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Holding council to ransom

I was surprised and disappointed to read that, according to the chairman of Environment Southland, Forest and Bird is holding the regional council to ransom as an ongoing dispute over marine farming rules in the South continues ( Southland Times - March 18).

Forest and Bird’s desire to see the various marine reserves protected, and Fish and Game’s desire to ensure marine farming is never allowed in marine mammal protection areas, are shared by the council.

These areas are all the marine equivalent of terrestrial national parks, scientific areas and other places permanently protected for their conservation values.

Describing permanent protection as ‘locked in’ is surely a contradiction in terms.

It implies that there is still an opportunity to exploit these areas after public consultation, which there isn’t. Forest and Bird’s chief executive Kevin Hague is speaking on May 24 at the SIT in Room B1-10 at 7.15pm.

I invite the Environment Southland chairman Nicol Horrell and other interested councillors to attend his presentation and discuss freshwater and marine farming issues directly with him and those of us who share the same aspirations to protect and preserve our precious marine reserves. Chris Henderson Lumsden

Stop the drilling

Prime Minister Bill English has been a Wellingtonian for a long time now, but some Southlanders still think of him as a local.

Mr English should repay that compliment by telling the big oil companies that are planning to drill Southland, to get out, go home, leave Southland to do what we do best; farming.

Pumping oil and gas out of Southland farmland and eventually into the air where it will add to global warming will attract a lot of negative criticism for Southland; criticism we don’t want or need. Robert Guyton Riverton

Chinese Garden funds

If the Invercargill City Council wants to go ahead with the proposal for a Chinese Garden in the city, it should not be funded from the rates raked from ratepayers.

It should be funded entirely from voluntary contributions from those who support such a project.

As there are many ratepayers who struggle to meet this unavoidable annual expense, proceeds from rates should only be spent on services and projects which will be of benefit to the residents.

Furthermore, if there are any reserve funds it would be a very kind gesture to utilise these to reduce the burden of rates from time to time. WY Rambuwelle Invercargill

A question of funds

When the former SDHB democratically elected board members were sacked by the Minister of Health, the SDHB was receiving $830 million in annual funding.

The board was removed because it forecast a deficit of $19 million, and future higher deficits.

As reported last week, a statement from the CE said that the SDHB now receives around $940 million annually for health services.

That is a very significant increase in funding in a short period of time for a DHB, which the Minister and the Ministry asserted was fully funded four years ago.

I have to ask, what happened to ‘‘fully funded’’ in the past years, and what additional services are being provided with all the ‘‘new’’ money?

All I can see are reductions in services across the district.

And, the meeting records will show that Commissioner Richard Thompson did vote for Compass to be awarded the contract for the supply of meal services.

I recall that only Mary Flannery and one other board member consistently voted against the proposal.

Neville cook (former DHB board member)

Road safety

Is there a reason why the road centreline should not be of the material that makes car tyres screech?

Would such a sudden noise alert the driver?

Even New Zealanders back after many years have had narrow escapes. MLockie Invercargill