CHECK FACTS

In response to the letter of Teehi Ani Whaiapu [March 15]. I would suggest that Teehi check out facts before making slanderous and incorrect statements in the public forum.

Firstly, Mayor Shattock WAS disappointed with the somewhat surprising outcome, because an opportunity for employment and the provision of goods and services by the local firms had been turned down, even though the council and the local community – including local Maori – had indicated strong support. To say that it ‘smacked of economic favouritism’ and ‘patronises local iwi and all Maori’ implies that the Mayor placed the interests of Mrs Waite’s attempted commercial venture above that of the community, which is slanderous.

Teehi also implies strongly that the cafe´ project would do harm to the ‘environmental landscape’. The proposed cafe´ would have been almost a kilometre away from the Blue Springs, well inside her own private property. There would have been no direct easy access to the Blue Springs from the cafe´ . Mrs Waite had already planted some thousands of native trees in the area – all this was at a significant personal cost and totally unnecessary for the cafe´ project – it was only to improve the environment around Te Waihou, a matter to which Mrs Waite has given high priority throughout the whole course of events.

Teehi stated that the application was not turned down. Wrong. Only a part of the application was approved. The application for the cafe´ WAS turned down. Anyone who has any knowledge of business would know that in such a circumstance, it is the cafe´ that carries the whole. Refusing the cafe´ very effectively killed the whole project.