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I have just returned from a meeting of KCDC where the closure of the recycling centre was discussed. I have pasted my address to Councillors below for those who missed the meeting. I don’t resile from anything in this address, although the Mayor threatened me with defamation. In my experience,… View moreI have just returned from a meeting of KCDC where the closure of the recycling centre was discussed. I have pasted my address to Councillors below for those who missed the meeting. I don’t resile from anything in this address, although the Mayor threatened me with defamation. In my experience, however, it’s pretty hard to sue someone for having an opinion. Given the way in which the community has been ignored, perhaps we can sue the council for deafamation.
We had a good turnout of supporters in the gallery and Michelle Lewis presented her petition, with an astounding 1015 signatures collected in 10 days. On the basis of her presentation the Mayor advised he would be asking the CE to provide a report on the district recycling facilities. When pressed, he would not include the Waikanae recycling centre specifically in the scope of the report. Jackie Elliot attempted to move a motion that the recycling centre remain open but was blocked. Jocelyn Prvanov similarly was blocked from speaking. Afterwards, a newcomer to council proceedings commented that she was shocked at the viciousness of the meeting behaviour and the treatment of councillors opposed to the closure. I really admired the persistence with which Jackie made every effort to have her motion put forward.
The purpose of local government contains a requirement to act on behalf of communities, as set out in the Local Government Act 2002. Curiously, the response to my address contained nothing about this, which was addressed in my first point. Instead the focus zeroed in on a brief comment I made about horse trading. This self-absorbed response regarded my comment as libellous. Anyone who has been in politics knows that horse trading is part of the territory. Its what people do. They lobby each other for votes and agree to support each other’s initiatives. So what? The hoo ha over this comment suggests to me that the Council has misread the community and does not understand the depth of feeling on this issue. I think its time they woke up and smelled the dissatisfaction. And its not the only thing with an odor surrounding this. Something smells pretty awful in this whole process.
The reluctance to include the Waikanae Recycling Centre in the scope of the council report is telling. It tells me that this is just another attempt to fob us off and the report is going nowhere. So its business as usual. See you all tomorrow outside the council building at 10.00 am. Bring placards and a good voice and lets send yet another message to council. Perhaps tomorrow they will have their hearing aids turned on.
Address to Council as follows:Good Morning, In relation to the Climate Change Framework I wish to speak to the council decision to close the Waikanae Recycling Centre, in my capacity as chair of Save Our Recycling Targets group, SORT for short. There are three points I wish to make. Firstly
1. The Consultation Process Was Not Adequate
The climate change framework sets out in its principles, item 6 which states “decision making is inclusive, transparent and based on ongoing collaboration and consultation with the wider community” But that’s not what happened when the decision was made to close the recycling centre.
We consider that there should have been a lot more discussion on the issue. The limited discussion that was held was ignored by council. The majority of submissions to the long term plan were opposed to the closure (presumably from those few residents that were “in the know”) and there was no support for the closure from participants in the LTP workshops.
The arguments concerning equality as reasons for the closure are an insult. There was no equality in this decision making process. It was neither inclusive nor transparent. The community had no input into the decision.
In this respect council is in breach of the Local Government Act.
2. The decision to close the recycling centre is inconsistent with Council’s policy on Sustainable Waste Management, the climate emergency action framework and the Long Term Plan..
We know that kerbside recycling has a high contamination rate. A large percentage of what is collected ends up in landfill. The most efficient way to recycle is through a dedicated facility where the waste is sorted on site. In our view, it is short-sighted of Council to close this.
Both the LTP and the Climate Emergency Action Framework talk about supporting the community to minimize waste, enabling communities to be resilient and have access to the services they need, promoting sustainable practices in the community to see a reduction in waste. And here’s the kicker “to reduce council emissions we’ve implemented changes to conserve energy, reduce fossil fuel use, increase use of renewable energy and improve how we dispose of waste”. Since when does closing a recycling facility improve disposal of waste? Since when does driving 15 kms to an outside recycling facility reduce fossil fuel use? This closure make a mockery of these objectives. Set against the closure of our facility, the Long term plan reads like a large pile of empty rhetoric.
The Climate Change Action Group has publicly stated that this closure sends entirely the wrong message regarding climate change. And we agree with them.
In relation to Projected Growth. There are numerous housing projects planned for Waikanae which is expected to grow considerably in the next decade. In excess of 700 housing units are planned. To put it in plain English, as one resident has said
“Why would they want to close it, we are only going to get bigger”
3. Why Indeed?
We do not accept the reasons given for this closure and consider that there are other unstated reasons for closing the recycling centre. It has led us to question the integrity of the process.
Firstly the way in which the vote was rushed through in the LTP workshop. Councillors who initially voted for the centre to remain open subsequently voted for the closure. In our view, there has been some pretty vicious horse trading going on.
We consider that the real reason for the closure of the Waikanae recycling centre is an attempt to circumvent the requirements of the Resource Management Act and provide the Summerset retirement village project with a construction access without having to provide an offset.
Thus, from both a democratic and environmental standpoint, this closure and its process, lacks integrity. It does not honour Council’s commitment to climate change and it has ignored the wishes of the community. We call on council to revoke this decision.
Dear fellow citizens. You would do well to listen to the Westland Mayor talking about the Labour Government's three Waters initiative. It's 16 minutes of solid sense and calm logic and I promise you will NOT be wasting your time.youtu.be...
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Please delete if not allowed.. My nephew is devestated, please be on lookout.. Many thanks
When:- Sunday 1 August 2021, 10:00am–1:00pm
Where: Te Horo Community Hall, 54 School Road, Te Horo,
A truly friendly, local, country market with a fundraising popup cafe with yummy treats and over 40 stalls both inside and outside.
There will be Plants, Skincare, Hand Made Soaps, Food - … View moreWhen:- Sunday 1 August 2021, 10:00am–1:00pm
Where: Te Horo Community Hall, 54 School Road, Te Horo,
A truly friendly, local, country market with a fundraising popup cafe with yummy treats and over 40 stalls both inside and outside.
There will be Plants, Skincare, Hand Made Soaps, Food - Artisan Breads, Honey, Avocados, Jams and Chutneys, Olive Oils, Baking, Eggs and more), Books, Bric-a-Brac, Quality Up-Cycled and Re-Purposed Home Wares, Furniture and lots lots more.
Also included are Arts & Crafts (Art Works, Pottery, Jewellery, High-Quality Stationary, Bird Feeders, Toys, Candles, Fabric Creations, Mosaics, Ceramics, Pottery, Patchwork Quilts, Tableware, Clothes, Knits, Skincare, Merino Goodies, Hats, Gloves and Scarves).
We also have the Seasonal Surplus table – a local fundraising effort with surplus items from local gardens for sale.
NZ COVID Q Code Tracer Poster, Sign-In Forms and Sanitizer will be available.
Do come and enjoy a day out at a real country market day - There’s plenty of parking with the market located just up the road from Ruth Pretty's.
We look forward to seeing you on Sunday 1 August at the Te Horo Community Hall. All welcome!!
Note:
The new permanent access to and from School Road is in place.
Northbound traffic - turn left off SH1 onto Te Horo Beach Road (at Hyde Park Village), then go East over the new bridge.
Southbound traffic – turn right off SH1 onto Te Horo Beach Road then East over the new bridge.
Solid pallets for general use or can be used as sides for your compost heap.
Please pm me with your interest.
Tēnā koutou! Are you a teacher or educator who is keen to help your school and your students embrace a culture dedicated to climate action? Does the idea of sustainable behaviour patterns for life appeal to you? Or maybe you’d like to be the person who transformed the way your kura/school or … View moreTēnā koutou! Are you a teacher or educator who is keen to help your school and your students embrace a culture dedicated to climate action? Does the idea of sustainable behaviour patterns for life appeal to you? Or maybe you’d like to be the person who transformed the way your kura/school or kōhanga/early childhood centre thought about and dealt with waste?
Well, thanks to funding from the Ministry for the Environment, Sustainability Trust is holding a FREE 1-day workshop to help you do this.
This workshop is part of the Your Sustainable Schools (YSSN) Train the Trainer programme.
YSSN Train the Trainer Kāpiti is on 19 August from 9 am to 4 pm at Paraparaumu Library. Get in quick as there are only 25 spots at this workshop.
For more information & to book, head to - Your Sustainable Schools Kāpiti
Join the movement to help make Aotearoa a better place to live!
Recreate a Kiwiana classic using butterflise and Resene testpots.
Find out how to create your own.
New works by contemporary Māori artist, writer and curator Dr Rangihīroa Panoho provide a relevant reminder that the passage of time has not shortened the shadow cast by Ngā Pakanga Whenua o Mua The New Zealand Land Wars.
There will be an Artist's Floor-talk with Dr Panoho, Saturday 21 … View moreNew works by contemporary Māori artist, writer and curator Dr Rangihīroa Panoho provide a relevant reminder that the passage of time has not shortened the shadow cast by Ngā Pakanga Whenua o Mua The New Zealand Land Wars.
There will be an Artist's Floor-talk with Dr Panoho, Saturday 21 August, from 2:30pm. Free entry. All welcome.
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With no lock-in contracts, you can … View moreHi Neighbours, back to school has thrown your routine into chaos? HelloFresh has dinner sorted for you. With our +20 quick and easy recipes (covering a range of dietary needs with new ones added every week!), dinner time will become a delicious breeze🌿
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Don't forget! This is such a valuable skill to have, with all the defibrillators located around our district. Make sure you know what to do in an emergency!
Waikanae Recycling Centre Closure
Dear Supporters,
We invite you to join us on Thursday 29th July at the Kapiti Coast District Council meeting, starting at 9.30. in the council chambers. At this meeting the petition asking for the Waikanae recycling centre to be retained will be presented. Now … View moreWaikanae Recycling Centre Closure
Dear Supporters,
We invite you to join us on Thursday 29th July at the Kapiti Coast District Council meeting, starting at 9.30. in the council chambers. At this meeting the petition asking for the Waikanae recycling centre to be retained will be presented. Now close to 1000 signatures, this is a strong indicator of the depth of feeling regarding the closure within the district. If you haven’t yet signed there is still time to do so. There is a link to the petition on Neighbourly. I will also speak to the council at this meeting, highlighting three key areas of concern. We believe a strong presence in the gallery at this council meeting is needed, to send a message to council that we do not accept this closure. We hope to see you there.
In addition, we will be staging a protest against the closure outside the council building at 10.00 am on Friday 30th July. Please come along, bring a placard and a good strong voice. We hope to have the media there also.
We have had a parcel delivered to our address for a S Ross. Anyone know how we can contact them as no phone numbers for either sender or recipient. Thank you
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