Letters. Apr 14
14/04/2010 7:56:00 a.m.
Alcohol ban
The proposed anti-alcohol ban is lazy thinking and poor law, only one councillor didn’t vote to send it out for consultation. This reflects very badly on our sitting councillors as they think it is ok to interfere with the public’s right to quiet enjoyment and have a beer on the beach with fish and chips or a glass of wine with the sunset. Why? Because the NZ Police isn’t able to deal to drunk thugs and their behaviour in Newtown. Their solution is to ban all drinking in a public place when it is drunk people who are the problem not drinking per se. They also have not explained what is wrong with having a drink in a public place in the first place. I know whom I am not voting for this year and it will be anyone who thinks lazy and poor law is acceptable.
Mike McKee, Seatoun.
Electric cars
It was ironic to see the Greenie Chris Horne making the case against electric cars on environmental grounds, because they will use electricity generated by burning coal or gas, or by wind farms. Now that CO2 is apparently so important, I thought Greenies could have displayed some sincerity by relaxing their opposition to wind farms, hydro dams, and nuclear power. NZ could go “carbon free” easier than any other country in the world if we were prepared to be rational rather than religious, in the post-Christian, pagan Green sense. Imagine if we didn’t already get 70% of our electricity from hydro, and wouldn’t allow Manapouri, Benmore, and Clyde to be built now. The BBC recently ran a thought experiment at an environmentalists conference. Question: should we regard a new, magical, costless form of energy that enabled us to enjoy our lifestyles without guilt; as a “good thing”? The adjudicator asked the question again and again, wondering if the audience of environmentalists had misunderstood the question, because almost 100% answered “no”, and continued to insist that that was their final answer. And you thought we’d freed the process of “secular” government from puritan kill-joy fanatics? Welcome to the new Green Taleban.
Philip G. Hayward, Naenae
Wellington not clean or green
Forest and Bird when canvassing for support for their proposal to establish the Taputeranga marine reserve on Wellington’s South Coast, repeatedly assured residents that amongst other things there would be an improvement in water quality. The reserve was established in 2008, yet disappointing the quality of the water has not improved, in fact it has deteriorated to the point that Owhiro Bay, one of the premier swimming beaches within the reserve, has now been closed to swimmers for 10 weeks due to ongoing sewage outages. Wellington City Council says the city’s aging infrastructure is responsible for leaching sewage into stormwater pipes that discharge into the reserve, but why is no action being taken to ensure that the WCC prioritise its resources to sort the mess out? The regional council (responsible for prosecuting polluters) and DoC (responsible for managing the reserve) are both taking a subservient, acquiescent approach. Forest and Bird (busy crusading elsewhere) are turning a blind eye, while the government remains oblivious, amazingly releasing a paper proposing to upgrade the reserve’s conservation status. NZ 100% pure, yeah right. Look no further than the nation’s capital city and the ineptness of officialdom, green activists and ward councillors who tolerate the ongoing pollution of Wellington’s marine reserve. It’s very third world. What an inconvenient truth.
Matt Taylor, Island Bay.
Scooters
IT is a privilege to live in a country where we can heartily debate matters of science, technology, religion, humour, magic and life in general. We do have our fair share of miserable whingers and moaners though, and that correspondent last week who called those good people who cross footpaths on scooters “social misfits” whilst in the same breath reminding us all that he has a late model Volvo and has been back to England (bless him), was doubtless looking in the mirror. He also confirmed a long held suspicion of mine that he lives in the antipodes of his birthplace.
Gary Lewis, Lower Hutt
The proposed anti-alcohol ban is lazy thinking and poor law, only one councillor didn’t vote to send it out for consultation. This reflects very badly on our sitting councillors as they think it is ok to interfere with the public’s right to quiet enjoyment and have a beer on the beach with fish and chips or a glass of wine with the sunset. Why? Because the NZ Police isn’t able to deal to drunk thugs and their behaviour in Newtown. Their solution is to ban all drinking in a public place when it is drunk people who are the problem not drinking per se. They also have not explained what is wrong with having a drink in a public place in the first place. I know whom I am not voting for this year and it will be anyone who thinks lazy and poor law is acceptable.
Mike McKee, Seatoun.
Electric cars
It was ironic to see the Greenie Chris Horne making the case against electric cars on environmental grounds, because they will use electricity generated by burning coal or gas, or by wind farms. Now that CO2 is apparently so important, I thought Greenies could have displayed some sincerity by relaxing their opposition to wind farms, hydro dams, and nuclear power. NZ could go “carbon free” easier than any other country in the world if we were prepared to be rational rather than religious, in the post-Christian, pagan Green sense. Imagine if we didn’t already get 70% of our electricity from hydro, and wouldn’t allow Manapouri, Benmore, and Clyde to be built now. The BBC recently ran a thought experiment at an environmentalists conference. Question: should we regard a new, magical, costless form of energy that enabled us to enjoy our lifestyles without guilt; as a “good thing”? The adjudicator asked the question again and again, wondering if the audience of environmentalists had misunderstood the question, because almost 100% answered “no”, and continued to insist that that was their final answer. And you thought we’d freed the process of “secular” government from puritan kill-joy fanatics? Welcome to the new Green Taleban.
Philip G. Hayward, Naenae
Wellington not clean or green
Forest and Bird when canvassing for support for their proposal to establish the Taputeranga marine reserve on Wellington’s South Coast, repeatedly assured residents that amongst other things there would be an improvement in water quality. The reserve was established in 2008, yet disappointing the quality of the water has not improved, in fact it has deteriorated to the point that Owhiro Bay, one of the premier swimming beaches within the reserve, has now been closed to swimmers for 10 weeks due to ongoing sewage outages. Wellington City Council says the city’s aging infrastructure is responsible for leaching sewage into stormwater pipes that discharge into the reserve, but why is no action being taken to ensure that the WCC prioritise its resources to sort the mess out? The regional council (responsible for prosecuting polluters) and DoC (responsible for managing the reserve) are both taking a subservient, acquiescent approach. Forest and Bird (busy crusading elsewhere) are turning a blind eye, while the government remains oblivious, amazingly releasing a paper proposing to upgrade the reserve’s conservation status. NZ 100% pure, yeah right. Look no further than the nation’s capital city and the ineptness of officialdom, green activists and ward councillors who tolerate the ongoing pollution of Wellington’s marine reserve. It’s very third world. What an inconvenient truth.
Matt Taylor, Island Bay.
Scooters
IT is a privilege to live in a country where we can heartily debate matters of science, technology, religion, humour, magic and life in general. We do have our fair share of miserable whingers and moaners though, and that correspondent last week who called those good people who cross footpaths on scooters “social misfits” whilst in the same breath reminding us all that he has a late model Volvo and has been back to England (bless him), was doubtless looking in the mirror. He also confirmed a long held suspicion of mine that he lives in the antipodes of his birthplace.
Gary Lewis, Lower Hutt
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