It appears some submitters want the Local Alcohol Policy to protect their business rather than people, and little people at that.
It’s no different down the other end of town where a day care is sitting behind another on-licence.
It appears that unless you are a submitter, then all is right with the world of on-licences. No lapse of licence and the licence stands - other than if you are Black Bull with an off-licence that never traded for a year then went elsewhere for their licence - fantastic! I wonder if that strategy could work again.
Another loophole is changing the licence over to another business and then changing it back to the original business again. A privilege given to on-licence holders who may have run into breaches, but it keeps the on-licence from lapsing.
The rules are different if you have maintained your on-licence for over a year and you apply for a renewal - which I dare say for the 123-ish licences of all varieties held in our territorial authority, are simply renewals.
The challenge is with new licences and that is how it should be under our policy. Protect the little people.
Elizabeth Crawford
On the new-look Gisborne Herald
The reasons I subscribe to the Gisborne Herald are the access to local news and information that I cannot find anywhere else and the opportunity to, on occasion, express an opinion in the letters page. The reasons for the sale to NZME have been made abundantly clear. Some of the feedback suggests that a number of people are reluctant to adjust to change. That is evident for some of the letter writing fraternity about more than just the NZ Herald.
From my perspective, the adjustment to a morning read has been an easy process. The add-on benefits were unexpected but welcome, especially access to the NZ Herald.
Geoff Meade
Roads are for people
Bright Street continues down to several metres from Waikanae Creek at the back of the Skate Park. That area is a neglected/abandoned piece of land. Surely $90,000 of our/my ratepayers’ money would be better spent making this Bright St entrance usable and also connect another part of the Waikanae Stream with locals? This would make it more family friendly and not disrupt busy commercial, tourist and local traffic. It would be a much safer entry/exit for families than amongst the traffic using Grey St.
I don’t know who owns that land (which is a danger to our children because of the neglect) but we all want our children to be safer around our city, so donating it to council or selling it for $10 or something similar would show a caring heart - that is, if council doesn’t already own it.
So many children enjoy the skate park, but messing with a perfectly good roading system and ignoring a dangerous area in the CBD - which our mayor keeps asking for ways to beautify - is beyond reason.
Well, here is one answer.
Barbara Searle
Vibrant towns
To all those who wish for a “vibrant” CBD, town, etc. I would first point out that everyone has a different notion of what “vibrant” means.
For some it is more cafes and bars - for others it is exclusive walking spaces or cycleways. Some want more sports facilities; others want to see the arts and crafts thrive - the wish list goes on.
For some, it is simply to have a more people/social-oriented place - more people “buzzing” about in an environment that satisfies their needs. What one person might like, another may not.
However, it would seem most do not recognise that “vibrancy” cannot somehow be magicked up. It relies on one thing - people with jobs and money in their pockets.
In turn, this needs employers/businesses able to pursue their activities efficiently and profitably - they too need a particular type of environment.
This is why it is so difficult for many places to attract new business and industry.
Those who do not recognise these essentials are delusional about Gisborne (or anywhere) being “vibrant”.
Another “must” for a thriving community is a council that does not waste money on “feel-good, nice-to-look-at” window dressing or vanity works; nor on costly and misguided efforts to engineer new business or tourism; nor gets involved in matters that are none of its concern, such as culture arguments and road crossings.
The loss of the freezing works, Watties, Juken - the huge problems of forestry - are painful lessons in how vulnerable the region is as a very small player with eggs in few baskets.
Even the world’s big cities are grappling with similar major issues - infrastructure, housing, transport, changing technology, small business being displaced by the big. Here examples are the sale of the Gisborne Herald to NZME and the move to online news, the future of our port and links to the rest of New Zealand, and the future of agriculture.
If Gisborne wants to be “vibrant” it needs to look far beyond “Streets for People” fiddling with Grey Street and the like.
Gisborne and the East Coast require much better, broader forward-thinking than the district has had to date - if it is ever to have a “vibrant” future.
(I recommend reading Age of the City: Why our future will be won or lost together, by Ian Goldin and Tom Lee-Devlin, in the HB Williams Memorial Library now.)
Roger Handford
What about Winston?
Re: Govt not likely to let Genter off the hook, May 3 editorial.
In true NZ Herald fashion, no mention of the Foreign Minister facing court action. The actions of an opposition MP are far more important.
Ian Findlay
