Hunger strike threatened
Couple left heartbroken over leaky home with no assistance from council
A Manawatu man has pledged to start a hunger strike after four years of battling with the heartbreak of a leaky and structurally defective home.
It's been a year since Lesley Thomas and George Griffiths, both in their 50s, first went public with the story of their leaky home. Now George has hit rock bottom.
He has given the Manawatu¯ District Council MDC notice he'll start a hunger strike on Monday if it doesn't step in and help.
Just over four years ago, the pair bought their home half way up the Ruahine Ranges in the Pohangina Valley, hoping to create a peaceful haven for people suffering from depression, and their families.
In 2009, Griffiths' son Ryan took his life at the age of 16.
“When Ryan passed away we got some peace being up high. Being up high, you got away from things and you can put things into perspective.”
George said something was not right with New Zealand's alarming suicide statistics and they wanted to help.
“You've got the victims of people who take their lives, but you've also got the people who are left behind with the loss.”
He and Lesley hoped the property could become a retreat to help others in a similar situation, but their peaceful haven turned out to be a nightmare they were unable to wake from.
Experts say the house should never have received a Code Compliance Certificate from the MDC.
After moving in, they discovered significant shortcomings in the way the home was built. Experts say the house should never have received a Code Compliance Certificate from the MDC.
George's health is already at risk from a past accident and a heating system in the house was too dangerous to use because of poor installation.
To keep warm over winter, the couple have shifted their bed to the lounge, a makeshift campsite they described as embarrassing.
Jeff Twigge of NZ House Surveys, took his report to a council meeting in September last year to shed light on what he had found.
He told the council he had “thrown them a bone” in the report and the council had two options:
“One is to pick this bone up, run with it and seek to resolve it with my clients. The other option is to do what a dog does and seek to bury that bone.”
Councillor Barbara Cameron said the meeting “was not a place” to discuss the case and the council moved on to other matters.
Since going public a year ago the couple have had multiple meetings with the council, but have been told the only solution is to take the council to court — an action the couple say they cannot afford to do. George and Lesley's case is not isolated.
Another couple in a similar situation — Milton and Jean Pedley took on the MDC over an
allegedly invalid Code Compliance Certificate.
The Pedleys spent nearly half a million dollars, taking their case as far as the High Court but eventually ran out of money.
“We’ve been through the court process,” Milton Pedley said. “We thought we’d be right, but we lost all the way so the courts out as far as I’m concerned. I’d never waste my time again with them. The council are untouchable and they’ll keep it that way as long as they can.”
Pedley said there was no justice for anyone who was honest, and democracy would only ever work if people were honest.
With the Pedleys’ warning, Griffiths has chosen a different course of action.
This week the couple handdelivered a letter to MDC chief executive Richard Templer, warning Griffiths will go on a hunger strike if the council does not take action to fix the shortcomings.
Griffiths’ decision has not been made lightly and he feels the council has given them no other option.
Local Focus asked Richard Templer and mayor Helen Warboys for comment but they refused, both saying the matter was subject to litigation.
Local Focus also contacted all councillors and all but one said the same thing.
Councillor Steve Bielski said the case was in the hands of council management.
“Well first of all it’s a management matter, but as a councillor I’m voted in to represent the people of the Manawatu¯ District, my heart does go out to Lesley and George and the situation they
‘We thought we’d be right, but we lost all the way so the courts out as far as I’m concerned. I’d never waste my time again with them. The council are untouchable and they’ll keep it that way as long as they can.’ — Milton Pedley
are in,” he said.
Bielski said he didn’t believe it was realistic for most people in such a situation to launch legal proceedings.
“I don’t know how many families in the Manawatu¯ that could actually do that (lead a court case).
“To me, there must be a better way of handling this that is fair and reasonable to both sides that there is accountability met, and goodwill and the law is met.”
With the days counting down to the start of his hunger strike on Monday October 8, Griffiths, Thomas and many others in the community continue to hope the council would come to the table and negotiate a resolution.