puff Wheeler's Corner

Wheeler’s CornerÓ

Connecting Citizens Who Care

"Broadcast every Thursday at 11.45am on Access Manawatu 999AM"

Contact Peter at wheeler@inspire.net.nz

31 2nd August 2007

This Week: 1. Forgetting to forget. 2. Questions without answers. 3. ‘Rebuttal of mayor wannabe’. 4. ‘Alive and well’. 5. ‘High Court has ruled’. 6. ‘Youth One Stop Shop forum’. 7. ‘Industrial site activity’. 8. My God says. Attached PNRA press release.

1. Editor

Cr. Gordon Cruden recently urged ratepayers to forget about the lantern and concentrate on capital value. While ratepayers are forgetting about the lantern they also need to forget about the attempted sale of the old peoples car park. Dittmer Drive, Milson Line, the sale of reserve land, the sale of the Linklater land. City Heart and especially the support provided to our recently departed CEO Paul Wiley etc. While ratepayers are forgetting about City Heart don't forget to forget about the $4.5 million proposed spending on the CAB and the $0.5 million proposed for the Square Edge. Believing in Capital Value rating is no different to believing in the tooth fairy. E Constantine

2. Vern Lumley asked a question of Cr. Naylor in the local paper on Monday night. Vern wrote, ‘wherever I go, people are asking who is funding this expensive mayoral campaign? And if successful, what returns could the generous funders expect to receive in gratitude for the funding? I think ratepayers are entitled to get an honest answer to these questions". This same question keeps cropping up, you’d think Jono could answer it.

3. Wendy Gadd sure knows how to put pen to paper, her rebuttal of mayor wannabe Jono Naylor’s’ public claims in the Tribune on Sunday was brilliant. Wendy gets straight to the point and tells it like it is. Her language is of the people and I believe that she hits the nail on the head regarding the misleading statements being spread about by the Naylor PR team. Ever since the past CEO [Wylie] spilt the cost of the city heart project into two parts tight eight councillors have referred to the Square Make Over at twelve million rather than the full cost of twenty five million. The Manawatu Standard made this very clear with some sound investigative journalism months ago.

4. The PN Residents Association is alive and well and is mobilising once more. More and more citizens are seeking a voice to represent them fully in the local government arena. It has been said that the Association was too negative, but this was and is PR tripe, the Association will heap praise on those in power if they would only listen to the people. Seriously I think the real problem is that many councillors don’t represent fully and powerfully the views of the Wards they supposedly represent. Just as national political parties are grappling with the problem of secret funding by various groups driven by their own agendas we here are also confronted by the same problem. Most citizens are prudent by nature and are governed by the limitations of their pockets. Yet when a council comes together it seems to lose this ability. Residents understand that you need to ensure that the basics can be catered for. Power, water, rubbish collection, health care and food always comes first. So to say you are passionate about our city is not enough you have to understand these very basic issues at least. This city of ours has lots to be proud of, our library and Esplanade prove this without doubt. The Residents Association would greatly value your input and would love you to join in this self-imposed community task. We will be seeking media assistance to get the column ‘Outside the Square’ published once again. Attached is their latest press release.

The Committee of the Residents Association met and decided to take steps to select a list of preferred candidates for the up-coming election. Reviewing the present sitting members, plus any known new candidates is the process and then making recommendations accordingly. The purpose is two fold, firstly to assist those selected and secondly to stop the splitting of the vote and thereby reducing the chances of change.

5. This item from the Manawatu Standard "Turitea Reserve can be used for "renewable electricity generation", the High Court has ruled in a groundbreaking decision released yesterday. It means Mighty River Power can apply for resource consents to build up to 60 wind turbines in the reserve at the northern edge of the Tararua Range, 11km south-east of Palmerston North. But critics warn a national precedent has now been set allowing "open slather for industrialisation" of local-purpose reserves. The controversial plan - a joint venture between Palmerston North City Council and Mighty River Power - involves using revenue generated by the wind farm to create an eco-park.

Friends of Turitea Reserve Society sought a judicial review, arguing, among other things, that the council's decision-making process last year was compromised by a prior agreement between the council and state-owned enterprise that included carbon credits and "progress payments" worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to the council. The High Court, sitting in Palmerston North, dismissed the society's application, but it won't have to pay costs.

"We're quite surprised and pretty disappointed," society chairman Adrian Cookson said yesterday. "It's a very dangerous decision to neutralise local-purpose reserves - eroding those values held true by New Zealanders.

"(Going for nice walks in native bush) and having turbines towering over you is not a natural way to appreciate the environment."

Justice David Baragwanath said the generation of power by wind turbines is a legitimate council purpose. He said a contention of council bias "failed" and the council met its legal community consultation requirements, although the flavour was "promotional". Council staff saw the decision as vindication.

"It's a decision that doesn't just benefit the city council but (everyone in the city who subscribes) to our vision of an impressive eco-park on their doorstep that can be enjoyed by generations to come," said wind farm project leader Mike Manson. Mayor Heather Tanguay said there was "absolute urgency" to mitigate the effects of climate change by using renewable energy. Mighty River Power group strategist Neil Williams said a thorough and open community consultation process will take place in advance of any decision to apply for resource consents. Mighty River's preference is to connect the wind farm to the national grid at the Linton substation, 6km south of Palmerston North. Dr Cookson said members would read the judgment before considering their next move, he said". That ends the MS report, but its not the end of the story, but the first step only, now the company and the council have to apply for consent and this may well prove to be a most difficult process…so watch this space.

6. The Youth One Stop Shop using its well honed skills and ably assisted by others brought together a large gathering of youth and not so youthful citizens in an effort to tackle the problems perceived by many to exist in their city. There was no talking down to people no blame being allocated. Instead there was a sound breaking the ice exercise to start with which achieved its objective of creating unity. Then it was into the hard work in smaller groups at which questions were asked and group responses recorded. All over twenty four-year-olds were in one group and the answers received by Peter Butler who was facilitating were wide and varied. It was an exciting and successful exercise at drawing out various points of view. The aim was to compare the answers from the older group with those of the four groups made up of younger members of the forum. This comparison is vital if the community is to become inclusive in designing the ways and means of achieving desired goals. I will be reporting on the outcomes in my next Wheeler’s Corner.

7. There are a whole bunch of signs appearing on industrial sites around the city on behalf on one mayoral candidate [Naylor]. It gives strong credence to the claims made by Vern Lumley in item number two, these sites appear to be owned by one particular city developer

8. My God says well done! YOSS

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Peter J Wheeler

Wheeler@inspire.net.nz