Local Social Housing loss? Stinky river clean-up.

Housing or profit

There is a strong rumour around town that the council plans to sell off our council owned social housing stock and then lease it back or manage it on behalf of the new owners. If this is true, and it may or may not be, this is economics gone mad.

This is as crazy as a walking Christmas Parade around the Square; I suppose all the toddlers will have to be on a leash so as to stop them biting the ankles of the adults, if not on a leash at least muzzled. Seriously folks why create problems were none exist…selling off our social housing and inventing a Christmas Parade without floats for the kids to cheer indicates a council looking for problems where none exists. Or is there another reason? Is it money and the lack of, well without sponsors like ‘Downtown’, ‘Red Cross’ and Robinson Ford its going to cost a whole lot more. Still I suppose the Mayor will say one of his suitable prayers for all and throw the switch to light up our hundred thousand dollar Christmas tree and all our woes will disappear…yeah, yeah…make a good Tui Ad would that.

I understand that the Regional Council will be reviewing the evidence surrounding the City Council’s breaches of its discharge consents and making a decision about what action will be taken at a public meeting on 11 October to be held at Horizons Regional Council offices

11 Victoria Avenue

. It is the Strategy and Policy Committee meeting which commences at 10am and the Agenda will be on the Horizons’ website on either 5 or 6 October.

The first question I think that needs to be asked is whether the report previously withdrawn at the request of the City’s Mayor has been altered or watered down in any way!

We know that the City Council has been breaching its discharge consents for years and nothing of significance has been done about them.

I would encourage all those who have marched or attended rallies in support of cleaning up the river over the years to attend the public meeting or picket outside to let the Regional Councillors especially, but also the City Councillors and the Mayor, know that this situation has to be dealt with seriously and that the causes have to be sorted and that no excuses or extenuating circumstances will be acceptable. Yours Ian Ritchie