Airport queries

Zero waste plan

The responses on the council webpage and facebook after the launch of ‘‘ZeroWaste by 2040’’ have made it quite clear that the New Plymouth community supports and shares the aspirations for Zero Waste. May I suggest that the other councils, Stratford, South Taranaki and Taranaki Regional Council follow the New Plymouth lead.

Something doesn’t quite add up, we have on one hand NPDC advocating Zero Waste then on the other hand supporting a landfill at Eltham with a multimillion dollar price tag.

It seems that the time has come for elected officials to make decisions on behalf of the community and direct their management staff to get on with implementing processes that will minimise waste. Landfill operations do simply not achieve any of these. Modern day practices need to be considered.

Waste is made up of recyclables, glass, organic waste and other waste [including plastic bags but that is another matter] destined for landfill. Three of the four are already in process: Organic Waste is the major contributor of both volumes and environmental problems associated with landfills and is not being properly addressed.

Council has indicated that we can expect to pay an extra $2.50 per week in rates for extra bins and organic waste collections, this equates to a total in excess of $8 million per year, but we hear nothing about the potential savings of reducing the amount of waste to be transported to Eltham.

If the collective Councils were to make the best and correct decisions, implement a structured process that will responsibly care for all waste streams and provide the opportunity, the community would be rewarded, supportive and the Zero Waste target more likely achieved Viv Reed New Plymouth

Nosey parker

Geoff Parker of Whangarei is concerned NPDC established a committee with iwi representation (TDN, June 29). He says this confers ‘‘special rights and privileges on Maori’’ and that this is race based political activism.

I disagree. The NPDC decision is a reflection of the treaty relationship iwi have with the Crown and via the Crown, with local and regional authorities.

Far from being a threat to democracy this committee guarantees NPDC a new level of protection from central government activism. Only Maori may take the Crown to the Waitangi Tribinal should its actions impact negatively on our district.

It is not for me to say Parker is being nosey but his district might be best served if he were to focus his attentions on raising Whangarei to the same fabulous level as New Plymouth. Peter Moeahu New Plymouth An article in the June 28 Midweek by the Airport Manager makes interesting reading. We are told the terminal building will be a wholly new structure leaving unanswered what happens to the present terminal. Presumably it will be demolished which means writing off Council’s equity and that of the Crown, acquired for consideration when council assumed 100 per cent ownership.

The other question is why the existing terminal building could not be included as part of the additions with the consequent saving in cost? Is the existing design not a good fit with the ‘‘iconic’’ new structure?

Consider this, In April 2016, Invercargill Airport opened its new 2900m2 terminal plus car parks at a cost of $13 million to cater for 290,000 passengers annually. Nelson Airport is building a new terminal and carparks at a cost of $31 million to cater for 1,000,000 passengers this year and up to 1,400,000 in the future.

Projected passenger numbers at New Plymouth are half these so one could assume that a new terminal could be built for around $16 million. Council estimates of $21.5 million to $28.7 million simply do not stack up and Councillors would do well to go back to the drawing board.

It has been stated the project will be self-funding through car park fees. Expect the one hour free parking to be curtailed and hourly parking fees increased to around $5. And what is the time frame for payback of borrowings ?

Finally, since the airport serves the whole of the region, what about inviting the Taranaki Regional Council to take up a shareholding in the new structure? Derek Quickfall New Plymouth