My Account
Manuhiri deal stinks
I, like a lot of Rodney people, are absolutely gutted by Mook Hohneck and his Ngati Manuhiri Settlement Trust’s actions, in changing their mind in supporting Waste Management in their bid to build this giant toxic landfill in the Dome Valley.
One has to ask, what has made this ‘trust’ do a complete reversal after all he has said against this tip and that it would never go ahead so long as he was alive.
In reading local news and hearing a few opinions, none of the local Manuhiri iwi want this landfill to go ahead and none of them apparently have ever been consulted on this.
Apparently Mr Hohneck lives in Rotorua and all their trust’s meetings are held in Rotorua. Is this so locals can’t attend the trust meetings and vote?
What use is $10 million when this landfill starts to leak, which it will do according to a lot of experts, should it go ahead? Worse still, who will own this landfill and be responsible for any leaks and the consequences?
How much training in “cultural induction” does a workforce require to build this landfill and maintain it?
Will the trust be fair and disclose how much money they will make from all of this or will they keep it secret from local iwi?
Surely Judge Smith, who is overseeing this case in the Environmental Court, will see this move for what it is – purely commercial – and deal with it accordingly.
I believe that Settlement Trust’s decision is a black mark against all Maori and all other Kiwis who pride themselves on living in an honest, open and caring society.
They need to look at themselves and see what the rest of us see and feel about their deal. It stinks!
Maury Purdy, Warkworth
This letter was referred to the Ngati Manuhiri Settlement Trust, but it did not wish to comment at this time.
Dollars talk
So a massive backflip for the almighty silver dollar (MM Jan 30). The Ngati Manuhiri Settlement Trust board, who over the past years have all been against the [Dome] landfill, but now have been given a bribe of $10 million. When it comes to money they have no friends just the almighty silver dollar … I hope this backfires big time on the lot of them who opted to do this.
Brian Henman, Algies Bay
Goatley complaint
In the weeks prior to Christmas, I emailed Auckland Council’s AT section regarding the poor state of repair of Goatley Road, just north of Warkworth, off SH1. The reply email was headed ‘We’ve started working on your case”. Wrong.
Absolutely nothing has been done and since the recent heavy rains, we now have to drive on the wrong side of the road at blind hills/bends to avoid massive potholes and gullies gouged out of the road. Because of the numerous resource consents granted by Auckland Council, and the subsequent new builds, traffic has increased dramatically, with absolutely nothing being done about the road. At the one lane bridge near No.123, there is no tarseal as there is at almost every other one-lane bridge in Rodney. A local farmer is filling the potholes on either side.
There have been accidents, and there will be more accidents. Council needs to do something before someone is killed or severely injured.
David Inglis, Goatley Road
AT enemies
Now I understand who the four enemies of Auckland Transport are: Spring, summer, autumn, winter.
K H Peter Kammler, Matakana
