Support for councillor request

I am writing to support councillor Nandor Tanczos in his request to have Whakatāne District Council seek legal advice about the consequences of not holding a poll regarding the Māori wards, as requested by the Government in legislation passed on July 31.

The accompanying article in the Beacon on Friday, August 16, written by Diane McCarthy, provided us, the readers, with good factual data, including the value of having three Māori ward councillors as we have now on the council.

I believe there is solid support in the community for this action.

The recent activities by the Government to undermine and attack the Treaty of Waitangi is unconstitutional and done without consultation with all partners.

This action is creating much civil unrest.

Rona Wilding

“The law is an ass”, it has long been said – usually about law that “cannot be relied upon to be sensible or fair”. It’s wonderful to see Whakatāne District Council’s principled response to new legislation that is, in the view of many, neither sensible nor fair.

Our council unanimously decided last week to seek legal advice about the consequences if it doesn’t obey certain legislation. In doing so, it joined Palmerston North City Council and a number of other local authorities protesting against this law.

The legislation concerned is the Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Act 2024. It’s part of a host of recent legislation that attacks Māori rights and Te Tiriti O Waitangi commitments.

The new law requires councils that established a Māori ward without holding a poll, following 2021 changes to the law, to disestablish it or to hold a binding poll on it at next year’s local elections.

Whakatāne District Council, of course, established its three current Māori wards in 2021 through its own decision, not as a result of a majority-rules poll of eligible voters. (Great, since even in districts like ours where Māori form a significant percentage of the population, polls like this tend to be rigged against Māori for many reasons.)

The new law compels the council to decide by September 6 whether to retain its current Māori wards. This alone is a problem – there wasn’t enough time allowed between the law coming into effect at the end of July, and the September date, for the council to have meaningful consultation with iwi, hapū, hapori and local communities about the matter.

In unanimously deciding ‘yes’ to retaining the Māori wards, at last week’s meeting, the council committed itself to holding a binding poll about the wards at the 2025 local government election. The law gives it no other option. (See comment above, about majority-rules polls being rigged against Māori.)

It was great that councillors also unanimously supported the suggestion of Councillor Nandor Tanczos to go for the legal-advice-on-the-legislation option.

Several Pakeha councillors at the meeting talked about the value of having the three Māori ward Councillors – Toni Boynton, Ngapera Rangiaho and Tu O’Brien – making substantial contributions to decision-making, providing te ao Māori perspectives, linking the council to wider Māori networks, etc. We need to hear more about this, if our district is forced by law into a binding poll on the Māori wards, so voters can make well-informed decisions.

Meanwhile, imagine if a host of other local authorities follow Whakatāne, Palmerston North and the rest in protesting again the new Māori wards law – in potentially bucking the legislation. We could have the tail wagging the donkey, the ass.

Kate Abel

Public transport woes

It is disappointing that Bay of Plenty Regional Council sees fit to only provide consistent public transport within its urban centres and to prioritise that over the small-town connections that need to be made in the Eastern Bay.

One of the opportunities in the BOP Public Transport Plan 2022-23 was to explore new transport delivery models, including for smaller urban centres and rural communities.

There is only public bus access from Kawerau, Edgecumbe and Awakeri to Whakatāne on three weekdays and a Saturday. How does this allow effective connection for the smaller urban centre's to Whakatāne for education and employment?

According to NZTA, the average vehicles per day on State Highway 2 between Awakeri and Whakatane is more than 12,000.

It is now 2024, and the council's forward vision has meant they have cut the free fares to under 19's and not included this service in the school commuter exemption like the Whakatāne-Ōhope line.

We will not be able to grow as a community without daily public transport.

Debbie Chapman

Inquiry takes too long

How is it that any catastrophe that occurs on these fair shores requires an inordinate period of investigations?

Even for the patently obvious causes such as toppling power pylons and Cook Strait ferry mishaps.

I cannot think of any impediment that requires such a prolonged evaluation of cause and effect.

Is this to cover incompetence in the hope the public will tire of the obfuscation by those responsible investigating the mishaps?

Alongside this is the propensity for this to prolong their gravy train ride, or is it to allow time for those responsible to cover their derriere?

Any query regarding these mishaps is usually met with the stock answer of either commercial sensitivity,or worse still, we have taken contingence of the problem and addressed the problem.

Unfortunately for us, the rectification process, along with the results, are never made public so you can judge the validity of their responses and reasoning.

K Ingram

Throwing good money after bad

In response to Sandy Milne’s letter (Minister responds to letter on boat harbour – Beacon, August 9), and the reply given by the minister for regional develoment, Shane Jones.

Firstly, I totally agree with Mr Milne that the boar harbour-marina should not be going ahead.

I believe it is a total waste of ratepayer and taxpayer money on a toxic piece of privately-owned Ngāti Awa land.

Considering, I believe Ngāti Awa were well paid by the Whakatāne Board Mill to dump the toxic waste there, with the approval of Whakatāne District Council and Environment Bay of Plenty experts.

These same experts wasted another $10 million of ratepayers’ money trying to clean up the toxic water in the Orini Canal, which has still got toxic waste in the banks.

This is another $10 million that needs to be added tothe true cost of the proposed boat harbour.

The proposed boat harbour is too close to Whakatāne’s water treatment station.

If the toxic waste tests had been carried out before being given Government approval and the $20 millionto Ngāti Awa , the proposal would never have got off the ground.

I am very disappointed with Mr Jones’ response; who wants to throw good money after bad after believing in these highly qualified expert consultants’ advice when nobody knows what the real cost will be?

On this issue I have no confidence in Mr Jones.

D Dawson

Do the basics – PM talks sense

I am no fan of Prime Minister Chris Luxon, but he talked sense in his presentation to New Zealand mayors yesterday.  Our councillors should take special notice of this extract from his short speech at the Local Government New Zealand annual conference:-

"Ratepayers expect local government to do the basics and to do the basics brilliantly. Pick up the rubbish. Fix the pipes. Fill in potholes. And more generally, maintain local assets quickly, carefully, and cost effectively," Mr Luxon said.

"But nothing in life is free, and ratepayers expect to pay for it in exchange. But what they don’t expect to pay for is the laundry-list of distractions and experiments that are plaguing council balance sheets across the country.

"The building we’re in today is a classic example. With pipes bursting and other infrastructure under pressure, Wellington City Council decided to spend $180 million of ratepayers’ money on a convention centre, which, according to public reporting, is now losing money.

"It looks very nice, and it’s very nice that politicians like us have another expensive room to deliver speeches in, but can anyone seriously say it was the right financial decision or the highest priority for Wellington given all of its challenges?

"Ratepayers are sick of the white elephants and non-delivery. So, my challenge to all of you is to rein in the fantasies and to get back to delivering the basics brilliantly."

Those words should ring a bell for our high-spending councillors.  I believe that Mr Luxon had Whakatāne in mind when he and his officials composed that speech.

I hope that everyone who gets the Beacon read the full-page opinion piece from John Howard and Philip Jacobson on page 12 of yesterday's edition headlined, "Council spending, borrowing and debt is out of control".  That shocking graph on council borrowing says it all.

Our councillors are totally out of control and have been so for many years.

I am interested to know if any reader agrees with J Beattie who in his short "Leadership needed" letter in the August 21 Beacon, blames Mayor Luca for the mess we are in.  In my view Mr Beattie is out of touch when he blames our mayor for voting against his own long-term plan. It wasn't his own long-term plan; far from it.  Dr Luca has made it very clear for years that he opposes big spend-ups on low priority and non-urgent projects.   He is the friend of ratepayers, unlike most of his uncaring heads-in-the clouds councillors, several of whose heads will roll in the 2025 local bodies election.

Alexander (Sandy) Milne

Councils need to share they care

Why do we, the people of Whakatāne accept the failings of Whakatāne District Council.

Councillors and others will set sail on the WDC Titanic.

The ability for us to pay increasing rates is a big ask, compounding on costs of mortgages and other spending on day-to-day needs.

We need the council to show they care. Not employ 32 new staff, spending more on wages.

Ask the the Government for a hand up now. Everyone else can get government funding, why can’t we now.

Ged O’Flaherty