Winter is coming

With winter now appearing, the Nelson City Council cranks up its propaganda machine again to tell us all how to burn firewood to prevent air pollution.

This council treats its ratepayers selectively. On the one hand, people who can afford the expensive ultra low emission home wood-burners ($8000) are given permits, whereas other poorer ratepayers who can barely afford the less expensive latest technology low-emission burners ($3000) are not and continue to suffer in cold, damp homes during winter.

The cheaper wood burner is just as effective but council refuses to acknowledge that.

Blaming the burning of clean, dry wood for major health disease is ridiculous and the suggestion that the council constantly makes that wood smoke causes chronic health issues has never been substantiated by medical evidence. In fact, data recorded this month has shown very clearly that it is motor vehicle and industry that causes the dangerous toxic emissions, with that being evidenced by how quickly our air quality across the city improved under the alert level 4 lockdown.

Hopefully, when the National Standards for Air Quality are reviewed in July there be a recognition that today’s wood burners are extremely efficient in reducing smoke emissions and as we struggle through the economic recovery ahead, wood – our most natural renewable resource – can be used as a cheaper way to heat homes.

Only when that happens will our council be forced to take notice.

Meantime, the denial of a warm home, a basic human right will continue without good reason. Neville Male

Nelson, May 23