SEA BED MINING
I was surprised to read the full page advertisement placed by Ngati Ruanui, opposing sea bed mining in Patea.
My surprise did not come from the fact it was from Ngati Ruanui or because it was opposition to sea bed mining. What was surprising was the level of emotion that was presented as scientific fact.
I share concern for our environment. I am a proponent of sustainable business and believe consideration for the environment is a crucial pillar of any sustainable business model. That is why I took the time to visit the website and meet with the representatives of Trans-Tasman Resources, the company applying for a Marine Consent to extract iron ore from sand of the South Taranaki Bight.
What I found was that their application is very carefully worked out and based on recent scientific data. Compared to the natural movement of sand along our coastline by the wonderful and powerful forces of nature, the effect of this enterprise will be unnoticeable.
When you look at the financial benefits to the region, employment and training opportunities, support services opportunities and infrastructure upgrades, I feel it would be doing our families and whanau a disservice to outright oppose this economic lifeline to South Taranaki.
Reasonable and rational debate on this application is healthy and should always be based on the facts and data that are available. Matthew Prestidge
Hawera
VACCINATION
Just an additional comment to your interesting article on whooping cough in the Taranaki Star. A couple of years ago I had a bad reaction from a Whooping Cough vaccination I took to protect my new grandson and spent 6 weeks in hospital (mostly in HDU) recovering from Gulliam Barre, or acute nerve inflamation, a bit of a rough time (male understatement here).
The reason for this email is that despite all this, I most assuredly would do the same again (with precautions) and would encourage others to get vaccinations as well.
With the odds at 1:100,000, I still believe vaccinations are worth it despite my experience.
Odds of injury from fireworks: 19,556 to 1 Odds of injury from shaving: 6,585 to 1 Odds of injury from using a chain saw: 4,464 to 1 Odds of injury from mowing the lawn: 3,623 to 1 Odds of fatally
SPEND LOCALLY
It’s been a tough 18 months for Hawera’s retailers due mainly to the downturn in the dairy industry. And the latest retail spend figures from Venture Taranaki for South Taranaki (for the six months, Jul-Dec 2015) make for sobering reading. Total expenditure ($97m) dropped 2.7 per cent in South Taranaki compared to the same time a year ago. Interestingly, ‘‘takeaways’’ was the only exception to this trend. Our spend on takeaways increased a whopping 13 per cent.
A concerning $46m was spent outside of South Taranaki (this is called slippage expenditure). Sadly the facts don’t lie: locals need to be more loyal to our local retailers. The onus is also on local retailers to continue to provide outstanding service and ensure their businesses are attractive and inviting.
Bryan Vickery
Candidate
WRITE TO US
We welcome letters to the editor, 250 words or less preferred. Published at the sole discretion of the editor and they may be edited. Include your address and phone number (not for publication). Send to Taranaki Star, 55 Regent St, 4610 or PO Box 428, Hawera or email to star@dailynews.co.nz. Deadline: Fridays 4pm.