Have your say: Hundertwasser debate

The Hundertwasser model.

The Hundertwasser debate russells on. Jack Guy from Russell and Paul Berks from Whangarei have their say.

Seize chance
I retired from business and public life 14 years ago and settled very happily into the Bay of Islands. It has not been difficult for me to witness the outstanding effects that the "world famous" Hundertwasser toilets have had on Kawakawa.

It is amazing that this tourist drawcard has kickstarted the transformation of this small Northland township. Visitors to Russell often remark on visiting it on their journey north.

How Whangarei could do with the same. When I visit my old home town (Whangarei), I see empty shops, abandoned building projects and little, if any, investment in the CBD. This was the story of Kawakawa 20 years ago and look at it now.

Why the Whangarei District Council has failed to grab the opportunity to build the Hundertwasser Arts Centre astonishes me. From my reading of the information available to the public, this project is an absolute winner.

Come on councillors; seize this significant opportunity before it passes you by.
Jack Guy
Russell, Bay of Islands

No public input
If Andrew Garratt feels that popular opinion has changed significantly on the Hundertwasser, he should be advocating another telephone poll to verify this.

I doubt if anything is seriously wrong with WDC's telephone poll and it is certainly a far more reliable option than listening to lobby groups. I would take the negative remarks from the Hundertwasserites about it more seriously were they eagerly looking for better ways of assessing public opinion. In reality, public opinion is the last thing they seem to want to know about.

Note that the so-called "public consultation" on the old NRC building excludes all bar a few businessmen from the submission stage and there is no public input into the assessment stage.

Who set the exclusion process in motion? Hundertwasserite councillors Glen Innes and Cherry Hermon.
Paul Berks
Whangarei

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