More from the District Council front. This smells distinctly like an Agenda 21/30 land grab to me. We’ve posted info on a Mangawhai a bank that withdrew a person’s rates from their bank account without their consent or knowledge! What is going on? And remember Christchurch?
EnvirowatchRangitikei

From the Whakatane Beacon

WHY would Awatarariki residents trust Whakatane District Council to pay a fair price for their homes, if they are forced to move from the fanhead in Matata?

It is a question Awatarariki Residents’ Association chairman Rick Whalley has been asking over and over, after the district council pulled out of negotiating a memorandum of understanding.

The memorandum would have allowed for an independent engineer to assess the risk of living on the fanhead, a request by the association.

In a letter from Brookfield lawyers, partner Andrew Green said the changes to the draft memorandum were not acceptable to the council and they were not prepared to enter the memorandum.

“Secondly, the council is extremely disappointed by the actions of Mr and Mrs Whalley and others, whether in personal capacities or as members-officers of the association… After the meeting, district council staff were assaulted and verbally abused by a resident of the fanhead and were threatened with future physical harm.”

Mr Green said the good faith obligations outlined in the draft memorandum had not been honoured by the association.

Mr Whalley, who lives on the fanhead with his wife, Rachel, and mother, Pam, said it had been almost 14 years since a debris flow tore through the area, damaging some of the houses.

He said during those years, their trust of the district council had waned, and the memorandum was a tool to address that.

“Firstly, they told us that we could rebuild, and then they took that away. Then they told us that they could mitigate, and they took that away. Remember the 90 percent thing? They told us they would have 90 percent agreement to sell and they took away that.

“And now they have taken away the memorandum of understanding… The mayor and deputy mayor have both said that they do not have to buy our properties, so if they get what they want we know that they are going to pull those things.”

https://whakatanebeacon.co.nz/2018/04/no-mou-grows-mistrust/

PHOTO: Whakatane Beacon