Northern Advocate letters: May 17

Hands off cash

The editor Craig Cooper has come out strongly on the side of the district council's wish to get its hands on the dividends currently paid by Northpower to its customers. How does this make sense? Whose money is it? The dividends belong to the customers of Northpower. Their custom has provided the profits. As well, ask your neighbour to share his or her investment dividends with the council. The council already gets its share of the dividends.

The comment about people objecting to paying for council extravagances such as Hundertwasser cannot be taken seriously. The council has blown its budget and is trying to make up the deficit any way it can.

Obviously, too, Mr Cooper is so well paid that he does not have problems like most of the people of Whangarei, who are living on low-paid jobs, or national superannuation, or other benefits, and have trouble paying power bills in winter. For many, it is only these dividends that make some winter heating possible.

It may have passed unnoticed by the comfortably-off council and the editor that many people are struggling to make ends meet. The Salvation Army say they are facing a crisis in trying to supply food parcels. Power is essential for key survival aspects of life, eg cooking and heating. For many, these are becoming unaffordable.

Leave the people their dividends. Let those with spare cash pay for life's luxuries.

- M McDonald, Whangarei

Editor's note: I don't wish to sound like a broken record but all I am in favour of is a trust disseminating money into the community, that is not controlled by the council.

Collectively, we have the potential to creative an interest earning investment fund, investing in Whangarei without political interference. (Interestingly, something that many people struggle with the idea of.)

Rebate is ours

Citizens of Whangarei, act now.

Have you heard that the WDC now want to get their fingers on half of the rebate you get from Northpower Trust?

How dare they!

This is yet another example of their total lack of understanding of what it is like for low-paid and fixed-income people to make ends meet in this economic climate.

These councillors are totally inflation-proofed, they just vote themselves another few thousand dollars on to their annual salary.

Many of you, like me, will have just had your annual pay rise, how much? $6.92 per week.

They think they can spend your money better than you can, they tell us they want the money to fund amenities for the community and that it could help to make savings on your rates.

Yeah right!

We had a perfectly good bridge which they turned into a carpark and now have spent hundreds of thousands turning it into a market stall.

They spent millions on a rugby stadium - a lot of us have absolutely no interest in rugby - and now there is Hundertwasser.

To make your views on this known, email your opinion to edwh@snl.co.nz and include your name, also write letters to the press.

 - Dave Blowers, Whangarei

Ask the question

In view of the controversy on whether there should be a Hundertwasser Art Centre, an opportunity presents itself, when rate demands go out, for the ratepayer to answer a simple question: "Are you in favour of a Hundertwasser Art Centre, Yes or No".

Delete as necessary.

 - B J Dudin, Whangarei