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A ticking bomb

I read with interest Mayor Tracy Hicks’ column on flood protection in the Mataura Valley (April 8) and agree with his finding, quoting the 1978 Mataura town flood, that our response is usually to build defences after the event.

He ended with the comment, that at a time of climate change ‘‘we need to be proactive’’. Yet he failed to mention one existing hazard trapped already inside the recognised flood risk zone - the Taha Tiwai residue storage problem - 10,000 tonnes stored in the old paper mill and liable both to self combustion and to giving off noxious fumes if it gets wet.

The Gore District Council issued a two year consent (nearly up) for the stuff to be stored where it is, presumably to give its owners time to find another home for it. They responded by going bankrupt and ownership presumably now lies with the owner of the building.

What proactive plan does Mayor Tracy have for this inevitable flood problem? John Purey-Cust Gore Gore District Mayor Tracy Hicks responds:

The intent of my column was to highlight that we, as a nation, are experiencing shifting weather patterns driving severe damage to both public and private infrastructure.

How we as a nation and as individual communities respond to that challenge requires focus and energy if we are to be resilient in the face of change.

I believe by first understanding the risk communities face - physical risk, financial risk and emotional risk - is the key to resilience. In the case of flood defenses on the Mataura River, that understanding requires close connection between Environment Southland and the Gore District Council.

That connection has been in place in the form of a combined working party to consider the challenge. There are no quick, easy or inexpensive solutions I suspect and whatever the eventual strategy turns out to be, it will be a choice for communities to make and determine by their appetite for risk.

I do make the point though, this issue is not just a local or regional one but also a national one and will require Crown commitment in some form for a successful solution to be settled on.

Being proactive in my view begins with gaining an understanding of the problem. With regard to the specific issue raised regarding the old Mataura paper mill site and the product stored within, your correspondent is correct in that a resource consent was issued and it expires in January 2018.

It has conditions attached designed to minimise the risk of the product getting wet. Is a resource consent an absolute guarantee against risk? No.

Am I happy about the situation created by Taha packing its bags and skulking away in the dead of night leaving the Southland community to pick up the pieces? Absolutely not, far from it.

However, the fact remains the product is there lawfully at present and owned by the liquidator.

The GDC’s focus, along with the other Southland councils and companies who have been left holding the baby, must be to work with the liquidator to find a solution. I can assure you this is occurring. Will it be successful? I don’t know but it certainly is being actively pursued.

Anzac commemorations

We as a nation are approaching our Anzac celebrations.

That is to remember the thousands of NZ men and women who went to war and died to defend our then beautiful country and our chances to live a normal life and survive as normal Kiwis, where we can live a lifestyle of freedom and provide our selves with a comfortable home and an income to provide for a family.

I don’t think they could believe if they could come back now and see how this country has been taken over by a government who panders to the wealthy and have so many greedy people who feed into this system to the point where developers offer opportunities for retirees to purchase a affordable retirement unit where you can pay up to such a cheap price as $2.5 million. And first home buyers have to bow down to this greed to afford a home.

We are now a sad and sick society, it used to be G for god but now it’s G for greed. Well, those poor people would turn in their graves if they could come back and see what has happened to their then wonderful home land and wonder if their lives were worth it. Really makes you wonder, eh. RL Hansen Alexandra