My Account
Seawall case
Ian Cook, Silverdale
The case of Orewa Seawall just gets more and more interesting (HM May 16). And more wasteful of our money too. It has highlighted a lot of concerns relating to how Auckland Council operates and in particular the power that staff members seem to have. I await the next installment with interest.
Future of Anzac
Pat Moore, Orewa
Anzac Day Parades grow every year. Yet withering membership and patronage are causing RSA closures or struggles to survive. A stopgap for some may be land sales but they are not a long-term answer. This situation demands national planning and perhaps a name change – why not convert to Anzac Clubs? The Returned Service members who were the core are largely departed. Membership growth demands a much broader base. Why not ask the members of the organisations which now form the majority of the marchers such as the Fire Service and Air Training Corps? Younger people who have inherited ancestral medals from the World Wars should be encouraged to join and march with pride. Dedicated Young Anzac Nights with special facilities or rooms for them? The services and facilities need very careful study – given that community spending at good and not cheap restaurants is growing, the clubs should overhaul their catering and compete for the hospitality trade with quality food, wine and service.
Developers thanked
Kerry Thomas, Gulf Harbour
Interested to see that a local developer, Cabra, is giving back to the community in such a significant way, by providing temporary housing (HM May 16). Developers are taking so much from this community, especially when it comes to open space and are having a huge environmental impact. I welcome this company’s offer of support and hope that more developers will do more than just pay developer’s contributions in acknowledgment that they are affecting all of our lives.
Coffee break
Michael Gilbert, Red Beach.
Your wonderful, informative paper dropped into our letterbox recently. We are new residents, and I can tell that our family will get a great deal of helpful information about what is going on from your newspaper. We are heading over to Orewa’s free fruit stand with the kids soon and we will try to have a go on the miniature railway before it closes. There was so much to read – it took me two cups of coffee!
Entrance unfit
Ralph Hill, Orewa (abridged)
I read with some amusement of the latest attempt by Auckland Transport (AT) to address the ongoing traffic problems caused by access/egress to the New World complex on Whangaparaoa Road (HM May 2). Why has no one in Council or at AT acknowledged that the Whangaparaoa entrance/exit is not fit for purpose? Every conversation I have had with other Coasties about this debacle of design raises the same questions; what were they thinking? How did they think a 30-degree entrance and a 90-degree exit on such a narrow carriageway was going to work? Why was it not designed like the entranceway into a service station with shallow angled entrance and exit? Why is it next to a bus stop? This list goes on but the common theme is that the design is a clear demonstration of incompetence by all involved in its design and approval.
