HNZ: Methhouse not public safety threat
Housing New Zealand staff have been knocking on doors in Wainuiomata in an effort to allay residents’ fears about methamphetaminecontaminated goods being left dumped on the lawn of one of its state houses.
For two days, children played in the contaminated contents – including an oven, bedding and carpet – and adults picked through and took away items from the house in Ngaturi Grove.
Housing NZ (HNZ) stopped work on clearing the house last Wednesday after one of its contractors was the victim of a ‘‘senseless, unprovoked attack’’ by a group of men.
Contractors did not return to the house until late on Friday.
In response to growing criticism from Ngaturi Grove residents, HNZ sent three representatives to door-knock and deliver an official letter on Tuesday morning.
‘‘We want to reassure anyone who may have come into contact with the items that they do not need to be concerned,’’ the letter, signed by HNZ senior tenancy manager Tina Hughes, said.
‘‘We have no reason to believe there is a risk to anyone’s health ... given the short time the items were outside.’’ a
She went on to say there needed to be ‘‘prolonged and sustained direct exposure to the chemical for there to be risk’’.
But neighbours continue to see the delay as unacceptable.
‘‘They said there was no risk to the public, but they still had their contractors [clearing the items on Friday] in full protective clothing,’’ Moira Bauer said on Tuesday.
While the letter did not offer a direct apology for the delay, HNZ acknowledged the clean-up took ‘‘longer than normal to secure the site and remove the waste’’, due to the attack on the contractor.
While police were called to investigate, the alleged victim chose not to lay an official com- plaint. ‘‘We have apologised to local residents about this,’’ the statement said. ‘‘We stand by our contractors’ decision to stop work and leave the site immediately.’’
However, resident and new city councillor Josh Briggs felt HNZ needed to ‘‘publicly acknowledge that there had been a number of shortcomings in their processes’’.
‘‘There were no signs, tape or notification that the area was unsafe and that a methamphetamine decontamination process [was] taking place.’’
HNZ insisted it followed the right protocol. ‘‘We safely carry out this work regularly every day without incident.’’