Making such meals available is to be commended. The occasion to partake is often rare, if it exists at all, so to find tripe and onions on the menu, let alone at a special, low price, gladdens the heart of many a deprived stomach.
Have I praised the club and the meal enough?
For now.
The page one story this week is about a possible course of action that has also invoked extreme reaction.
But the proposal by the Wanganui District Health Board to use Palmerston North Hospital for something like half its current maternity service does not compare with tripe and onions. The smell of its preparation is similar, but the flavour is nowhere near as sweet.
At a time when Wanganui is in danger of losing even more of its declining population, this "proposal" is a bitter blow, and, the opponents argue, will lead to fewer people, particularly young people wanting to start a family, choosing Wanganui as their place of residence.
Wanganui has lost so much to Palmerston North and the trend continues. Let's be clear; this is not a natural trend brought on by the desirability of living in Manawatu. It is a deliberate course of action started and maintained by government agencies.
Wanganui is, by far, a better city in which to live. Housing costs, sporting amenities, arts facilities, secondary educational institutions, access to coastal activities, climate, a river to be proud of, as well as the natural beauty of Wanganui, are all points in our favour.
What's more, we are here all year round, not just during university semesters. And, we are here by choice, not because the government shifted offices here and made us follow.
Former mayor Chas Poynter persistently denied the old "we turned down the university" claims. He used to say it was never offered; never an option. Massey University grew from the agricultural college of the 1920s and Wanganui was never considered as an alternative. For that, we can probably blame the course of the main trunk line.
Now, it seems, one of the arguments for the proposal to farm out birthing services is that Wanganui does not attract overseas residents. Apparently Wanganui does not appeal to English-speaking doctors and surgeons coming to New Zealand.
And Palmerston North does? If Dr Mark Stegmann is correct when he says that O&G; specialists are well paid in Wanganui and therefore money is not the issue, why are these qualified medical people choosing to live in a second-rate environment? I'm sorry, but it has to be about the money.
Some people will live anywhere just for the pay. And if Wanganui Hospital can't offer an attractive remuneration package, then that's a government funding issue, not the fault of Wanganui people who want to retain their hospital and ALL its services.
The Wanganui District Health Board joint committee meeting was enlightening in many ways. That members of the public were allowed to speak was a point in their favour. That their concerns were largely ignored was not. And when I say ignored, to some people sitting at that table, it was as if they had not spoken at all.
It's obvious that this community has lost enough to the artificially propelled Palmerston North juggernaut and public opinion in Wanganui is against this latest proposal. Not just against, but vehemently against, and it would be a foolish board indeed that chooses to ignore its own constituents.
Feedback: paul.brooks@wanganuichronicle.co.nz
