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Devastating loss
This is totally unbelievable (MM Sept 16). Homebuilders and their amazing staff have been an essential part of Warkworth community support for years.
Any decision to reduce the work they do will put huge pressure on the already under-resourced and hard to find support groups for children, teenagers, parents and families.
Under the radar, Homebuilders also offers invaluable advice, expert knowledge and advocacy to other support groups trying to navigate the increasingly limited resources available privately and through government.
The potential loss of Homebuilders in Warkworth will be devastating to the community and have a long term negative impact on the wider area for years to come.
Ann Cook, Warkworth
Changing attitudes
Mid-morning Thursday, August 15, I saw a small elderly man cross Warkworth’s Queen Street towards the ANZ bank.
He passed in front of a station wagon, the driver giving a long blast on the horn, angrily waving his hands and shouting abuse at the pedestrian. The driver then stopped his vehicle in the centre of the road, getting out to confront the man with his vehicle, blocking traffic. The driver was considerably younger and bigger than the elderly pedestrian.
Concerned for the safety of the pedestrian, I tried to intervene. The driver aggressively pushed me away, clenching his fists. Threateningly, he stood over the elderly pedestrian abusing him. I pushed between the two, guiding the pedestrian away from the situation. The driver immediately turned his hostility towards me, his face just a few inches from mine, making threats to fight me. It ended with the driver returning to his vehicle and departing.
The point of this letter is that for generations Warkworth has been a sleepy ‘slow town’, where people were friendly and took the time to talk and help. It is likely one of the reasons that we all choose to live here, including the driver, as he told me through gritted teeth that he was a resident.
We frequently hear of events in other places, but we feel safe and secure here. The Warkworth area is growing fast and becoming busier, but it will be a great shame if we lose that friendliness and charm. It appears the catalyst was the driver’s frustration at a delay of three or four seconds to his journey.
What comes next – punch-ups for carparks, arm-wrestles for shopping trolleys or jostling for service?
I truly hope that in years to come that Warkworth is able to retain its slow town charm, but for that to happen, it will require tolerance, patience and, dare I say it, kindness!
Chris Jensen, Warkworth
Dismal future
The recent statement by Sir Jonathon Porritt, former chair of Air New Zealand’s Sustainability Panel, that Christopher Luxon is a hypocrite, should alert every New Zealander to the follies of this government in placing its version of an economy ahead of the protection of our environment.
Luxon, as Prime Minister, reversed his assessment of the dangers of a warming climate that he had strongly advocated as the former CEO of Air New Zealand. This reversal strikes at the heart of his, and his government’s, integrity and is a warning that the current government’s denial of the consequences of ecological degradation is leading New Zealand to a future of severe weather events rapidly increasing in frequency and intensity.
The floods we had last year are a small indicator of what our future will be like.
The state of Earth’s ecological integrity and wellbeing is not just one more concern to be added (or ignored) to an already long list of concerns about humanity’s future.
The ecological situation is not a concern in the usual sense of the word, nor is it a special interest. It is the foundation of all concerns, and the most general and comprehensive interest possible.
Unless we develop a deep relationship of respect and reciprocity with the natural world, which is reflected in our economics and our agriculture and manufacturing and service industries, we are headed for a dismal future. The health of the climate, land, water and living systems comes first, and when nature thrives so do our families, communities and businesses.
Coupled with the hypocrisy of Luxon is the news that James Hansen, one of the world’s foremost climate scientists, and colleagues have stated, “Under the present geopolitical approach to greenhouse gas emissions, global warming will exceed 1.5°C in the 2020s and 2°C before 2050.”
The world’s top scientists no longer believe that heating can be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius but is heading for 2.5. The UN Secretary General said over a year ago, we are sleepwalking to climate catastrophe. It is time to wake up.
Dr Robert Howell, Warkworth
Police thanked
As a resident of Mason Heights, I would like to publicly thank the local police for their response to an incident involving fireworks and disorderly behaviour recently. Police get a lot of criticism at times, but I would like to reassure the public that when you need them, they are there. They showed me nothing but understanding and kindness, and I can’t thank them enough. I and my animals were extremely frightened by what went on – and I don’t scare easily – so I was very grateful for the reassurance the police provided.
(Name withheld)
