Letters to the Editor
More on cruel poisons
After the government spread poison in my back yard, I was horrified to witness the cruel deaths of my favourite birds and my favourite wild animals. So violent was the devastation that I was moved to speak out against this inhumane practice.
Last week the second episode from the BBC’s documentary about the Marsh Pride of lions screened a graphic illustration of the cruelty of poisoning wildlife.
There are now more than 80 enviro-groups operating on our peninsula. I know of only two which do NOT use cruel poisons.
After years of protest, the poisoning continues and I sometimes wonder if I have been wasting my time but, in the Informer, I was accused of being a “dangerous menace” to the animal poison industry which I found extremely encouraging. In the past, similar outbursts from 1080 poison advocates like Neville Cameron and Dal Minogue have kept me going. The poisoning of wild animals demands a shameless cruelty from the poisoners and the abusive way they attack me indicates that their disrespect for animals has perhaps spilled over into disrespect for humans.
NZ is the only country in the world which encourages the poisoning of wild animals; - the only government in which every party advocates the use of these poisons; - the only government in the world which manufactures poison baits for sale and supports numerous government departments to spread their home-made baits, the basis for a multi-million-dollar industry.
John Veysey
Whitianga
Pushback on fossil fuels
We can see global warming / climate change, in place with ocean currents, wildfires, heat waves, melting glaciers, and the hottest month since records were kept. Yet the market, intent on profit, continues to extract fossil fuels and uses them because of entrenched interests and our civilisation’s necessity. Just note the traffic on Buffalo Beach Road at all hours. Mirrored through- out the world.
To combat this partial, we need elected members to move us to electric cars. The government will make decisions for the good of all citizens not with profit motive as already obvious in the commercial sector. If MP’s can get a back bone they will choose one model for everyone. This draconian decision has so many advantages.
They are: Adjusted speed giving safer roads. (Less pressure on hospitals). Equality of ownership. (The wealthy will not squander the world’s resources). Spare parts will be universally available. Recycling will be easier for multiple units. A basic model will be available for adornment by individuals. Employment will be simpler at service stations (skills will be needed). Numbers will give cost savings in all areas.
The market model of a plethora of vehicle makes is dependent on profit and availability of fossil fuels. A disaster for the planet.
Peter H Wood
Whitianga
Rural and Community Service (RCS) – what is going on with the building?
Over two weeks ago, I was unfortunate to end up with a leg injury and ended up being referred to the district nurses by the Health Clinic. I cannot praise the staff at RCS enough with how knowledgeable and professional they are; I do feel that I am in very safe hands.
The issue that I have is the dilapidated conditions of the building that we have to go to. First, you see a dirty rotting building and a rusted-out construction of a porch that you feel will collapse in the next strong wind; rusted heat pumps that amazingly have safety approval stickers on them. When going into the “treatment room” you see through the window a dirty piece of the side of the building covered in moss and plants growing out of the boards, spouting hanging loose from the gutters, no insulation (power consumption?) and rainwater coming through the windows.
You cannot tell me that this building is earthquake proof either. How on earth can you have people working in such a condition, who have to provide health care? Where is the health and safety in that I wonder? You can see the computers lined up near those windows which I think is a dangerous situation. We have a beautiful new mercury Bay Health Centre; how come RCS are not a part of that? Has health become such a money-making issue that we neglect the people of our community? I find it all pretty disgusting and degrading to all patients and most of all to the staff who work there.
Regards
Marrie Jonker,
Whitianga.
Note: Rural and Community Services is located at 19 Buffalo Beach Road, Whitianga and is a satellite location part of Health New Zealand, Te Whatu Ora, Waikato. The letter is not referring to the other four locations on the Peninsula: Thames Hospital (centre), Paeroa -6 Rotokohu Road, Coromandel - 45 Tiki Road, Whangamata - 101 Lincoln Road.
TCDC’s New Solid Waste Service – a blessing for some? A curse for others.
TCDC awarded its new waste management contract in September 2022.
So, already at this point the decision was taken to introduce a new bin system including
a 25l green bin for ‘food scraps’.
The annual plan consultation gave ratepayers a limited choice of 3 pricing options for the red bin which will replace Council’s blue rubbish bags. Everything else was predetermined.
Council’s advertising campaign for the new bin system remained silent about the imminent exorbitant cost rise for the service – a whooping 76% increase of targeted solid waste rate.
In my view the laudable goal of reducing solid waste volumes has resulted in an utterly wasteful and costly service that is unfit for a small rural District with a lot of remote, difficult to access areas.
The green 25l bin will be collected weekly, so each household can produce more than 3l of ‘food scraps’ daily. With food prices going through the roof, this is a ludicrous scenario.
Why has it not been considered to offer organic waste service to urban areas only? Why is there not a more sustainable and nuanced level of service for out-of-town areas where people are used to composting?
Because this is not about ‘sustainability’, it is about ‘economies of scale’ – money.
This one size fits all approach punishes all ratepayers who have been managing their rubbish wisely and, in my view, does not encourage users to reduce their overall waste volumes.
TCDC’s average residential rate sits at $ 3.348.41 ranking our Council amongst the 6 highest rated of 64 NZ district and city councils (Taxpayers’ Union’s latest ‘Ratepayers’ Report’).
Elisabeth Resl
Kuaotunu