RUBBISH COLLECTION
Councillor Penny Hulse’s write up in the Western Leader on November 14 made interesting reading. Enforcing the old adage ‘might is right’. There was a time when council openly discussed new measures with their ratepayers. Now under the auspices of the super city, council bureacracy rules the day.
This new rubbish collection system from a health perspective alone is dangerously flawed. It is assumed everyone will be putting out the smaller bins each week regardless of how much waste is in them.
From a cost perspective I will have to wait until the bin is full. Probably taking a month or two. By then it will be a heaving mass of putrid pollution, especially during the coming summer months.
I hope council will spend the appropriate amount of money looking after the rubbish collectors’ health and wellbeing because boy, are they going to need it.
I would also ask, is this a part of the rates reduction plan for 2017/18. We now pay twice to have our rubbish collected. What will we pay double for next I wonder, more road works?
BOB JESSOPP
Massey
It costs me less per week to use waste management to collect both my rubbish and garden waste than it does for me to go to the supermarket and buy a tag to put on my bin so the council will collect it.
I would happily use the council bin collection if they added it into the rates and I didn’t have to remember to get a tag so they would collect it. I feel if they are going to provide a wheelie bin then there should be a way to pay in advance without having to get a weekly tag. They should make the service easy for people.
I pay in advance for waste management and don’t have to worry about getting the tag in time for rubbish day or put it in the right place on my bin to ensure it is collected and not left behind.
SAM MARSH-PATRICK Swanson
POVERTY AND PENSIONS
Georgina Murray writes that she does not get $800 a fornight on the pension. In fact these are the pension rates: Single, living alone $780.40 after tax and single, sharing $720.36 after tax.
So it’s close, and she might remember generally people on the pension are not paying rent or a mortgage at all, never mind $400 a
LANDLORDS ASKS FOR TENANT’S ETHNICITY
Why shouldn’t the landlord ask whatever pertinent questions he perceives as relevant? In the end he is going to choose the tenant, and if he has made up his mind that he does not want people from a particular group, wouldn’t it be better to exclude them early on and avoid wasting everybody’s time?
BILL RIGBY
Avondale
That cannot be legally done, as per section 29 of the Tenancy Act. The landlord should not and cannot openly advise prospect tenants that your group is not welcome to rent as that can be classed as racism.
ABI SINGH
Kelston
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