. I have to question whether the estuary there and its wildlife could support more intensive activity. Remember neither the present developers nor the Kaipara District Council have paid a single cent towards the construction of Wilson’s Dam. They haven’t even contributed to its maintenance. Why should we, the ratepayers of the Whangarei area subsidise them? Margaret Hicks Ruakaka
Nurses miss pay rise The current NZ Nurses Organisation claim covers 30,000 registered nurses – but only those working for DHBs. Funding of better pay and conditions for the other 20,000 nurses not directly employed by the DHBs are not included. Minister Little was clear when interviewed by Mani Dunlop on RNZ’s Midday Report (Aug 6) that non-DHB nurses will need to wait two years. This is too long. The reality is, a two-year wait will see an increase in DHB nursing staff – at the cost of the nurses who work in your community, in not-for-profit settings, and most crucially, in residential aged care. Not-for-profit aged care providers have no other way to raise funds. Our nurses are effectively paid by the DHB, through funding that is passed on. But this increase won’t flow on. So our nurses will have to choose to leave us. And without our nurses, we will have to reduce the number of older people we care for in our services. We may even have to close our services in some communities. We need everyone in our communities to contact their local MPs and let them and Minister Little know that we want our nurses paid what they are worth, with conditions that match. ALL nurses. NOW. Nikki Hurst Executive Officer, New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services
Sandmining storm continues McCallum Bros Ltd denies the allegations. Most, if not all, are exaggerated, inaccurate, incorrect and misleading. They are clearly intended to rally public opinion against McCallum Bros Ltd and attack the company’s reputation in the community. On this reader’s (admittedly inexpert) knowledge of the law they appeared to be defamatory in several respects. As you and your readers are aware, several aspects of these allegations, albeit expressed in less inflammatory terms, were the subject of submissions by residents and residents’ groups at the May 2021 hearing of the application by Kaipara Ltd for a new off-shore sand extraction consent at Mangawhai-Pakiri. The submissions and evidence heard by a panel of independent Commissioners are still under consideration and a decision is pending. Consequently, it is not appropriate for McCallum Bros Ltd to reply in any detail to the allegations you have published against the company. To debate in the media issues which the Commissioners are required to decide would be disrespectful to the independent hearing process and to the Commissioners themselves. It might also be seen as a crude attempt to influence their opinion. For similar reasons, it is inappropriate for your newspaper, which presumably professes high standards of journalism and ethical conduct, to conduct such a debate in your pages, let alone to publish the kind of exaggerated and inaccurate rant provided by Mr Rayward. On behalf of McCallum Bros Ltd, I ask that you apply a firmer and more professional editorial hand in this matter, at least until the decision of the Commissioners has been released. Shayne Elstob Chief Operating Officer McCallum Bros Ltd
Three Waters issues Firstly the cost to consumers of supply and disposal of water and waste would rise significantly as evidenced by previous attempts at government controls in the public domain. Major changes to electricity supply in 1987 promised reduced costs and of course that has never happened. And water is as important to our life as electricity. Secondly the level of management would introduce a level of incompetence that has been seen in recent government schemes. In the greater plan of things, Kaipara district is a very minor player, less than 1 per cent of the total group. There would most likely be no representation by local people with 90 per cent of the controlling group being from Auckland and Maori. Democracy? This means that all decisions would be based on Auckland’s needs as a priority. Even the television propaganda is infantile and immature. And lastly there would be total handover to a third party based on racial grounds. This socialist government is hell-bent on granting Maori rights to all fresh water. Councils will pay Maori for water. Obviously water costs and rates will go up and opponents to Maori claims must fund their own legal costs. In addition they will be giving Maori funding to cover all legal costs to claim the seabed and foreshore, from mean high tide out to 12 nautical miles. It is expected that there would be public consultation on any decisions prior to implementation of the scheme. “Really!” I just cannot see that happening with this government, remembering their aversion to citizen initiated referendums, which I believe they are considering legislating against anyway. Any financial and asset gains from any transactions with any change for Kaipara would be short term only. The ratepayers own the assets and any liabilities of our present system, and I believe the council does not have any mandate to alter that. The ‘lolly’ scramble of $16.7 million grant from the government for projects of choice to improve the wellbeing of Kaipara people is yet another bribe for what? This abuse of power must be stopped and the council told to say NO! There is no room for ifs or buts! If the system is not broke, leave it. Peter Matheson Maungaturoto |
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