My Account
Makarau saga
Although the Auckland Shooting Club (ASC) grounds are closed due to the High Court overruling the original Code of Compliance, we have no reassurance that this is more than a temporary measure.
A resource consent application (at not inconsiderable expense) and no doubt many legal tricks are yet to come. The saga in Makarau has had a considerable local, daily cost. This we know so far includes stressed marriages, at least two babies who have known nothing other than the sound of continuous gunfire all their lives, a criminal record and one serious heart attack … so far.
The fact the CoC was issued under such obviously flimsy grounds has inevitably caused speculation among locals. Subsequent, glacially paced action/inaction from the Local Council has done nothing to dispel that view. Frankly, within our democracy we deserve a lot better.
There is something fundamentally wrong with a system in which tick-boxes have replaced local consultation. That an alien activity can be imposed on a community without a complete appraisal of the consequences by the people who live in that area first and foremost should be astonishing.
The ASC has often said, “Oh, but we want to be good neighbours” in a disingenuous, propagandic style that completely avoids the fact their “activity” (a continuous bombardment of gunfire for hours on end) is wholly incompatible with the surrounds.
Perhaps what has been saddest for the people of Makarau has been the disinterest of the press, coupled with the clearly implied indifference of the local council. The former seems to thrive today only upon fresh sensationalism, and the latter is simply arrogant at worst, inept at best. We have felt very let down by the former, but we are at least becoming stoic as we get used to the inadequacies of the latter, much as we’d prefer they were otherwise.
After all, we pay for them, but perhaps it is old-fashioned to regard local councils as our servants anymore. Certainly the behaviour is very far removed from any kind of service, and both parties, ASC and locals, have been badly let down by this debacle.
Crispin Caldicott, Kakanui
No fluoride change
I wonder if everybody in Warkworth and surroundings is aware that our water is not fluoridated.
Auckland water is fluoridated and we are part of Auckland City, yet our water quality is not the same.
Whether you are for or against the fluoridation of drinking water, it is good to know this so you can adjust your expectations and behaviours accordingly.
For instance, parents may wish to make particular arrangements to safeguard their children’s oral health.
Some people may wish to campaign for fluoridation of our local water.
Lesley Cavanagh, Snells Beach
Watercare head of operations Priyan Perera responds: “Watercare adds fluoride to Auckland’s drinking water supplies based on requests from the former local councils of Auckland. This fluoridation position for each supply has not changed since the amalgamation of the local councils in 2010.
“The non-metropolitan water supplies operated by the former Rodney District Council were not fluoridated prior to the local council amalgamation in 2010. This position has not changed and the Wellsford, Warkworth, and Snells Beach supplies remain un-fluoridated.”
Footpath injury
I read with interest the article in Mahurangi Matters regarding dangerous footpaths (MM 27 Feb). On Sunday, March 4, 2018 outside the ANZ bank, my wife tripped on the pavement and fell forward hitting her head on the pavement and cutting her hand while trying to save her fall. I was unable to lift her myself, but two kind people assisted me in moving her to a nearby bench seat. There was only medical assistance (A&E) in Wellsford or Red Beach. I took her to the latter facility where she was given a tetanus injection and had her hand dressed. She had repeated attacks of vertigo presumably due to concussion for several months and her final path to normality was achieved by several visits to an optician in Papakura using colour therapy treatment and a visit to a local osteopath. After reading similar stories of other folk in Warkworth, one would hope that this scenario of substandard footpaths will have permanent remedial action to avoid any repeat.
David Shearer, Papakura
Following stories in Mahurangi Matters, Auckland Transport has undertaken remedial work on the footpath outside the ANZ and elsewhere in Warkworth – Ed.
Garden thanks
We would like to say a big thank you to the kind people who leave old carpets, cardboard and coffee grains at the Wellsford community garden. It all helps. We would also welcome enquiries from people interested in helping.
Rhona Olesen, Wellsford
