Long lunch with a side dish of disinformation
I note that a long lunch is soon to be available to those who wish to oppose the Santana gold mining proposals.
The attendees can digest good food along with entertaining addresses, but misinformation is also likely to be on the menu. Opinion v fact - which is fine as long as opinion is not presented as fact.
Yet again the environmental lobby is misleading the public. May I point out that the Macrae’s mine is a hard rock mining operation and has been since 1990. The gold mine at Waihi in the Coromandel is also a hard rock mine and both mines use cyanide - as does gold mining all over the world.
Both mines are monitored closely by councils for any breaches of their consent. Is the opposition to the Santana proposal then a ‘‘not in my back yard’’ issue?
Would not a free public debate by informed speakers from both sides of the debate be of greater value to us all?
I’m sure Resources Minister Shane Jones’ loquacious offerings would be both entering as well as factual. Food for thought is usually better than an unnecessary lunch.
Gerrard Eckhoff
Alexandra
An empty mandate
Shout out to Forest & Bird, Central Otago District Mayor Tamah Alley and others (ODT 21.1.26) for standing up against the government’s fast-track proposals for massive developments in our precious open spaces.
Regardless of whether Central Otago or the Denniston Plateau is under consideration, the government needs to be thinking more long term than this. Plans like these generate financial gains, which often primarily benefit overseas companies for a short period of time; those dollars earned come with considerable costs as fragile environments will be altered and left polluted for many years after the mines have closed and future generations will be left with the cleanup expenses.
Whatever happened to that democratic principle of consulting local people first? Before making plans like these, companies need to speak with people who live in the localities concerned and to find out what they think about these proposals.
If an area is ‘‘largely empty’’, that is not a mandate to turn it into an industrial wasteland.
Hazel Agnew
Oamaru
No to rent rise
I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the proposed rent increase for the Grainstore Gallery, run by Donna Demente in Oamaru.
The Grainstore Gallery is not just a commercial tenant, it is one of Oamaru’s cultural icons. Through Donna’s vision, the space has become a magical space with art, concerts and a place for locals and visitors. If the rent is increased beyond what Donna can afford, Oamaru risks losing one of its true gems.
So, I respectfully ask the powers that be to consider keeping the rent at its current level, in recognition of the extraordinary value the Grainstore Gallery brings to Oamaru.
Caroline Cameron
Oamaru
Stairway to heaven
What has been missing from the coverage of the rent increase threatened for Donna Demente’s Grainstore Gallery is the fact that it’s a three-storey walk-up, with no ground-level frontage on Harbour St.
Only the most determined tourist will climb the stairs to discover Donna’s amazing gallery. There is negligible commercial potential, no heat, and no practical way to move bulk items up and down.
If the rent triples to $400 per week, the space will probably stay vacant and Harbour St will lose another appealing feature. A stupid move.
Mike Sweeney
Oamaru
No knowledge, no experience - I’m your man
So the All Blacks need a coach and all the talk seems to be that Jamie Joseph will be that person.
I thought in New Zealand that if this is a job vacancy that it has to be publicly listed. I haven’t found a listing anywhere, including on the website of NZR job vacancies. This bothers me because I would like the job.
I bring a fresh approach, having almost no knowledge of how to play the game. I did play half a season of under 50kg grade in my first year of high school. I also don’t have any coaching experience but I don’t see that as a stumbling block: it makes me someone unencumbered with prior knowledge.
I have tried contacting NZR but they have yet to reply to my emails. Hopefully David Kirk and his pals read the ODT?
Andrew Glennie
Taieri Mouth
I’m bored
Is it possible that, give the motley collection that has climbed aboard Trump’s ‘‘Board of Peace’’, he just miss-spelt the first word?
Harry Love
North East Valley
Trump thumping
I am intrigued by Dave Tackney’s assertion (Letters 24.1.26) that US President Donald Trump has the West’s best interests at heart.
While the majority of global opinion might ponder whether Mr Trump actually has a heart, and if the interests of the West are also the interests of the East, Mr Tackney appears to be a brave lone voice.
In the interests of democracy, could Mr Tackney firstly expand on his theory and name his sources, and secondly enumerate the deals which Trump, in the reasonable light of day, has committed to and put into action?
Marian Poole
Deborah Bay
Dave Tackney’s stirring - not in the sense of James Bond’s ‘‘shaken not stirred’’ - defence of President Trump might have left the casual reader applying Poe’s Law: is this true parody utilising clever wit or is it in matters of fact witless and thus genuine? Far be it for me to list Mr Trump’s alleged flaws and failings: suffice it to say, if it’s Mr Tackney’s intention to grab Mr Trump’s attention might I suggest he prepare himself for a potential meeting by acquiring a merkin?
Dennis Horne
Auckland
On the other hand
I fully agree with Dave Tackney’s response to the letter from Ewan McDougall (22.1.26) and his attack on US President Donald Trump.
What do Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama (all Democrats) have in common in regards to illegal immigrants? All three, over time, stated that if you are an illegal alien in the United States, you will be arrested and deported. That is available for all ‘‘Trump Thumpers’’ to watch and read on a plethora of platforms.
I can only take from Mr McDougall’s letter that he too is a sympathiser of dangerous criminal illegal aliens but surely, of course, he would not want to see any in New Zealand or living next door to him.
This is a classic example of Mr McDougall’s total, all-consuming Trump derangement syndrome.
Greg Glendining
Glenross
[All abridged: editor].
Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: letters@odt.co.nz
