LIFE SAVED
Last year my life was saved by organ donation. Luckily for me, my donor had made their wishes known to their family.
I had been a fit and healthy non smoker. It never occurred to me that one day I would need a donated organ. I imagine my donor didn’t expect to die when they did.
Life is unpredictable. Please let your family know your wishes. On behalf of members of the Smokefree Coalition I congratulate parliament on voting in favour of the Smoke-free Environments (Tobacco Standardised Packaging) Amendment Bill at its second reading recently.
When tobacco causes 4,500 New Zealanders to die every year, passing a measure that prevents young children from wanting to take up smoking is good social investment and great leadership from our decision makers. But this is a measure that is taking too long to pass through its democratic process and it is not because of the public’s opposition.
Public support is behind the government in progressing the bill without any further delay. This World Health Organisation convention provides the support of the world’s best practice guidelines and peer-reviewed evidence.
Let’s not waste any more time allowing tobacco to cause further preventable, deadly disease. Eliminate the industry’s means of tempting our children with its deadly products and protect future generations so that they can enjoy smoke free lives. I recently received a council brochure praising themselves for getting around to doing the Kerikeri sewerage upgrade.
The only information in it was that it would add the paltry sum of 400 new connections to the existing scheme.
There was no overall figure of cost or total connections so one could divide one into the other to see how much each connection would cost, nor were there any ongoing cost figures, nor more importantly was there a map to show which areas were to be serviced.
The whole point of a sewerage system is to protect the environ- ment from human effluent coliforms and in our case the environment is the Kerikeri Inlet of the world famous Bay of Islands.
The Kerikeri Inlet is under environmental pressure from the intensification of residential houses with septic tanks and soakage fields, particularly in areas like Riverview which has moved from orcharding to intensive housing, and coastal housing in Skudders Beach, Rangitane and Doves Bay, all with poorly percolating clay soils.
In recent years new builds in these unsewered areas have put in aerobic treatment plants which work better than septic tanks, however pollutant levels have risen steadily. Hence the pressure for a sewerage system upgrade.
However it appears that council think the problem is the old treatment plant.
We need a comprehensive new sewerage system that includes Riverview and a council that will intensify monitoring of those other coastal suburbs.
Letters must not exceed 250 words and must have your full name, residential address and phone number. Only your name and town/suburb are published. The editor reserves the right to edit, abridge or withhold any correspondence without explanation. Letters may be referred to others for right of reply. Email jenny.ling@fairfaxmedia.co.nz