Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Your views: Readers' letters

Whanganui Chronicle
15 Aug, 2016 05:30 PM6 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

CRITICAL LINK: Air Chathams' Saab 340 aircraft on the tarmac at Whanganui Airport on July 31. It was the airline's first commercial flight into the city.PHOTO/FILE

CRITICAL LINK: Air Chathams' Saab 340 aircraft on the tarmac at Whanganui Airport on July 31. It was the airline's first commercial flight into the city.PHOTO/FILE

Local Body Elections 2016

Three trips in with Air Chathams on the Auckland-Whanganui service -- what's the verdict?

Well, it's actually really good. Easy online booking. Emailed flight reminders. No check-in kiosks but real people who will hand you a boarding pass. Departures and arrivals on time. Comfortable plane, with a nice cup of tea and bikkies on the mid-morning leg. Lollies, water and in-flight service from people that genuinely seem to care.

I'm impressed and wish them all the best. Avoid the drive to Palmy and support our local service.

RICHARD THOMPSON
Whanganui

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Hospital care

I am writing this letter to convey my appreciation for the excellent care and support shown to myself and my husband by the nursing, medical and all the other staff working in the Assessment, Treatment and Rehabilitation Ward at Whanganui Hospital during my recent admission following a stroke.

The kindness shown helped me through what has, for both myself and my husband, been a difficult ordeal and eased my transition back to my normal everyday life.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Once again I would like to convey how grateful I am for the excellent care I was given.

S KINGDOM
Putiki

$41m disaster

I have to fully agree with both Wanganui Chronicle letters contributors Russell Eades and mayoral aspirant Andy Jarden regarding the shocking decision and $41 million disaster the majority of present councillors have shackled this city and its ratepayers with for the future.

Remember, the true cost is actually $15 million for the original plant plus $10 million in remedial costs. Now a proposed $41 million for a plant that may only be used to just 40 per cent of its capacity. That's a $66 million absolute disgrace that many of the present councillors and those seeking re-election were party to in the series of bad decisions leading to the current situation.

The council inquiry into the failed plant with an original estimate of $100,000 -- and now we are told up to $200,000 -- is only looking at council procedures concerning the plant and will not actually address why the plant failed or if it could be resurrected. So here we go again; wasted ratepayers' money and what will inevitably be a whitewash result.

When the decision was made at the extraordinary council meeting on August 9 to proceed with the latest $41 million spend, I was shocked to hear some councillors and our mayor imply that $41 million was not that big a spend, with no apparent regard to the huge debt burden they were committing this city's ratepayers to for years to come.

Surely the deadline and this big commitment could have been delayed until after the council elections. Ultimately, it's the new councillors and mayor who will be saddled and hamstrung with any further expenditure or development projects. Not once at this meeting was a delay requested because of the pending election.

Congratulations must go to councillors Charlie Anderson, Philippa Baker-Hogan and Rob Vinsen, who voted against the spend. As Russell Eades says "those who voted 'yes' need to get the message from ratepayers that this decision is just not good enough" .

DAVE HILL
Whanganui

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

� Dave Hill is standing for the Whanganui District Council in October

Help for voters

Good news that the councillors have voted for our new $42 million plant. Good news because now we know who not to for vote at the upcoming elections. Any councillor who believes that Wanganui can afford that sort of money has to be in La La Land. Do they honestly believe that a house owner in our lovely little town with a property worth $250,000 can afford to pay $3000 a year in rates? That is $60 per week.

Helen Craig thinks we should go ahead and spend the money we do not have to cater for businesses that we also do not have, and will probably not ever get. Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?

As for the councillors who are standing down at the next election and chose to vote on this enormous issue, shame on you. You should have abstained, especially Mayor Annette.

As for Kym Fell, he would be better to see how he can shed half the managers he has working for him so we can afford the salary bill. Ask for a written job description from each manager, Kym. I believe you would be surprised at the overlapping and the non-requirement of many of them.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

KEVIN O'SULLIVAN
Parkdale

Cheaper finance

No sooner had council vowed to "a financial strategy of reduced borrowing and repaying debt" (amended 10-year Plan) than it finds itself having to admit that more borrowing will be necessary to fund the new wastewater plant. But from what source? On what terms?

Page 78 of the plan reveals that "Council funds debt from bank credit lines and from issuing local authority stock, either through private placement or through the NZ Local Government Funding Agency". This explains the assumption that loan moneys can be secured at 4.5 per cent interest p.a. -- with loan plus the debt-servicing being paid over 25 years. This would mean rates and usage fees having to pay well over double the $41 million estimated to be the raw cost of the scheme.

Backtrack to those words "private placement". Where in the laws of our land is it prescribed that capital for our public infrastructures must be privately sourced, then rented to local and central governments at interest? The answer? Nowhere! The practice is based on custom plus the dependence of private investors on owning low-risk public securities.

Thankfully, the first Labour (Savage) Government invented the idea of borrowing from the newly nationalised Reserve Bank at around 1 per cent interest. Such loans funded the building of state houses, bridges, roads etc, thus reflating a depressed economy as unused labour and physical resources were put to work.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Although today's Labour Party no longer supports this policy, Social Credit and a growing number of NZ First members demand that such a financial mechanism be re-employed, as already allowed for in the Public Finance Act-- which allows government to borrow from any individual or organisation. Now, with the local body elections imminent, it would be enlightening to know what council hopefuls have to say.

HEATHER MARION SMITH
Gisborne

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

Taihape books return to premier final

07 Jul 05:01 PM
Premium
Opinion

Kevin Page: Semi-retired life and the quest for dry shoes

07 Jul 05:00 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

Kaierau end Border’s reign, secure finals spot

07 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Taihape books return to premier final

Taihape books return to premier final

07 Jul 05:01 PM

Cooks Gardens hosts Saturday's finals day.

Premium
Kevin Page: Semi-retired life and the quest for dry shoes

Kevin Page: Semi-retired life and the quest for dry shoes

07 Jul 05:00 PM
Kaierau end Border’s reign, secure finals spot

Kaierau end Border’s reign, secure finals spot

07 Jul 05:00 PM
Council funding critical to continue Masters Games

Council funding critical to continue Masters Games

07 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP