Otago Daily Times

Aurora boss needs to understand ‘real world’

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STEVE Thompson, chairman of Aurora, claims that the Commerce Commission does not understand the ‘‘real world consequenc­es’’ of its refusal to permit the extremely high lines charges increases sought by Aurora (ODT, 12.1.21).

It is obvious to all except Mr Thompson and Aurora’s senior leadership that the Commerce Commission understand­s that if Aurora is allowed to, in effect, be rescued from decadeslon­g mismanagem­ent of its line charges revenue, this will create a terrible precedent and moral hazard to the other 29 lines companies in New Zealand.

Simply put, the Dunedin City Council chose to spend money its company received for power pole and able depreciati­on and maintenanc­e on a stadium and many other things.

When owners of companies strip out revenue from their operations to spend on irrelevant luxuries, at some point those owners must inject equity into the company to ensure it meets its obligation­s and remains solvent.

This extremely basic concept — that the DCC will have to inject massive capital into Aurora as a result of stripping out many millions in dividends — has to my knowledge never passed the lips of Mr Thompson.

Mr Thompson would better use his time outlining that for Aurora to survive (now its egregious price increase strategy has been an expensive failure), the DCC as owner must front up with massive amounts of cash in the coming years.

Russell Lund MacAndrew Bay

[Abridged]

Unruly grass

I TOTALLY endorse Stephanie Haworth’s stance on mowing or not mowing the berm in front of her house (ODT, 14.1.21).

Dunedin claims to be the ‘‘wildlife capital of New Zealand’’.

Our council claims to be ‘‘environmen­tally friendly’’, and we have a ‘‘Green’’ mayor.

Yet we spray herbicides and pesticides around the city as if they’re going out of fashion.

One weed pokes its head up and our good citizens think the world is coming to an end.

Well, it is coming to an end. Insects are vital to our very survival.

If you doubt it, consider that 30 years ago I had to turn the lights out before I opened the window because of the number of moths that flew in — now none come in despite running a wild garden with no sprays.

And if you think moths are nasty flappy things that don’t matter, consider further that many of our native species are pollinated not by bees, but by moths, butterflie­s and other insects, all of which thrive in the weeds and wild places.

Utrecht, in Holland, has planted its roadsides with wildflower­s to encourage insects.

The United States of America and United Kingdom are starting to do the same.

Well done Stephanie Haworth, and shame on your neighbours.

Tony Williams

Dunedin

IN recognitio­n of the importance of readers’ contributi­ons to the letters page, the newspaper each week selects a Letter of the Week with a book prize courtesy of Penguin Random House. This week’s winner is Rita Richards, of Cromwell, for a letter about online banking. The prize is a copy of The Push, by Ashley Audrain. The winning letter was printed on Wednesday.

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 ?? PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY ?? Stephanie Haworth sits on her Maori Hill grass verge, which she does not want to mow.
PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY Stephanie Haworth sits on her Maori Hill grass verge, which she does not want to mow.

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