An excellent 5 minute exposé of the rot that has set into a once caring humankind. A must watch in my opinion.
EnvirowatchRangitikei
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL2egos2nnY
A comment on the Grenfell Tower Fire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mXGU…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AX8D…
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
This is an excellent must read article on the factors behind the Grenfell fire and factors I often refer to as a part of Agenda 21/30. The austerity measures, the corruption of councils, gentrification, the ignoring of the poor and the ongoing marginalization of them. The pleas of the Grenfell Action Group fell on deaf heartless & cruel ears. While council has been stockpiling millions, these council tower blocks were let run down … no sprinklers! … accidents waiting to happen.
EnvirowatchRangitikei
by Graham Peebles
Writer, Dandelion Salad
London, England
June 23, 2017
Charred, lifeless and brutal, the hollowed out remains of Grenfell Tower in west London screams of the human agony inflicted when, on 14th June, the building became an inferno.
Whilst there are various theories about what triggered the fire – dodgy wiring, a faulty fridge, a gas leak – what is clear is that this disaster was not an accident, it was the consequence of a social housing policy dating back to the 1980’s, systematic neglect, social injustice and the ongoing war being waged on the poorest members of British society by the Conservative government. And this time the result is not just low pay, second-rate education and housing, lack of opportunities, increased anxiety and depression, but murder; families torn to pieces, lives destroyed.
Deep sadness shrouds the whole area, and, coming as it does on the back of a spate of recent atrocities, distress and a sense of collective bewilderment pervade the country.
The initial shock of the disaster has morphed into contained anger as the level of official incompetence and apathy becomes increasingly clear. Residents’ warnings of the risks of fire were repeatedly ignored by The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) who own the building and the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organization (KCTMO); the most insistent residents – two of whom are now dead – were bullied and threatened with “legal action for defamation” by KCTMO, the company responsible for the management of the building, The Independent reports. This attitude is widespread, the Radical Housing Group (RHG) makes clear that “the recent history of social housing is one of contempt for council tenants and denigration of council housing…the underlying causes of the Grenfell tragedy are deeply economic and political.”
The list of factors that led to this disaster is long and intertwined, rooted in the poisonous ground of commercialization, social division and official complacency.
READ MORE: Grenfell Tower: A Disaster Waiting to Happen by Graham Peebles
More (what I call) dodgy District Council goings on here, and just down the line. To learn what LG’s definition of ‘consultation’ is go to this link: https://issuu.com/contrafed/docs/lg_dec_1612_issuu/24 It differs somewhat from the person on the street’s I’d say.
As was observed in several posts last year, the council’s bureaucratic elite spends huge amounts of Ratepayers’ money on expensive outside consultants, usually Auckland based. Their ideas are then turned into plans and pursued. Period.
There are multiple ‘consultation’ documents on different topics released each year, full of expensively produced fancy graphics, because there is a requirement under the Local Government Act (see this post) that the public are consulted. But it’s apparent that the most that can be expected from this process is minor tweaking. The substance will remain unchanged.
What happens after tens of millions of dollars are squandered on useless projects? No problem, they’ll just tax the Ratepayers even more to repeat that. In the ten years from 2006 to 2016 our own Rates including the water charges went up 61% — general inflation in that same time was 20%. A real increase of 41%.
What…
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Not new news, nevertheless some people will not have heard about it. The Council corruption’s stacking up so fast it takes a bit of keeping up with.
The said company had “no track record in waste management ” … was not a registered company at the time it won the tender” … and “it registered with the Companies Office several months after securing the Franz Josef job”. Great stuff. So Westland DC wants a cake expert in charge of sewage? Or rather, is it a case of contracts for the mates?
Do you still trust your Local Government?
It bears repeating, NZ is NOT clean and green as often touted, and neither is it honest. That has been well documented here in previous posts.
I’ve added the subsequent developments on this issue as this was initially reported on March 15 this year. “Oops, it’s been put on hold guys … we got found out”.
And in fact the subsequent news items tell you it was a $10 million contract and in fact there were TWO. Now under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office we await the outcome. I’m not holding my breath in that we’re already considered corrupt under the latter’s watch so what are our chances for transparency this time? Makes for intriguing reading indeed.
EnvirowatchRangitikei
Neha Bubna, the sole director and shareholder of the company, runs a cake shop in South Auckland, specialising in birthday and special occasion cakes. She is a recent migrant from India…. stuff.co.nz
A new business, run by a cake decorator, which had no track record in waste management won a Westland District Council project to build a $7 million sewage plant in Franz Josef, a Stuff investigation has found.
Techno Economic Services, which is based in South Auckland, won the council project in the middle of last year, despite never having provided waste management or construction services before. The company was not a registered company at the time it won the tender. It registered with the Companies Office several months after securing the Franz Josef job.
Neha Bubna, the sole director and shareholder of the company, runs a cake shop in South Auckland, specialising in birthday and special occasion cakes. She is a recent migrant from India.
READ MORE
SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENTS:
Cake decorator firm’s water treatment facility contract put on hold by Westland District Council
Westland Council puts two water treatment contracts to cake decorating company on hold
Westland to investigate asset deals, contract on hold
Serious Fraud Office investigating $10 million water treatment contract
Photo Credit: South Westland Coastline
Simon Nathan, ‘West Coast places – The far south’, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/21035/south-westland-coastline (accessed 30 April 2017)
More sustainable development from our LG folks. I challenge you to examine LG websites (Councils, Regional Council, Horizons) – they’re replete with a ton of rhetoric about sustainable this and sustainable that … all of which they pay mere lip service to. Note the comment from them in the article when whose responsibility it is is being followed up:
“T&T Landfills manager Sophie Gray said all information was available on the council’s website. When asked when the drainage problems would be fixed, she said it was a matter between “me and the council” before hanging up.”
In my opinion placed there to lull you into thinking all this toxic pollution is not their fault. One gets the impression these DCs are fully in bed with the respective industries. Examine also though some of the events that transpire in the various other regions where the life in the waterways is dying off. Recently we had a huge die off of pipi and tuatua at Waitarere Beach. We hear a flurry in the news of ‘yes we are testing’ etc etc etc, and unless you pester them you’ll likely hear no more of it. Or when you do it is some curious thing to blame like I read recently, ‘pine pesticide’. Then they blame floods or high temps. All ‘natural’ phenomena of course so industrial pollution can’t be blamed. But here in this video, the stream is said to stink of chemicals, to which the likely reply will be the usual mantra of ‘it can’t be proven’. Not without extensive and expensive testing at least. Which predictably nobody will feel responsible enough to stump up with the costs for. Industries/corporations manage to let themselves off the hook in terms of responsibility for clean up. They have succeeded in reframing all of that by calling the damages externalities and making the public pay. Really the must watch as I always recommend is, ‘The Corporation’ doco. The profits of corporations are generally so large they pay for any fines out of their lunch money. If they get any fines that is. Largely they create carnage then move on leaving the locals to suck it up … get poisoned … whatever. They are rarely made to pay. So here we have dying eels as the canary in the coal mine. How long will it be before there is nothing left? We can’t swim in these streams and rivers any more, many more we can’t even wade in they’re so toxic. So why would we be expecting eels to survive in them? The regional authorities need to step up & enforce their consents properly instead of turning the proverbial blind eye.
EnvirowatchRangitikei
As Jane Poata walks beside Wellington’s Owhiro Stream, the toxic stench rekindles childhood memories of holidaying beside New Zealand’s most-contaminated site.
It is a metallic smell she described as ammonia and lime, rising from the brown and bubbly stream, a tributary of which passes through T&T Landfills before running behind a primary school and homes then into Taputeranga Marine Reserve off the capital’s south coast.
Greater Wellington Regional Council has confirmed the contamination came from the T&T Landfills, which was in the process of diverting the tributary to Owhiro Stream and creating a filtering wetland so it no longer picked up debris and contaminants when flood water rushed through.
READ MORE:
* Criticism at lack of action over rising contamination in Wellington’s Owhiro Stream
* Wellington stream brown, swollen and frothy
* The new ‘swimmable’ fresh water target: Nick Smith defends his plan
*Editorial: We must clean up our waterways to prove we are clean and green
“Any contaminant can be toxic and harmful to the stream ecology and people coming into contact, but it depends on the levels we find.”
The landfill was fined following a similar incident in November. Cross said further fines had not been ruled out but the council was more focused now on fixing the problem.
T&T Landfills manager Sophie Gray said all information was available on the council’s website. When asked when the drainage problems would be fixed, she said it was a matter between “me and the council” before hanging up.
Learn about why a corporation cannot legally govern, the corporatized governments of other countries and an investigation into the Reserve Bank of NZ ‘Corporation’.
Download the pdf file at the link provided at wakeupkiwi and see directions for how you can verify NZ’s listing at the SEC (Security and Exchange Commission) website in Washington DC for yourself. Your country is listed as being owned by Her Majesty the Queen.
You will find also most of our ‘government’ departments listed there as well. For obvious reasons this creates an anomaly regarding democracy when companies & corporations owe their first allegiance to their shareholders, not you the public.
If you visit Dun and Bradstreet’s website you will also find your own local District Councils listed there. They are companies also.
Check out our following pages for further relevant information:
EnvirowatchRangitikei
“These business associates of the Mayor actually came to our table at Council the other night and addressed us and advised us to vote for the policies that would benefit them!” Cr Ross Campbell
Last July it was brought to our attention by the currently-being-rolled Deputy Mayor (then) Councilor Ross Campbell, that a certain group within the HDC called the Economic Development Committee, was actually functioning in an advisory capacity to the district’s ELECTED representatives, the HDC Councilors. That economic group is comprised of:
EIGHT NON-ELECTED members of the business community … developers, retailers, manufacturers, contractors… and TWO ELECTED COUNCILORS, who in turn are advising ELECTED COUNCILORS how they should vote.
These people are privy to information that the public isn’t. Now this is not right, to have information that puts you at an advantage over your competitors. This Councilor is about to be ousted from his position as Deputy because the Council doesn’t want him in that position. They have not given a reason why. Is this why?
Bear in mind also, this is the same Councilor who has constantly cautioned the Council about its fiscal mismanagement … Council is currently $100 million in debt. The (previous) Council has argued it’s $68 million however, why is that figure even acceptable? Why would even ONE million be acceptable? How is it a CE on a $250K salary, can allow a small town Council to sink into such obscene debt?
Listen carefully to what Cr Ross Campbell says. Read the transcript if you are unable to watch it. He has brought important information to the attention of you the voters.
If you cannot play this video, here is the transcript for you to read:
“My name is Ross Campbell and as most of you know I’m the District Councilor for the Miranui Ward which takes in Tokomaru & Shannon, Opiki, Akarua, Buckley & Mangaore and this lovely part of the district of Miranui.
I’ve got a few things that concern me when I’m in Council. One of them is these … we get a lot of information at Council … we get information from the NZTA you know, that’s the roading people; we get Government departments telling us all sorts of statistics and things, what they are likely to do and what they want to do. We get a lot of information from statistics of course, we get market trends, we get inquiries from overseas investments … we get information from Regional Councils, Health Boards and so it goes on … there’s a lot of information coming in. This information is meant to be used in briefings to councillors, to help them in their decisions, planning the district, and which way we want to go, if we want to go forward or we want to go sideways or whatever the case might be, and so we use this information to help us make decisions.
But this concern is something that I want to bring to you … it’s not always the case. Our mayor … some of you might not know this ,.. our mayor has formed a group of his closest business associates. They’re the people who he mixes with. And together with these
associates there are developers, there are retailers, there are manufacturers, contractors, who have been selected by him. They’ve formed themselves into what we call an Economic Development Committee. That’s what the Council calls it. You see all the information that we receive is passed on to this committee who are not elected people … they’ve not been elected to be there by you, who may be arguably your closest competitor in your business, and these people all get an unfair advantage over their closest rivals, and that rival could be you. Because of all this information coming in, they know where the trends are, they know the direction the council’s thinking. They are privy to information that gives them an advantage over others, especially at this time when we councillors are told often to be quiet about the different possibilities that may happen.
These business associates of the Mayor actually came to our table at Council the other night and addressed us and advised us to vote for the policies that would benefit them!
This handful of business associates that our Mayor has selected are receiving an advantage over their competitors, and it’s just not right. These folks have not been elected by you. They’ve never sworn allegiance to the district, and are being rewarded for their faithfulness to the Mayor. Go figure. What do you think? Just last week a decision was made to announce to the retailers in Levin as to where the road of national significance was going. But we wouldn’t announce it until February 2017.
As it was told to us by the Mayor we shouldn’t announce it before the election as the Mayor, because of this, could get skinned alive.
So just whose interests are we looking after? Folks, we must get out there and vote, and elect those you trust … not those who are there to furnish the Mayor’s ego and their own business pockets. That is one of my concerns and over the next few weeks, I’m going to share some of the other concerns I have. They are concerns that I believe you need to know about … that we haven’t got a Council that’s working directly for you … we’ve got a Council that is working for the few.”
NOTE: If you would like to know the names of the seven business people from your community and their activities as part of the Committee, this has been summarized for you in video part one of the HDC meeting streamed on 7 December 2016 (on the HDC Facebook page).
That’s true Kiwi ‘democracy’ for you! Still, the Horowhenua voters who wanted change are not going to take all this lying down.
There will be a protest against both the selling of the community housing, and the
rolling of the new Deputy Mayor Cr Ross Campbell … outside the HDC building at 126 Oxford Street in Levin on Wednesday 7th December 2016! A peaceful protest … but one that will send a clear message that those who voted for our current Mayor are not happy with what is happening. Please come and bring a placard if you can.
You will find updates or changes at the Facebook page, at the Nua on our own FB pages (links at right of page) and our petition page here (see menu).
Your governments, local and national, are not what they used to be Kiwis. Check out our Local Government Watch pages for similar in other districts. Search ‘categories’ also (left of any page) for related articles. Particularly this one … Is Local Government in New Zealand Corrupt? And not-to-be-missed, the Horowhenua’s long history of intriguing events. Like many Councils NZ wide, Horowhenua is in serious economic debt to the tune of $68 million, although it’s alleged the figure is closer to $100 million. These debt figures in NZ have accrued under the watch of very well paid CEs with salaries ranging from $600K to $150K. On average, council chief executives are paid almost three times the mayoral salary – and almost five times the average household income of their area. This is what happens when the bottom line is profit. We are undergoing a shift from a Welfare State to Corporate fascism. When Police appear to be monitoring who attends protests (once a democratic right) and acting on behalf of LG, something is seriously wrong folks. Check out Naomi Jacobs’ take on all of this here.
EnvirowatchRangitikei
NZ Herald, 15 Nov 2016
The lawyer acting for a former Auckland council manager has disputed claims from the Serious Fraud Office that his client created a “culture of corruption”, by pointing to undeclared gifts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars given by others to council staff – including a former council chief executive.
The explosive claims emerged in closing arguments for the defence in the trial of Murray Noone and Stephen Borlase, accused of bribery and corruption over $1.1 million in consultancy payments between 2005 and 2012.
The Serious Fraud Office alleges these payments, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel and entertainment spending on associated council staff, was connected to Noone’s awarding of tens of millions of dollars of roading contracts to Borlase’s firm Projenz by Rodney District Council and Auckland Transport.
The long-running trial which opened in late September closed today with Simon Lance, acting for Noone, outlining to the High Court at Auckland how the evidence showed his client’s relationship Projenz was neither atypical nor corrupt.
Lance said the prosecution case had made much of potential conflicts of interest and Noone’s alleged lack of disclosure.
“These allegations did eventually lead to Noone’s employment at Auckland Transport being investigation, then brought to an end. But the lack of disclosure cannot necessarily lead to the conclusion there was a corrupt agenda,” Lance said.
Lance said evidence heard over the past seven weeks supported the contention that this was at worst an employment issue, and many of Noone’s colleagues and superiors had treated similar issues the same way.
Lance, quoting former RDC chief executive Roger Kerr-Newell’s testimony given earlier in the trial, said conflicts of interests were not “the end of the world”. Lance said Kerr-Newell admitted to receiving an expensive bottle of whiskey and a cigar from Projenz that were not listed on the RDC gift register.
“Some gifts, for example whiskey, were simply provided as a goodwill gesture – ‘a courtesy of life’. This was seen as standard industry practice,” Lance said in written submissions to the court.
Lance also said the council’s claim that Noone and Borlase were responsible for a “culture of corruption” in Auckland roading management was not supported by revelations at trial that Noone’s deputy Barrie George received hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel gifts and perks from other contractors.
Lance said George received $200,000 in travel gifts from Hiway Stabilisers, all before Noone was employed in 2005 at RDC.
George was originally charged alongside Noone and Borlase, but pleaded guilty on the eve of trial to corruptly receiving $103,580 in gifts from Projenz. He gave evidence for the Crown while wearing a home detention bracelet.
Lance argued the case against his client, and Borlase, was circumstantial and was reliant on suspicion.
“Suspicion plus suspicion only ever equals suspicion. If maybe this thorough investigation, which goes for a number of years, sees suspicions raised: But that is not proof beyond reasonable doubt,” he said.
The trial, before Justice Sally Fitzgerald alone, finished hearing eight weeks of evidence this morning. Justice Fitzgerald directed a hearing be scheduled for December 9 where she would deliver her verdict.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/crime/news/article.cfm?c_id=30&objectid=11747724
This is right on topic and worth a re-visit in light of recent goings on around the country. We as a nation have adopted such a time worn clean green image, it doesn’t occur to many that the reality of the image died long ago, especially with only 40% of our rivers now clean enough to swim in. The clean and green has spilled over long ago into every area of our lives to the extent most Kiwis wouldn’t dream of believing corporations lie to us. Invited over a year ago to speak to a group of senior cits about Smart Meters (aka here as Advanced Meters) my information was greeted in some corners with snickers and whispers. We are a very trusting nation, particularly that generation. That was great three and four decades ago. It isn’t any more. If you are that trusting now you are fair game and seen as simply a sucker. I watch with angst as I see it played out before me … the elderly treated as cash cows by enterprising and unscrupulous business people, and particularly real estate agents. If you’re snickering now please go and watch The Corporation documentary (halfway down the ‘Corporations’ page). That will make you stop. Not to get off topic here (I could say much more but I won’t) … our District Councils have come under much scrutiny of late with many particularly savvy people holding them to the lip service they tend to pay on their websites. Check out our Local Government Watch pages on the site menu for some of the happenings around your country Kiwis. All is not as good as many believe. Listen to the story of the man in Rodney who exposed the corruption in his District Council. He lost his home and business. Certain ones will deal to those who rock the boat it seems.
The following article is from the Whale Oil blog and raises some important data to ponder on.
EnvirowatchRangitikei
by Cameron Slater on August 21, 2015
With three officers from Auckland Council CCO – Auckland Transport – now set to go on trial for bribery it is a convenient opportunity to raise the issue of corruption in local authorities.
Most ordinary citizens have no idea that corruption is rife. But there are varying types of corrupt behaviour and unless one is familiar with the law they can be overlooked.
Two of the most common forms of corruption occur so often you think it’s normal.
These two particular forms of corruption do not result in personal gain – such as back pocketing cash. But they do result in breaking the law, and they happen daily.
The first is ‘malfeasance’ and the second is ‘misfeasance’.
Both are the abuse of authority – or the position of authority.
These generally occur by breaking the rule of law. In NZ the laws that generally govern Local Government are the LGA (Local Government Act) and the RMA (Resource Management Act). Some other laws like the Public Works Act are part and parcel as well.
Breaking the law for ordinary citizens results in penalties. If caught it can do the same for those in local government but nobody is policing them so nothing happens.
READ MORE
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2015/08/is-local-government-in-new-zealand-corrupt/
The recent Local Government elections saw Horowhenua District Council with a new Mayor, former Cr Michael Feyen who selected new Deputy Mayor, Ross Campbell. Perhaps indicative of HDC’s current stance, the powhiri and swearing in was only briefly featured on HDC’s web pages, clearly not ecstatic about the voters’ choice. And the announcement to roll the new deputy came two days ago when Mayor Feyen stated on his FB page he’d received an email stating that …
“all … Councilors have decided now they do not want Cr Ross Campbell as the Deputy Mayor…”
Horowhenua’s new Mayor Michael Feyen speaks about the cool reception he’s been given as new Mayor & describes how no justification has been offered for rolling his Deputy (apologies for video quality).
This all comes as no surprise given the turbulent history we’ve seen with this Council. Both councilors were ostracized historically for their insistence on truth and openness in Council dealings. Mayor Feyen, when a councilor, regularly posted videos on line exposing the pollution of Horowhenua and Manawatu waterways by both Council’s and local industry’s shoddy practices, saying HDC was a “top drawer polluter”. (See that video here plus his filming of Landcorp’s negligent practices).
Cr Campbell was vilified for filming the discharge of raw sewage into Shannon’s waterways, earlier this year (all denied by Council), and was physically assaulted in 2004 in relation to similar activity.
His accomplice in his most recent capturing of evidence this year, was also physically assaulted and kicked, making headline news. For more info on those somewhat intriguing and surreal events go here. Basically, according to former Councilor Mrs Anne Hunt, the HDC has a culture of bullying Crs into denying Council’s role in polluting the waterways, that aside from telling its councilors how to vote. (See here also).
There are other issues these two have made known they are not happy about, like the relatively new council building that has large cracks in the basement. (CE Clapperton and the HDC establishment insist this is safe citing two prior reports done at the cost of some $135K). Mayor Feyen has ordered another independent inspection that he’s stated he is willing to resource himself if necessary. Then there’s the issue that HDC was instrumental in the decision to issue a third liquor license that Shannon locals did not want. More to come on that one. And the issue that HDC appear to not be consulting the public as thoroughly as they claim, witness the recent moving-of-the-Foxton cenotaph issue and the sale of the community housing stock. Finally, on the building cracks, HDC announced following the recent major quake on 13th November that there are no additional cracks … contrary to Mayor Feyen’s mention in his video update early on the morning after the quake that there were now more cracks. Perhaps quite aptly, as Alice in Wonderland would say, it’s all getting ‘curiouser and curiouser’. The new building was only opened in 2007, and it has large cracks in the basement … is this the new norm?
Note: this council, like many in NZ now, pay mere lip service to the nice sounding ‘sustainable development’ rhetoric that their websites are replete with, reflecting the UN’s forward thinking plan Agenda 21 which is not all that it seems. Under its watch NZ’s rivers have become 60 percent 
unswimmable. Sustainable? Perhaps for corporate pockets but not for the environment. From the time councils were corporatised ie following Rogernomics in the late 1980s, they have masqueraded as democracies where in fact they are running on a business model (all registered at Dun and Bradstreet’s website). Right now, although the Mayor was voted in by the people, nevertheless the council appears to have him effectively hamstrung. At their first Council meeting following the election, the proposal to open the council’s books, and to not sell the community housing stock, were … as per usual … voted against by all except the Mayor and his new Deputy.
As noted, Mayor Michael Feyen asked for Council’s books to be opened.(Read minutes at this link – opening-the-books-Horowhenua- DC November-2016) Both he and Cr Campbell have been long time critics of the level of debt the Council is in (in spite of a supposedly well qualified CE who is paid the handsome salary of $250K + for his services). Indicative of the apparent power he holds perhaps? (By comparison the Mayor is paid only $99K). Pre corporate take over we had a town clerk who was only moderately rewarded and he kept the council out of debt.
Prior to the election HDC’s regime was vehemently denying the level of debt the Council was in (said by them to be $68 million not $100 million). They’ve argued on a pinhead over that level which somewhat detracts from the real issue here. Why is $68 million or even $1 million debt acceptable? Whatever happened to the time-tested strategy of not spending what you don’t have, as Cr Campbell is pointing out in his video here? We all know that the borrower is servant to the lender. Back in 2014 when he tried to highlight the fiscal mismanagement of Council, he was told by the Mayor at the time that his question was “not liked” and he “wouldn’t be spoken to again!” A curious response.
Cr Ross Campbell recently describing one of his many attempts at reigning in the borrowing by HDC into exorbitant debt … this one was in 2014
So, here we have a responsible Cr trying repeatedly (wasn’t his first time) to steer the Council in more prudent directions, being told to pretty much ‘sit down and shut up’. And the Council has currently voted to not open the books. One would have to ask, are they hiding something? Perhaps it is the alleged ‘insider trading’ that Cr Campbell refers to in this video …
Cr Campbell speaks out about the former Mayor’s Economic Development Committee … one he called an ‘Economic Advantage Committee’, being comprised of non-elected members. Read the full transcript at this link.
Our Mayor … some of you might not know this … our mayor has formed a group of his closest business associates. They’re the people who he mixes with. And together with these associates there are developers, there are retailers, there are manufacturers, contractors, who have been selected by him. They’ve formed themselves into what we call an Economic Development Committee. That’s what the Council calls it but I actually call it an Economic Advantage Committee … over their competitors … Cr Ross Campbell
Clearly this non-elected group has quite a lot to lose from hereon in with such environmentally friendly leadership in charge. No small wonder Cr Campbell is being rolled.
So, what do these two democratically elected, yet supposedly ‘renegade’ representatives of Horowhenua voters want for our district? … ah …
Mayor Feyen remains hopeful and positive … in his own words he concludes:
” I’m very very positive and I know I’ve been voted in to make change, to look at fixing the water, to look at fixing Lake Horowhenua, to look at removing the dump, to looking at our books, to having governance lead this area, so this is commuter trains … everything I got voted in for … I’m definitely looking for public support… that’s what you voted for and I’ll continue working for those things while I’m here as the Mayor. It would most definitely be easier with my current Deputy Mayor so I’ll just see what life serves me up … just keeping you informed like I promised we would do”.
Please do share this information. Like our new leaders we also want honesty and transparency. We want our Council to support the leadership chosen by the voters and move our district forward in true sustainable development … and not the kind that merely fattens corporate purses. We voted for change.
NOTE:
There will be a protest against the selling of the community housing, and the
rolling of the new Deputy Mayor Cr Ross Campbell … outside the HDC building at 126 Oxford Street in Levin on Wednesday 7th December! A peaceful protest … but one that will send a clear message that those who voted for our current Mayor are not happy with what is happening. Please come and bring a placard if you can.
You will find updates or changes at the Facebook page, at the Nua on our own FB pages and our petition page here (see menu).
Revelations here from an honest Councilor who tries to represent the people who elected him! Cr Ross Campbell posted this video on his Facebook page recently.
Please folks, take care how you vote this coming LG election. Find Crs/representatives who stand for truth and integrity, these are the ones who will represent you democratically as they should. Help stop the growing corruption and lies in our District Councils.
Horowhenua Mayor Brendan Duffy’s select Committee – is a non elected group that tells the elected councilors how to vote – says elected Councilor Ross Campbell of the Miranui Ward in the Horowhenua District, lower North Island. In this video he explains more and is expressing his concern about the way things are run. There is a lack of democracy.
And if you would like further confirmation of this state of affairs within the HDC & other LGs, visit the Local Government Watch pages … there you can read about a former Cr Mrs Anne Hunt’s experience in being eye balled & told how to vote. This is happening people, in our Councils NZ wide… check out the other Councils that have also come to light. Rodney for instance. I have heard personally of it happening in one other Council. Please read the Agenda 21/2030 pages for further information on why that is happening, and watch the video there by former Australian politician, Anne Bressington. (Search the sub pages to Agenda 21, Agenda 21/2030 in NZ also).
A word of endorsement from Councilor Michael Feyen … “Take the time to have a listen to Councillor Ross Campbell’s very good summation of what we are up against in this HDC District. If the Horowhenua wants to progress it won’t be under the current regime.” Cr Feyen is standing this election for the Mayoralty.
“My name is Ross Campbell and as most of you know I’m the District Councilor for the Miranui Ward which takes in Tokomaru & Shannon, Opiki, Akarua, Buckley & Mangaore and this lovely part of the district of Miranui.
I’ve got a few things that concern me when I’m in Council. One of them is these … we get a lot of information at Council … we get information from the NZTA you know, that’s the roading people; we get Government departments telling us all sorts of statistics and things, what they are likely to do and what they want to do. We get a lot of information from statistics of course, we get market trends, we get inquiries from overseas investments … we get information from Regional Councils, Health Boards and so it goes on … there’s a lot of information coming in. This information is meant to be used in briefings to councilors, to help them in their decisions, planning the district, and which way we want to go, if we want to go forward or we want to go sideways or whatever the case might be, and so we use this information to help us make decisions. But this concern is something that I want to bring to you … it’s not always the case.
Our Mayor … some of you might not know this … our mayor has formed a group of his closest business associates. They’re the people who he mixes with. And together with these associates there are developers, there are retailers, there are manufacturers, contractors, who have been selected by him. They’ve formed themselves into what we call an Economic Development Committee. That’s what the Council calls it but I actually call it an Economic Advantage Committee … over their competitors.
You see all the information that we receive is passed on to this committee who are not elected people … they’ve not been elected to be there by you, who may be arguably your closest competitor in your business, and these people all get an unfair advantage over their closest rivals, and that rival could be you. Because of all this information coming in, they know where the trends are, they know the direction the council’s thinking. They are privy to information that gives them an advantage over others, especially at this time when we Councilors are told often to be quiet about the different possibilities that may happen. These business associates of the Mayor actually came to our table at Council the other night and addressed us and advised us to vote for the policies that would benefit them!
What is that? To me that’s insider trading. I call it that but you may call it something different. But I’m not allowed. This handful of business associates that our Mayor has selected are receiving an advantage over their competitors, and it’s just not right. These folks have not been elected by you. They’ve never sworn allegiance to the district, and are being rewarded for their faithfulness to the Mayor. Go figure.
What do you think? Just last week a decision was made to announce to the retailers in Levin as to where the road of national significance was going. But we wouldn’t announce it until February 2017. As it was told to us by the Mayor we shouldn’t announce it before the election as the Mayor, because of this, could get skinned alive. So just whose interests are we looking after? Folks, we must get out there and vote, and elect those you trust … not those who are there to furnish the Mayor’s ego and their own business pockets. That is one of my concerns and over the next few weeks, I’m going to share some of the other concerns I have. They are concerns that I believe you need to know about … that we haven’t got a Council that’s working directly for you … we’ve got a Council that is working for the few.
Please folks, take care how you vote this coming LG election. Find Crs/representatives who stand for truth and integrity, these are the ones who will represent you democratically as they should. Help stop the corruption and lies.
See our Agenda 21/30 pages for more info & links, &/or search categories for further related articles (at left of any page).
Consider liking our FB pages (Horowhenua &/or Rangitikei) &/or following our blog (right of any page) to help spread the word and expose corruption! Use the share buttons!
Thank you!
This is very bizarre. If a District Councilor asks about Council debt the logical response would surely be a discussion with questions answered would it not? Instead this Mayor launches into an ugly personal attack promising the Cr he’ll never be spoken to again. Times have surely changed. We’ve gone from responsible spending and balancing the books, to insane debt and no accountability. Cr Campbell was clearly looking for accountability. The man is a gentleman and not given to rude comments or aggressive behavior so the response he got was certainly uncalled for. Hear for yourself the vagaries of HDC.
EnvirowatchHorowhenua
Published on Aug 31, 2016
NZ’s Horowhenua District Cncl is in debt to the tune of $106 million and climbing says one of their Councilors, Ross Campbell. In the video he asks about the debt and the Mayor responds with: “I don’t like your question and I’m never speaking to you again!”. Very bizarre happenings in this Council, all indicative of UN Agenda 21, 2030 practices. See the following links for further info on the Horowhenua District Council and Agenda 21/2030:
HOROWHENUA DISTRICT COUNCIL
https://envirowatchrangitikei.wordpre…
AGENDA 21/2030
https://envirowatchrangitikei.wordpre…
AGENDA 21/2030 IN NZ
https://envirowatchrangitikei.wordpre…
RELATED:
HDC Councilors are Told How to Vote – a Councillor Speaks Out
See our Local Government Watch pages
EnvirowatchHorowhenua
“The purpose of the Horowhenua District Council is to enable democratic local decision making to promote the social, economic, environmental and cultural well being of the Horowhenua District in the present and for the future… ”
Horowhenua District Council
The Horowhenua Dictrict Council’s Ross Campbell, elected representative of the Miranui
Ward, expresses his growing concern about the way things at the HDC are run, in particular, with whom important information is shared and the way decisions are being made.
Horowhenua Mayor Duffy has a select Committee of close business associates – a non-elected, hand picked business group with no sworn allegiance to the district, that tells the elected councilors how to vote. Cr Campbell is not alone in his concern.
Fellow Councilor Michael Feyen of Foxton confirms what Cr Campbell is saying … “Take the time to have a listen to Councillor Ross Campbell’s very good summation of what we are up against in this HDC District. If the Horowhenua wants to progress it won’t be under the current regime.” Both Cr Feyen and Cr Campbell speak out regularly about the polluting practices of local government. Cr Campbell was allegedly assaulted in 2004 for his active part in this.
Readers may also recall former Councilor Mrs Anne Hunt expressed identical concerns earlier this year describing how they were coerced to vote ‘correctly’ using bullying tactics.
Listen to Cr Campbell’s recent announcement from his Facebook page (the following is a transcript):
“My name is Ross Campbell and as most of you know I’m the District Councilor for the Miranui Ward which takes in Tokomaru & Shannon, Opiki, Buckley & Mangaore and this lovely part of the district of Miranui.
I’ve got a few things that concern me when I’m in Council. One of them is these … we get a lot of information at Council … we get information from the NZTA you know, that’s the roading people; we get Government departments telling us all sorts of statistics and things, what they are likely to do and what they want to do. We get a lot of information from statistics of course, we get market trends, we get inquiries from overseas investments … we get information from Regional Councils, Health Boards and so it goes on … there’s a lot of information coming in. This information is meant to be used in briefings to councillors, to help them in their decisions, planning the district, and which way we want to go, if we want to go forward or we want to go sideways or whatever the case might be, and so we use this information to help us make decisions. But this concern is something that I want to bring to you … it’s not always the case.
Our Mayor … some of you might not know this … our Mayor has formed a group of his closest business associates. They’re the people who he mixes with. And together with these associates there are developers, there are retailers, there are manufacturers, contractors, who have been selected by him. They’ve formed themselves into what we call an Economic Development Committee. That’s what the Council calls it but I actually call it an Economic Advantage Committee … over their competitors. You see all the information that we receive is passed on to this committee who are not elected people … they’ve not been elected to be there by you, who may be arguably your closest competitor in your business, and these people all get an unfair advantage over their closest rivals, and that rival could be you.
Because of all this information coming in, they know where the trends are, they know the direction the council’s thinking. They are privy to information that gives them an advantage over others, especially at this time when we councillors are told often to be quiet about the different possibilities that may happen.
These business associates of the Mayor actually came to our table at Council the other night and addressed us and advised us to vote for the policies that would benefit them!
What is that? To me that’s insider trading. I call it that but you may call it something different. But I’m not allowed.
This handful of business associates that our Mayor has selected are receiving an advantage over their competitors, and it’s just not right. These folks have not been elected by you. They’ve never sworn allegiance to the district, and are being rewarded for their faithfulness to the Mayor.
Go figure. What do you think? Just last week a decision was made to announce to the retailers in Levin as to where the road of national significance was going. But we wouldn’t announce it until February 2017. As it was told to us by the Mayor we shouldn’t announce it before the election as the Mayor, because of this, could get skinned alive. So just whose interests are we looking after? Folks, we must get out there and vote, and elect those you trust … not those who are there to furnish the Mayor’s ego and their own business pockets. That is one of my concerns and over the next few weeks, I’m going to share some of the other concerns I have. They are concerns that I believe you need to know about … that we haven’t got a Council that’s working directly for you … we’ve got a Council that is working for the few.”
SOURCE:https://www.facebook.com/groups/37968…
Now, take a look at the mission statement if you like, of the Horowhenua District Council copied straight from their website:
“The purpose of the Horowhenua District Council is to enable democratic local decision making to promote the social, economic, environmental and cultural well being of the Horowhenua District in the present and for the future.
Council is made up of the Mayor and 10 Councillors (elected members). They are responsible for determining local policy and legislation, and defining the overall vision for the Horowhenua District. Council makes decisions on behalf of the ratepayers and residents.”
“The Mayor is elected by the District “as a whole”, and as one of the elected members, shares the same responsibilities as other members of Council.” Some of the Mayor’s roles that relate to Cr Campbell’s concerns [abbreviated] are:
Here is a link to the full pdf file Governance Statement 2014 – 2017 A Guide for the Community on Council Processes
Councils nowadays are fine in their rhetoric, or should I say spin? What they are doing is regularly a very different matter. They should be making decisions DEMOCRATICALLY … on behalf of ratepayers and residents, and not on behalf of the Mayor’s close business associates!!
Horowhenua people, see what is going on in your District governance. Be sure to vote for change this October. Vote for honesty and transparency.
Please help us expose the corruption and lies by our local governments by sharing this information!
Horowhenua Environmental Health Watch on FB
RELATED:
In Spite of their Spin the HDC is not Enabling Democratic Decision Making
Local Govt Watch
Agenda 21/30 in NZ
Within hours of the first story airing, the council announced it was no longer allowing fracking waste to be disposed of on landfarms.
However, the council laid several complaints with the Broadcasting Standards Authority contesting many aspects of RNZ’s coverage of landfarming.
Documents obtained under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act reveal the council incurred $85,000 in legal costs to challenge the stories.
The council argued the coverage amounted to “misinformation” in “attack-style journalism” which was “of grave concern and… no service to the public”.
However, the authority found the coverage was fair and accurate and the council was “disingenuous” in claiming fracking waste had only been disposed of historically on the landfarms.
For more related info & links, search categories for further articles (at left of any page).
Please also consider liking our FB page &/or following our blog, and do spread the word on all the untruths we have been told! Use the share buttons! Speak up … your silence becomes consent.
Thank you!
Two articles here on Agenda 21 & 2030, and as the first article describes, Agenda 21 is already in our NZ District Councils. The reason your councils are steaming full on ahead doing what they like with their own agendas, ignoring the rights of the people who presume they democratically elected them. Read our Local Government Watch and Agenda 21 in NZ pages. See on the LG pages how Horowhenua whistleblowers describe how councilors are told how to vote. And it is not just the Horowhenua, I’ve heard it from three other districts. Some have been the recipients of organized thuggery and violence for speaking out. Yes this is NZ folks. The Horowhenua District Mayor has said, according to one Cr, that as VP of LG, he wants to see Crs selected not elected. There go your last vestiges of a democracy, that has been in its death throes for some time now. We must speak up, our silence is consent.
By Ian Wishart, author of “Totalitaria”
It’s one of the most under-reported stories of the year, but it is also one of the biggest stories of the year.
In the last week of September, Pope Francis will meet President Obama and then step onto the dais of the UN General Assembly to make a keynote speech on the future of the world.
The event marks three very special occasions. The first is the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations itself in 1945. The second is the 50th anniversary of the first Pope to address the UN, back on the organisation’s 20th anniversary in 1965. During that visit, Pope Paul VI pledged the loyalty of the Catholic Church to the agenda of the United Nations – effectively making the Church the UN’s servant on Earth.
This time around, one of the most populist popes in modern history is expected to stay on that road as he takes part in the third special occasion – the unveiling of Agenda 2030.
If you’ve heard of Agenda 21, think bigger. Agenda 21 has already been put in place by most local councils in the western world, including New Zealand. If your local officials talk in terms of “smart communities”, “smart growth” or “sustainability” they are using Agenda 21 phrases. Many large corporations across the world have also adopted Agenda 21 principles.
(NaturalNews) This week, Michael Snyder published an important article entitled The 2030 Agenda: This Month The UN Launches A Blueprint For A New World Order With The Help Of The Pope.
That article references this UN “2030 Agenda” document that pushes a blueprint for so-called “sustainable development” around the world.
This document describes nothing less than a global government takeover of every nation across the planet. The “goals” of this document are nothing more than code words for a corporate-government fascist agenda that will imprison humanity in a devastating cycle of poverty while enriching the world’s most powerful globalist corporations like Monsanto and DuPont.
In the interests of helping wake up humanity, I’ve decided to translate the 17 points of this 2030 agenda so that readers everywhere can understand what this document is really calling for. To perform this translation, you have to understand how globalists disguise their monopolistic agendas in “feel good” language.
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/051058_2030_Agenda_United_Nations_global_enslavement.html#ixzz4EAJlPKxB
See our Agenda 21 pages for more info & links, &/or search categories for further Agenda 21 articles (at left of any page).
Please also consider liking our FB page &/or following our blog, and do spread the word on all the untruths we have been told! Use the share buttons!
Thank you!
You likely have not heard this information regarding the man who exposed corruption in the Rodney District Council … in mainstream media you never will, not in all its truth anyway. Learn of the shocking events that evolved after this man did the RIGHT thing. Here you will see that “not only are our councils corrupt, but the police, the courts, the parliament & Prime” Minister too. From Vinny Eastwood … one of the few outlets for real news available today. Subscribe to his Channel on YT and see other lies and corruption he’s exposed (all links below).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozXf8BoR-eA
“PLEASE SUBSCRIBE AND GIVE A THUMBS UP!
If you’re reading this at guerillamedia.co.nz click “Original Article” for the video.
This 3 hour video in my opinion is the key testimony that will show all New Zealanders that not only are our councils corrupt, but the police, the courts, the parliament & Prime Sinister too.
Thank you Russell Malcolm for your extraordinary bravery in documenting the way all these institutions came together to f**k up your life, deprive you of your rights, your business, your money, your health and even take your home.
I spent my entire night on this (went to bed 6:50am) because I believe it is urgent that it be made available for the public to view, I just had a feeling that by me doing this, it will save your life.
I hope everyone will take the time to listen to this incredible testimony, once I’ve uploaded it to my youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/mrnewsguerilla…
it’s edge of your seat stuff that will make you cringe, yell and even cry to see.
Subscribe for $1-$5 a month for commercial free archives and exclusive uninterrupted video interviews! only at http://www.thevinnyeastwoodshow.com
Full Audio Archives here: http://www.thevinnyeastwoodshow.com/2…
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Please buy a dvd! http://www.thevinnyeastwoodshow.com/d…
Watch this video and please share it around!
Listen to the show LIVE! http://www.americanfreedomradio.com
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rLx4BBGt68
Vinny Eastwood Episode 2 of PARADIGM broadcasted on Face TV Sky Channel 083 on September 14th 2015 at 9pm NZT
TOPIC: Local Governance & Corruption
GUESTS: Bruce Rogan from the Mangawhai Residents and Ratepayers Association with activist and Mayoral candidate Penny Bright.
•How privatisation and secretive powerful roundtable groups (comprised mostly of large companies) have led to the rise of unelected, unaccountable officials.
•The utter refusal of EVERY SINGLE AUTHORITY in New Zealand to investigate corruption.
The police, the judiciary, the ombudsman, the minister for local government, the auditor general, political parties, the list goes on, every authority whose job is to investigate, prevent or punish corruption actually supports it!
•Why local citizens have no rights and why local government has no rules.
FACE FACT KIWIS
Believing NZ is corruption free was the very mechanism by which criminals took control of our country. The only reason NZ is #2 on Transparency International’s “perceived” least corrupt countries in the world list, is we’re the 2nd best in the world at concealing our corruption.
To learn more go HERE
By making these reports you are adding to a database of complaints that documents multiple violations. This makes the case for change much stronger and if the department concerned doesn’t act then we can take it to media for publication and to pressure change. Mainstream media will probably be either forced to print our exposes or lose their place as Mainstream Media and those who DO share it will become the new “Mainstream Media”!
Those of you who think beyond the mainstream media … or even those who don’t … you’ve probably noticed a few things are not ticking the boxes lately regarding democratic processes.
One example would be the way District Councils appear to have minds of their own and increasingly they are failing to consult those who elect them regarding decisions that will be affecting them. Recently the Whaleoil blog featured the growing problem of local government breaking the law and points out that they get away with it because nobody is policing it. Check out the blog as there are many examples cited of things folks are encountering with their DCs.
Here is a recent example in Shannon where locals were consulted by their representing Councillor Ross Campbell on whether they wanted yet another liquor outlet licensed … overwhelmingly more were against than for (309 to 3) … yet the DC has gone right ahead and issued the liquor license anyway. So who is this council batting for? Their constituents, or the liquor industry? No prizes for guessing. Shannon has also had recent issues with discharge by Council of raw sewage into the local waterways, an ongoing issue with many DCs NZ wide. Cr Campbell was trespassed for two years by HDC for filming the discharge of raw sewage into the town’s waterways. Shutting down dissent!
The Rangitikei DC was also exposed last year with regard to their long standing non compliance in relation to pollution of its waterways with leachate. They too shut down dissent by failing to accept the recommendation of their own Community Committee!
For further examples of local government corruption see our Local Govt Watch pages.
Then we have many services (formerly ‘government’, now ‘corporate’ departments) that blatantly ignore the rules and run rough shod over people. I heard of one for instance just recently. An older woman who was admitted to A & E at a public hospital, left in a cold corridor, no warm blanket, no buzzer, calling for the toilet, left for hours in her own feces then loudly told off! The patient was too sick to respond.
Also, on the hospital subject, I heard recently of a dying patient on ‘nil by mouth’, without the family’s knowledge. On this horrific subject please google ‘Liverpool Care Pathway’ the thin end of the wedge in my opinion, to euthanasia. Now there’s huge debate as we know about that, however, since when do we administer ‘nil by mouth’ without explaining the rationale to the distressed relatives, whose loved one is crying out for water? And since when has this become the ‘norm’? Dying of thirst? I don’t recall any public discussion around this.
The other glaring elephant in the room on the topic of flagrancy is the practice of geoengineering … ie spraying us all daily with toxic chemicals then telling us it is only steam or condensation. Or worse, “nothing doing here please move along you ‘conspiracy theorists'”.
There will be many more issues and other departments that spring to mind that need policing.
When these various events happen we’re often left standing, mouth open, grasping for who to tell, or, we’re so deep in grief we’re unable to act. And from my experience, often nobody knows just who to tell anyway. Many have tried for instance in the geoengineering domain to approach the various authorities charged with protecting us from unhealthy toxic environments only to be told there’s nothing doing. Denial, yet all the while scientific testing is revealing high levels of toxic chemicals in water and soils. These authorities need to be held to account.
So here is a venue for you to report these various incidents. It’s easy to do, simply go to the site (links below) and fill in the appropriate form online (more forms to come).
The reports will be collated to reveal the extent of the respective complaints, all documented in reports and kept for evidence when confronting the department concerned, and/or for timely publishing on this and other websites, and on social media. Since our so called mainstream media is displaying a growing reluctance to fully air the truth, we can become a force to be reckoned with. This is people power!
By making these reports you are adding to a database of complaints that documents multiple violations. This makes the case for change much stronger and if the department concerned doesn’t act then we can take it to media for publication and to pressure change. Mainstream media will probably be either forced to print our exposes or lose their place as Mainstream Media and those who DO share it will become the new “Mainstream Media”!
Here are links to both the site and the new Facebook page (head there and ‘like’ the page, and get reporting. You can also report historic incidents).
EnvirowatchRangitikei
Recent news in February 2016 highlighted the state of Shannon’s waste water treatment plant. This has all been denied (the pollution that is) by the Horowhenua District Council. The footage and photos don’t lie however. To see the original videos posted see links below. We now have a FB page devoted solely to Horowhenua issues in the interests of disseminating the info and supporting those who are standing up to make changes to the status quo. Note, to see all ten videos, go to the Youtube icon on the bottom right of the video and watch on Youtube. You will see there plenty more footage of Horowhenua and Manawatu pollution by what appears to be partially treated sewage and farm effluent.
Cr Michael Feyen is one of those and has stated today on Facebook:
“As a Horowhenua District Councillor I want to make it very clear that Central Government, Horizons Regional Council and Horowhenua District Council are most definitely serial polluters of our water-ways and vast improvements in the governance are necessary if we are to leave anything for future generations. Please post and share and the word will get there.”
“In early December 2014 Ngati Whakatere had called me out as a Horowhenua District Councillor to look at their concerns of pollution to the waterways from the Shannon sewage treatment plant.
The following sequence of films clips was taken by myself, Horowhenua District Cr Michael Feyen – of waste water being pumped from the Shannon sewage treatment ponds into the Otauru Stream and into the Manawatu River. These clips back up Councillor Campbell’s (link below) recent film of the same type of disgusting practices of pollution to our waterways by HDC with Horizons Regional Council’s blessing. Both organizations are serial polluters. Please take the time to watch all the videos. When called, Horizons did not send anybody out to investigate. Obviously nothing has changed and no one was held accountable.
Chinese plastic clothes baskets are the filters used by Horizons and HDC & their contractor”.
See our other Local Govt Watch pages for more info & links, &/or search categories for further related articles (at left of any page).
Please also consider liking our FB page &/or following our blog (right of any page) and do spread the word on all the untruths we have been told! Use the share buttons!
Thank you!
RELATED LINKS:
VIDEOS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJZC8…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6a4k…
INFO:
https://www.facebook.com/feyenfor.hor…
https://www.facebook.com/envirowatchhorowhenua/?fref=nf
http://www.horowhenua.govt.nz/Council…
ARTICLES:
https://envirowatchrangitikei.wordpre…
https://envirowatchrangitikei.wordpre…
Why You Shouldn’t Swim in the Manawatu River
We’ve witnessed recently the cover up of the Horowhenua District Council’s role in polluting their own waterways, and the revelations by a whistle-blower, on the way she and fellow Councillors were coerced into “toeing the line”. Basically … Council corruption.
Here we have corruption of an even more sinister kind in the Auckland district in terms of suppressing dissension about their practices. Unlike the Horowhenua district example, it is not centered on conservation, but reflects what is becoming quite a familiar methodology employed by Councils. Russell Malcolm’s story, told by himself, will shock you and hopefully urge you to action. After exposing Rodney Council corruption around building consents some ten years ago, the entire Council was fired. However, the next time he attempted this, he was met with a scenario that could only be described as your worst nightmare. The first video is concise and tells you basically what happened to him, the second gives full detail of Mr Malcolm’s very disturbing experience at the hands of Police, the Rodney District Council and even John Key.
To see how all of this outworked in the Rodney Council, watch the Vinny Eastwood coverage here or on Youtube. Follow the links.
NZUncovered (Youtube channel)
QUOTE:
“Thanks to Vinny Eastwood Mr News for this item.
Russell Malcolm questioned extortion at Rodney Council, and several years later Auckland Council staff retaliated by blocking the processing of a consent application. After 2 years of stalling Russell advised council he would be going public.
As he commenced to he was arrested and silenced by gag order bail conditions, coming from Prime Minister John Key.
The matter was highly embarrassing to John Key’s Government at election time.
Three hours after his urgent arrest and detention a town planner is contacted to be the complainant, after being referred to as an ‘evil bitch’ in a blog she was not party to.
No one has ever been charged for such an offense before and no such offense exists under NZ law.
Three months later his home and business is raided twice by Police, forcing the loss of his business. The reason given is because he has pleaded not guilty.
A year later his home and other properties are seized in a joint covert, Police, ASB Bank operation.
Russell arranges refinancing with another Bank, which ASB prevents by blocking access to a valuer. ASB then undersell the properties at half value.”
Watch the video and learn the outcome.
What we have seen in the past decade or more with District Councils, is a switch from the old school democracies where Councillors truly represented the views and wishes of their rate payers, to a very different animal. Witness the above scenario experienced by Mr Malcolm and as referred to, the Horowhenua debacle with the sewage spillage into the local waterways. Although I’m not personally a fan of Cameron Slater, he summarizes here some growing anomalies with District Councils. He describes a Government culture that’s in ‘moral decay’.
For further insight into this increasingly familiar scenario, listen to former Australian politician, Anne Bressington’s speech on this topic as she saw similar happening in her country. Agenda 21 is planet wide, basically, the filtering down into our local governments of the United Nations’ agenda termed, ‘Agenda 21’. It is masked with environmental rhetoric however, as you will see, it is everything but. (See also our Agenda 21 in NZ page).
“We are at present working discreetly, with all our might, to wrest this mysterious force called sovereignty out of the clutches of the local nation states of the world. And all the time we are denying with our lips what we are doing with our hands.” Arnold Toynbee – International Affairs, p.809, November 1931
Watch for Parts 2 and 3 of Russell Malcolm’s story.
EnvirowatchRangitikei
LINKS TO HOROWHENUA EVENTS:
“The tactics Horowhenua District Council used to discourage people from commenting on sewage spills is long-standing and insidious … the whole thrust of one workshop was aimed at undermining the credibility of WECA (Water and Environmental Care Assn Inc.) members”
“We were given a plausible explanation from staff” and then urged to “get [the message] out there because these people who were complaining didn’t know what they were talking about … as I was generally kept out of the loop, only occasionally did I hear what tactics they were planning to use to discredit these people”
Former HDC Councillor, Anne Hunt
In our previous articles on the topic of the Horowhenua District Council’s role in pollution of its waterways with inadequately treated sewage (see links to articles below) former Councillor Anne Hunt described how Mayor Brendan Duffy had coerced Councillors into supporting the Council CEO’s assertion that HDC was not guilty of polluting Lake Horowhenua. In other words “deny it”.
Mrs Hunt also described a second occasion when she and her fellow Councillors were expected to “toe the line”. (Go here to read of the first).
This occurred shortly before the election in 2007, the year she first contested the Mayoralty.
Once again, the problem was the Shannon waste water treatment.
In the Environment Court a couple of years later, HDC would admit “pumping 5.1 million litres of partially treated sewage into the Manawatu River” (Dominion Post 2007).
Here in the video you will see straight sewage going into Stansell’s Drain
Horizons lawyer Ben Vanderkolk told the Court that 5000 cubic metres of sewage was pumped into Stansell’s Drain over 48 hours. “Rudimentary” filter screens including plastic netting had been erected at the entrance to the drain, but this had not stopped contaminants and some sanitary items entering the stream. (Dominion Post 2007)
At the time, HDC had tried to hush it up, and ironically it was Ross Campbell who alerted Cr Hunt to the problem. Stansell’s Drain feeds into the Mangaore tributary of the Manawatu River. There were whitebaiters downstream, so it was a serious health issue.
“There were whitebaiters downstream, so it was a serious health issue”
Horizons had decided to take legal action against the Horowhenua, admitting that it should have been harder on Horowhenua earlier, so that the years of waste being pumped into the drain could have been stopped.
It was dubbed by Green Party MP Russel Norman as a “terrible example of environmental pollution” and Massey University ecologist Mike Joy said the discharge would have had a big impact on the river which was already severely polluted.
“…once again the elected members were expected to support the public relations spin from HDC”
Behind the scenes, there was a flurry of e-mails highly critical of Horizons, Mrs Hunt remembers, and once again the elected members were expected to support the public relations spin from HDC.
Ratepayers would be stung twice with legal costs for their district and regional councils, and ultimately the fine.
David Ward as district’s chief executive at the time would later try to claim that by pleading guilty, the council was ‘taking a responsible attitude”, and ratepayers ‘should be pleased’ additional legal costs had been avoided.
HDC’s resource consent for Shannon had expired in 2001, but a temporary renewal was issued for four years while a new consent was sought.
Despite a council meeting that week, Councillors were not notified when an application for a new resource consent was eventually filed in 2005. WECA filed a submission on this proposal. When Councillors were finally allowed to have some input into an amended proposal, Mrs Hunt says …
“…the whole thrust of this workshop was aimed at undermining the credibility of *WECA members …”
Mrs Hunt says the tactics used to discourage people from commenting on sewage spills is longstanding and insidious.
This week, her priority is supporting Cr Ross Campbell who is facing a code of conduct complaint as a result of his comments on TV 3. Mrs Hunt had several of those during her time on council.
Being kept “out of the loop” meant that Mrs Hunt was effectively prohibited from representing your (the rate payers’) wishes with regard to protecting your resources. I would reiterate here, these Councillors are elected by you. You should rightfully expect that your views are going to be reasonably represented by them. This is fundamental to democracy. It is very reasonable to expect that the voiced concerns of Councillors who are fulfilling their role, will not be overridden by a CEO. However, this is where the conflict lies. These CEOs are operating as directors of companies. Consider, your local District Councils are registered on Dun and Bradstreet’s website as companies. (Check this out for yourself). A company is:
“… any formal business entity for profit which may be a corporation, a partnership, association or individual proprietorship…” SOURCE
We need to be asking ourselves, to whom do our Councils (that are really companies) owe their allegiance? To you the ratepayer/citizen? Or to corporate/company interests, given they exist ‘for profit’?
As for silencing District Councillors from speaking out, people should be more than outraged at this. It is a clear abuse of the role entrusted to them by you the public.
On a final note, these courageous Councillors who have put their heads above the parapet and spoken truth deserve our thanks. Do consider emailing them in that regard, or leave a comment here. And the same goes for the local residents, in particular Mr Andrews, who have also stood up and been counted.
If you agree with this article please like our Horowhenua &/or Rangitikei FB pages and share – help us to expose lies and promote truth.
See our Local Govt Watch pages (Horowhenua sub page) for more info & links, &/or search categories for further articles (at left of any page).
Please also consider following our blog (right of any page) and do spread the word on all the untruths we have been told! Use the share buttons!
Thank you!
*(Note, WECA is also on Facebook)
See below for references for this article
RELATED:
SOURCES FOR ARTICLE:
3 Oct 08 Manawatu Standard-Lake Horowhenua Contamination from Sewage Confirmed
Sad Time for Lake Horowhenua – Green Party Press Release 2 Sept 08
A reminder here of the liberties our District Councils are taking with your money, in this case, to the extent of taking it from your bank, without your consent!
Go to the link at the top there to read the article.
“Mangawhai ratepayers and residents face massive rates rates increases, initially proposed at +1800% to raise money for a “sewerage scheme” it turns out that something much more sinister and far smellier is in the works.
No democracy, no accountability, no rights and no access to justice, worst case scenario right? Well how about the disputed rates payments that are before the high court being stolen directly from citizens bank accounts?
So much stolen that you can’t even make your next mortgage payement?
This might be one of the most important cases in recent New Zealand local government and yet the media are completely ignoring it and leaving those in this community to fight for themselves.
Luckily, people like Alan Preston and chairman of The Mangawhai Residents And Ratepayers Association Bruce Rogan are there to give light to this very important issue!”
Info from video information section
Please share the video.
View original post 14 more words
” … during my time on council … I was placed under pressure to toe the line and deny there was a [pollution] problem” Former HDC Councillor Anne Hunt
Former Horowhenua District Councillor Anne Hunt, who is backing the claims made by both Councillors Campbell and Feyen (see links at bottom of page) regarding the HDC’s role in pollution of Horowhenua’s waterways, has revealed that on two occasions they as Councillors were given a clear message by Mayor Brendan Duffy that they were to “toe the line and deny pollution by the Council”. The first of those occasions concerning a 2008 visit by Green Party Co-Leader Russel Norman is addressed here, the second which relates to the pollution of Shannon’s waterways, will be covered in another post.
Mrs Hunt has previously stated on Maori Television in a documentary about the pollution of Lake Horowhenua that HDC is its “worst polluter” and she still stands by this statement (see video at 3.56 minutes).
Mrs Hunt described an occasion in 2008 when Dr Russel Norman came to Levin to speak with HDC’s Mayor, CEO and representatives about the pollution of Lake Horowhenua by Levin’s nearby waste water treatment plant. At a Council workshop on the day prior, they were told, said Mrs Hunt, that TV3 was coming up to interview the CEO David Ward. Cr Leigh McMeeken suggested they should all stand around him as a show of support. She describes the workshop:
“We were all sitting around the council table, and Brendan [Mayor Duffy] asked each councillor individually to speak to this and voice their support [of the CEO’s stance]… finally coming around to glare at me. I felt most uncomfortable and managed to mumble a non-committal answer. But the message was clear that I was not to step out of line. The Mayor and every other councillor supported the staff position on this, and agreed that Dr Norman was simply political point scoring”.
Put simply, Mrs Hunt says they knew they were to deny that their Council was polluting the lake.
Dr Norman concluded there was absolutely no doubt sewage was seeping into the lake and said it was turning out to be one of NZ’s worst sewage disasters in years. Official tests found high levels of E.coli between council sewage ponds and Lake Horowhenua. He commented that the HDC had a history of resource consent breaches including a then recent court appearance regarding Shannon’s sewage ponds. Mayor Brendan Duffy and CEO David Ward he said, have constantly downplayed risks, with Mayor Duffy calling any critics of his waste disposal practices ‘ill-informed’. The council had given priority he said to a $10.4 mill council building over proper waste treatment.
The new Council building … “an edifice to stupidity” – Cr Michael Feyen
This has been an abbreviated revision of Dr Norman’s conclusions. Fuller coverage will be the subject of a later post. It serves here in its brevity to illustrate that in spite of HDC denials, the pollution of Lake Horowhenua by sewage was factual, as official tests later proved. And the point of this post being to endorse the actions of Mr Andrews (the 70 year old Shannon environmentalist who was recently assaulted at his home by intruders) and Crs Ross Campbell and Michael Feyen, in endeavouring to film what appears to be deliberate pollution by the HDC, bringing it to the notice of the public. A public that elected these representatives to manage their public resources, prudently and not negligently.
Particularly, it exposes, thanks to Mrs Hunt, the clearly unethical tactics employed by the HDC in coercing its Councillors to think and ‘vote’ a certain way.
You have a situation here where your Councillors that you vote for on election day, the people whom you are expecting to represent your views when important decisions are made at your local District Council … they are actually being told how to vote … and that is according to the directive of the CEO.
Is this democratic?
Clearly not.
What we have here it seems, is an illusion of democracy. Behind those closed doors Councillors are not permitted to represent you … their hands are tied. Clearly there have been three Councillors here who were willing to speak the truth … at great cost to themselves. For that I applaud them.
“When we tolerate what we know to be wrong–when we close our eyes and ears to the corrupt because we are too busy, or too frightened–when we fail to speak up and speak out–we strike a blow against freedom and decency and justice”. – Robert Francis Kennedy
Finally, bear in mind that your local District Councils are registered on Dun and Bradstreet’s website as companies. (Check this out for yourself). A company is:
“… any formal business entity for profit which may be a corporation, a partnership, association or individual proprietorship…” SOURCE
So we need to be asking ourselves, to whom do our Councils (that are really companies) owe their allegiance? To you the ratepayer/citizen? Or to corporate/company interests, given they exist ‘for profit’? Does this not explain a few anomalies?
On a final note, these courageous Councillors who have put their heads above the parapet and spoken truth deserve our thanks. Do consider emailing them in that regard, or leave a comment here. And the same goes for the local residents, in particular Mr Andrews, who have also stood up and been counted.
If you agree with this article please like our FB page and share – help us to expose lies and promote truth.
RELATED:
SOURCES FOR ARTICLE:
3 Oct 08 Manawatu Standard-Lake Horowhenua Contamination from Sewage Confirmed
Sad Time for Lake Horowhenua – Green Party Press Release 2 Sept 08
Close the Levin Landfill as the uncontrollable toxic leachate has started to contaminate the Hokio stream.
Horowhenua District Council is hell bent on keeping the Levin Landfill open despite the huge environmental and financial costs. HDC has admitted they cannot contain the landfill leachate that seeps into the Hokio Stream. Their approach is to change resource consent conditions so they can legally pollute the wider environment including the stream.
It begs the question why?
As a member of a community group who have been keeping an eye on the landfill operation for over 17 years I have come to the conclusion it’s all about politics, as nothing else makes sense.
About ten years ago Mayor Duffy campaigned that he was going to make half a million dollars per annum by importing Kapiti’s rubbish into the Levin Dump. They made a secret contract (they say this is commercially sensitive) with Midwest Disposals. Although they have been telling the public that all is well the truth is the landfill has been losing vast amounts of ratepayers money and is now over $4.5 million in debt.
The reason they are in debt is because the landfill is located in the worst spot imaginable, in permeable sand-country, near a stream and beach, upstream of a township, on shallow ground water and on sensitive ex Maori occupied land. Any of these points should have been a reason not obtain a resource consent but it was pushed through by Horizons Regional Council and HDC in 2002 without proper process which was later investigated by the Parliamentary Commission for the Environment who gave both councils a damming report. Unfortunately the culture hasn’t changed.
Because of the landfills location on sand country, millions of extra dollars has to be spent on trying to contain the toxic leachate which has proven to be impossible.
A five yearly review is now underway with Horizons imposing a new set of conditions. These conditions are being contested by HDC.
So we have the two councils fighting each other, wasting hundreds of thousands of our dollars, when it could have all be resolved if Horowhenua District Council would come clean and discuss the option of the alternative landfill at Bonny-Glen which is far more cost effective and environmentally efficient.
With enough people power we can get rid of this disgraceful polluting dump from our backyard and start to restore our once pristine environment so please sign the petition.
“HDC is a top drawer polluter. This is not the first time accurate film footage has been taken of wilful contamination of the Manawatu River … I took extensive film footage 14 months ago and was ridiculed at the time”
Cr Michael Feyen
In recent posts we have highlighted the ongoing pollution of Horowhenua’s natural water resources (see posts here and here). Now another Councillor, Michael Feyen, has backed the claims of Councillor Ross Campbell about the Council’s role in this pollution, and says he made similar video footage to Cr Campbell’s 14 months ago for which he was ridiculed.
“… council’s take on the issue was misleading and full of half-truths”
Cr Michael Feyen
Seventy year old Shannon resident John Andrews, who was with Cr Campbell recently while filming the sewage discharging into Stansell’s Creek, featured in news headlines shortly afterwards when he received a late night bashing by 3 to 4 men. There may or may not have been a connection between the two incidents, however, you can read the article and draw your own conclusions about that. The matter will still of course be under Police investigation.
Cr Feyen has been reported by the Herald as saying: the “council’s take on the Shannon issue was misleading and full of half-truths”. He himself has posted around 80 other videos on Youtube (watch these at the link) documenting the deliberate pollution of both Horowhenua and Manawatu waterways with both sewage and farm effluent. (The above video features pollution of the Manawatu).
The people mandated with protecting our environments, our District Councils and Horizons, who all adhere (on paper at least) to the goals of sustainable development, are in fact complicit in polluting them. This is happening both NZ and world wide.
“Two-thirds of more than 160 monitored river swimming spots in New Zealand have been deemed unsafe for a dip” NZ Herald 30/1/2015
And further food for thought … your local District Councils are registered on Dun and Bradstreet’s website as companies. (Check this out for yourself). A company is:
“… any formal business entity for profit which may be a corporation, a partnership, association or individual proprietorship…” SOURCE
So we need to be asking ourselves, to whom do our Councils (that are really companies) owe their allegiance? To you the ratepayer/citizen? Or to corporate/company interests, given they exist ‘for profit’?
Stand up people and make these folks accountable. Our clean water is almost gone. Few rivers are clean enough to swim in any more. Your silence is taken as acceptance of the status quo.
On a final note, these courageous Councillors who have put their heads above the parapet and spoken truth deserve our thanks. Do consider emailing them in that regard, or leave a comment here. And the same goes for the local residents, in particular Mr Andrews, who have also stood up and been counted.
If you agree with this article please like our FB page and share – help us to expose lies and promote truth.
RELATED:
Further to our recent article on the Horowhenua District Councillor who alerted the public to the pollution of Shannon’s waterways by allegedly raw sewage, the Horowhenua District Council has served a trespass warrant on their own Cr Ross Campbell. This is the man who filmed the raw evidence (see footage below) of what appears to be equally raw sewage and toilet paper spewing into the Stansell Street creek at Shannon. (I can find no news links to the serving of a warrant – I saw it on Facebook and it has since been removed). Although the District Council is saying the video is a distortion of the facts Cr Campbell says the video speaks for itself and “he’s not changing his stance on the issue”. He had received a number of calls on the day from concerned locals who had seen the sewage discharging into water where children were swimming. A call to Horizons resulted in a post inspection comment that the HDC was abiding by their consent.
“It’s a joke really. This is absolutely shocking … the stench was horrible. This was straight sewage, no treatment, no nothing. It’s putting everyone at risk who uses the stream.”
Cr Ross Campbell
See the toilet paper for yourself. The HDC have claimed it has been put there deliberately by somebody. But what would that somebody have to gain from such actions? Definitely a lot of stress given this outcome, and who ever would pay them for exposing pollution? The claim doesn’t really hold water.
Above is a copy of the trespass warrant that was removed from Facebook. (I note other news links from the event are now no longer operative).
So why has the Horowhenua District Council served a trespass warrant on the Councillor who filmed the sewage? If they are so above board then what have they got to hide? Why are they not inviting the public to inspect for themselves and see that everything is good.
And why, as citizens of our ‘clean and green’ paradise, we need to ask, are Councils polluting and not protecting our environments …. according to their stated mantra of ‘sustainable development’? Consider, your local District Councils are registered on Dun and Bradstreet’s website as companies. (Check this out for yourself). A company is:
“… any formal business entity for profit which may be a corporation, a partnership, association or individual proprietorship…” SOURCE
We need to be asking ourselves, to whom do our Councils (that are really companies) owe their allegiance? To you the ratepayer/citizen? Or to corporate/company interests, given they exist ‘for profit’?
This kind of carry on is NOT sustainable!
On a final note, these courageous Councillors who have put their heads above the parapet and spoken truth deserve our thanks. Do consider emailing them in that regard, or leave a comment here. And the same goes for the local residents, in particular Mr Andrews, who have also stood up and been counted.
If you agree with this article please like our FB page and share – help us to expose lies and promote truth.
“A 70-year-old man has been bashed in a late night attack at his home in Horowhenua. Staunch environmentalist John Andrews says he may have been a target as he had highlighted pollution issues from the Shannon Sewage Treatment Plant into the Otāuru River.” (Maori Television)
Mr Andrews said he had been attacked from behind on his own property, kicked and bashed in the head and other parts of his body. He said he saw three men in the attack and a possible fourth as well. When this incident first appeared on Facebook he was reported as saying that the parting comment of one of his attackers were words to the effect of “Lord Duffy said ‘hello'”. (Here is a link to Stuff’s report on the attack).
Although the Facebook post made it clear Mr Andrews was just relaying what was said, and not saying he connected the incident with Levin’s Mayor Brendan Duffy, ensuing comments in the media have understandably, correctly or otherwise, suggested there is a link. Any connection with the incident however is denied by the Mayor.
“We had had an altercation with the Regional Council earlier in the day out there and I don’t know if there’s any connection and I would only be speculating if there was, but this fight has been going on for years,” John Andrews. (by Maori Television)
Shannon, where Mr Andrews lives, lies within the jurisdiction of the Horowhenua District Council.
Mr Andrews had been at the Mangaore Stream earlier in the day with Horowhenua District Councillor Ross Campbell, when Cr Campbell filmed footage of the treatment ponds and the discharging of raw sewage into the steam. Cr Andrews had then talked with a worker at the plant, who agreed to turn the pump off.
Subsequently, footage of sewage and toilet paper in the water was posted on social media, footage that the HDC claims is a distortion of facts, even suggesting the toilet paper was put there by somebody. (View footage here). (There were other videos posted also which may or may not be related but do indicate the concern that exists with this pollution).
This is not the first time this Council has come under the spotlight for pollution of its natural water resources, or that people who have highlighted pollution have incurred a violent backlash. As indicated, the fight over pollution has been going on with the HDC for years. This claim is borne out in the history of Lake Horowhenua, a natural resource that is owned by the Muaupoko Iwi. This once pristine lake, dubbed by the Listener as the ‘lake of shame’, had been transformed from a valuable source of income and kai … into a literal toilet bowl. Raw sewage had been pumped into it for two decades starting in the 1950s (tantamount to emptying a septic tank’s contents onto your vegetable garden) and although it ceased in the 1980s, the lake has continued to be polluted to this day by effluent from surrounding dairy farming, by some sewage and from local agricultural activity. The price tag to clean up the pollution and realize the dream of having swimmers cross the lake last ANZAC day (2015) was estimated by Horizons to be $2.886 million. It is one of the top ten most polluted lakes in New Zealand and testing has revealed just a small glassful has the potential to kill a small child. A former HDC Councilor Anne Hunt said when in office, that one of the worst polluters of the lake was the HDC (see video at 3.56 minutes). The Crown has admitted this:
“The Crown has conceded it failed to protect Lake Horowhenua from pollution, breached the Treaty of Waitangi on multiple occassions and left the Muaupoko iwi virtually landless…”(Waitangi Tribunal Hearing 2015)
The lake’s guardian, Phil Taueki, Muaupoko, explains:
“We agreed to share it with the public but there are certain rules we ask them to respect to protect the lake … we have to hold those who are accountable for allowing our most prized taonga to be turned into the town’s toilet … “
The following video explains the lake’s history and the fight by its owners for decades to keep it clean. See also the Listener’s article here.
Local Maori in Shannon, Ngati Whakatere, have recently protested (late 2015) about the Council’s lack of respect for sacred Maori sites with regard to their excavations. (See video BELOW). The Resource Management Act 1991 clearly requires consultation with local Iwi around any intentions to excavate, however the Council simply is not listening.
In the first video about Lake Horowhenua (at 6 minutes), Mayor Duffy (interviewed by Karley Hemopo of Marae TV) clearly displays his blatant disrespect both for Maori values and for the Resource Management Act which the HDC (that he represents) is legally required to observe and adhere to. He states when asked what the objections by Maori regarding excavation by the Council were (in the case of the Queen Street storm drain) he states:
“Oh God knows … it’ll be around … it’s a burial site or … a burial site? … I don’t think so…”
Mayor Duffy
Matters of national importance (The Resource Management Act 1991)
“In achieving the purpose of this Act, all persons exercising functions and powers under it, in relation to managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources, shall recognise and provide for the following matters of national importance: …..
(e) the relationship of Maori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral lands, water, sites, waahi tapu, and other taonga:
(f) the protection of historic heritage from inappropriate subdivision, use, and development:
(g) the protection of protected customary rights…” (SOURCE: RMA)
Soon after Mayor Duffy’s statement in the video (at 6.23 minutes) an interview with a land owner and lake trustee Vivienne Taueki reveals she approached HDC about their own objections even before construction began in 2004 yet Council states they have no record of such objections.
For a few years now we’ve been hearing that term ‘sustainable development’. It’s often accompanied by the term ‘smart’, implying clever and is related to goal setting and achievement. You can read the full definition of these two terms here however below is a small quote:
Smart growth values long-range, regional considerations of sustainability over a short-term focus. Its sustainable development goals are to achieve a unique sense of community and place; expand the range of transportation, employment, and housing choices; equitably distribute the costs and benefits of development; preserve and enhance natural and cultural resources; and promote public health. SOURCE
You will see these terms displayed on our Regional and District Council websites, and on our Horizons websites, those authorities that are entrusted with the care of our environment. The Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) for instance “will not only protect and conserve our valuable hill country soil resources, but also address water quality issues and improve downstream flood protection.”
So, with the rhetoric that exists in all of these policy statements relating to the oft quoted Long Term plans, we should have very clean water at least. Yes?
But no. NZ wide we have waterways that are unsafe to swim in any more. The Manawatu River has earned the dubious ‘honour’ of being the most polluted river in the Southern Hemisphere. See here and here, short video clips about the pollution of that river by a HDC Cr Michael Feyen. Clearly the Horowhenua waterways are no exception.
So, ironically, the authorities mandated with protecting our natural environment and resources seem to be failing miserably in their ‘performance objectives’ (you know, ‘sustainable, smart’ and all of that?) Here in the Rangitikei we have the same issue going on with the pollution of our own Tutaenui Stream where our District Council (RDC) has a long legacy of non compliance with consents and no in-stream biota survey (assessing the aquatic life of the stream) for over a decade, a report that’s required three yearly. (I asked our Mayor Andy Watson twelve months ago when there would next be one … he advised me to email the Council on that … no reply yet). And the fudging of the amounts of leachate dumped into our WWTP (waste water treatment plant) by a very considerable amount (like up to 12 tanker loads per day not the stated 2-3 per 1-2 days). These authorities appear to act more favourably towards corporate interests than those of the people who elected them.
Consider also the unhealthy relationship cited by Phil Taueki that’s alleged to exist between the HDC’s Mayor and the Police. In the Lake Horowhenua video above, Mr Taueki, when arrested (see at 1.07 minutes) for trying to enforce protection of the lake, was refused permission by Police to lock up his premises, and returned the next day to find his property and car trashed. Where is the due process of the law and justice in these matters when Mr Taueki attempts to highlight matters of pollution? Additionally, Mr Taueki says that 75% of the charges against him over the past two years in this respect have been dropped before they ever got to Court.
To offer you food for thought on all of that, consider this; your local District Councils are registered on Dun and Bradstreet’s website as companies. (Check this out for yourself). A company is:
“… any formal business entity for profit which may be a corporation, a partnership, association or individual proprietorship…” SOURCE
So we need to be asking ourselves, to whom do our Councils (that are really companies) owe their allegiance? To you the ratepayer/citizen? Or to corporate/company interests, given they exist ‘for profit’?
On a final note, these courageous Councillors who have put their heads above the parapet and spoken truth deserve our thanks. Do consider emailing them in that regard, or leave a comment here. And the same goes for the local residents, in particular Mr Andrews, who have also stood up and been counted.
If you agree with this article please like our FB page and share – help us to expose lies and promote truth.
I was contacted this week by residents who live in town reporting a foul, sewage-like smell blowing from the direction of the Bonny Glen landfill situated some 6-7 km away. This is in addition to the smell of passing trucks which, as previously reported, drop bits of refuse on the roads. Two of those people who gave feedback on the truck situation had this to say:
Is the leachate tanker now taking a different route given it’s not seen any more? At late last year’s reporting by community members the leachate tanker count was 12 sometimes 13 trips on average per day. This is a considerably higher than the mere 2 to 3 figure bandied around last year and signals cause for concern at the volume being dumped in the WWTP, given the plant was not coping with 2-3 loads.
Readers may recall the submission made to the consent hearings last year (2015) by a (then) local man, Hamish Allan, on the issue of leachate and the Tutaenui Stream’s pollution. At the time he was a member of the Marton Community Committee (MCC – a conduit for action between the public and Council) and he said that:
“…a member of the public came to us because they were concerned about ‘Enviro Waste’ trucks disposing of industrial waste from Bonny Glen down a manhole in ‘the junction’. “
Mr Allan outlines the difficult process he experienced in getting any action on this issue. He said that: “…by bringing up the issue of the leachate in our recommendations we were genuinely endeavouring to be an effective liason with the community so…
What could be a relatively simple & democratic process – providing straight-forward answers to straight-forward questions – became an opportunity for Council to tell us off about small-scale procedural matters, with only one councillor voting against the motion, to her eternal credit.
What’s more, the minutes of the Community Committee meeting in February 2012 detail Council’s deliberate attempt at avoiding any direct response to the issue of the leachate…”
… they simply refused to accept the recommendation of the MCC! You can read the submission yourself here. You will find there also, full details of the ongoing and shocking non compliance issue regarding the pollution of the Tutaenui Stream.
In conclusion, the MCC appears to be giving merely the illusion of a democratic process.
Clearly from Mr Allan’s report of 2011 and 12 events, that avenue for addressing pertinent issues didn’t work. I attended one of the MCC meetings last year to ask when an in-stream biota survey would be conducted to assess the aquatic life of the stream. They should be made three yearly according to the consent, however in Mr Allan’s submission he points out that there hadn’t been one since 2002. At the meeting I attended the Mayor Andy Watson was present and spoke to my question. There was no date given for a survey nor any indication there would even be one. In answer to my query, what action should I take as a member of the public or words to that effect, I was advised to email the Council (ie the Mayor and Councilors). I did that subsequently and have heard NOTHING since.
Clearly also, the democratic processes within your democratically elected council are not working in favour of you the public who incidentally are funding the whole machine with your rates. Whom it does appear to be working for are the Bonny Glen Landfill owners, Midwest Disposals.
EnvirowatchRangitikei
Manawatu Standard – By NICHOLAS MCBRIDE
“The Waitangi Tribunal was told to imagine being stuck waste deep in a long drop to understand the conditions that Muaupoko iwi ancestors are in at Lake Horowhenua.
The hearing opened at the Horowhenua Events Centre in Levin on Monday, with 22 claims looking at Lake Horowhenua, Hokio Stream and the Horowhenua land block.
On Monday Judge Caren Fox said it would be one of the most profound hearings in the district….
At the second morning of the hearing, Phil Taueki staked his claim for his whanau to be included in the Crown’s Treaty of Waitangi settlement with the Muaupoko Tribal Authority. He also raised a series of issues relating to the pollution of Lake Horowhenua…Taueki estimated hundreds of millions of dollars would be required to clean the lake.
“In his submission, Taueki claimed contaminants from the Levin landfill and wastewater treatment plant were pooled at the Hokio Beach area which then seeped out to the beach.
He said “clouds of brown sewage” were visible in the ocean.
“Because of the tides, all that sewage washes down the coast to Kapiti.”
Taueki said his whanau had always had a presence in the area, compared to other tribes.
“There was one whanau that never left, that was the Taueki whanau… The report by the Crown barely mentions Taueki, which shows how much weight you should put on their research… no-one is going to move me from my land at the lake.”
A reminder to us all, long term pollution like this eventually catches up with us. Somewhere down the line, the lack of addressing these issues along the way, culminates in crisis. As long as profits take precedence over people and environments this kind of scenario is going to continue. With the TPPA signed now, we can now, unfortunately, look forward to more of this.
EnvirowatchRangitikei
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