Your letters: Bridge lighting - how hard can it be?

Embarrassing: Bridge lights to nowhere at Dublin St. Photo/file

Bridge lights

Aucklanders celebrated Anniversary Weekend in the City of Sails with a magnificent sound and light show featuring their harbour bridge lit entirely by solar-powered LEDs.

Meanwhile, Whanganui's many hundreds of Vintage Weekend visitors were treated to the same old single span trial lighting of the Dublin Street Bridge, unchanged since May 2016.

Last May the "light the bridge" project champion, Whanganui District councillor Rob Vinsen, admitted his plan had hit a snag but that he would apply for funding from local community trusts to enable the lighting to be rolled out across all nine spans.

He'd been working on the plan since the bridge's centenary celebrations in 2014.

Like so many of us, councillor Rob had been inspired by the bridge lighting that has become de rigeur in big global cities (including 17 in London and nine in New York) and many smaller ones. I, and many hundreds of others, had great fun controlling the hands-on bridge lighting display in Brisbane during the 2014 G20 summit.

How embarrassing for Whanganui to have only a "bridge to nowhere" lighting display for all those Anniversary Weekend visitors, especially those enjoying the night-time Waimarie jazz cruises. Many return visitors will have wondered how hard it can be to finish the job.

Can someone — councillor Rob? — ensure a finished bridge lighting display that we can be proud of before our visitors return next Anniversary Weekend.

CAROL WEBB
Whanganui

Justice for all

" Life isn't always fair"? But government must be! An insightful article by Chester Borrows (Wanganui Chronicle, Jan 1), a former policeman, lawyer and MP, calling for the probe to be widened into CYFS and state care.

"So investigations should go far wider and also look at those caregivers"? But with a long-awaited inquiry now under way into a corollary, Mental Health Services, just how good are these investigations?

Who is our "watchdog"? An under-resourced Ombudsman?

Let's get this clear. An "independent" inquiry by a royal commission is a minimum. Having public servants or politicians, culpable for prior inaction and obfuscation, smacks of "face saving" and compensation evasion. Lawyers too have been inactive.

We must insist on better. So file your submissions — you are protected by "privilege" — and let us send a message that accountability is the end game, not a knighthood.

There is no timeline for injustice, even in New Zealand. Inertia must not win! It is not our cornerstone as a nation?

KEN CRAFAR
Durie Hill

Debt burden

Few people realise the huge debts world governments are accumulating. New Zealand is no exception.

In the 1980s, when Labour defeated Prime Minister Muldoon's government, they were astonished to find he had run up a national debt of $18 billion. Now, three decades later, the government core debt is $94,119,000,000. We pay $16 million a day in interest to service this debt.

Other sectors of the economy are also running high debts. As of May 2017 these debts are as follows:

Agriculture $59,532,000,000; Business 104,401,000,000; Consumer 15,299,000,000; Corporate Overseas (3/17) 74,360,000,000; Housing 236,376,000,000; Local Government 13,882,000,000; Student 15,515,000,000.

This comes to a total debt of $613.5 billion, on all of which we are paying interest. The average debt per person is $127,227.00

(Source: Guardian Political Review, Issue 67).

Compound interest can triple the amount borrowed. Of course, this is fine for the banks, which have an ever-increasing interest stream as income, which most send outside the New Zealand economy each year as profit to their head offices in Australia.

However, the rest of us have to live in a weaker, less prosperous economy where the cost of our goods and services increases each year.

DONNA MUMMERY
Whanganui

Tree tragedies

When circumstances forced me to leave Auckland I chose Whanganui because of three elements. The wonderful river, the elegant great trees and fine old buildings.

Daily I rejoice in these trees, especially in summer when their shade gives respite from the heat and keeps the city looking fresh.

Last Friday, to my utter dismay, I came across two decapitated healthy old plane trees,

corner of Drews Ave and Ridgway St. I am outraged. A few weeks back a similar outrage at corner of Bates and Bell streets, west side of the law courts. Now those offices can swelter in the heat and ugliness.

What is the problem? If the great elegant cities of the world can cherish their much older trees, surely little Whanganui can emulate them.

Melbourne has a system of inner-city tree protection. The climate is getting hotter, pollution is bad — these trees are proven the most effective street trees.

Spindly replacements are almost an insult. What is the cost for each removal and replacement?

Ridgway St south end is quite ugly, the other half a joy. Last summer part of that was culled, with spindly substitutes.

This is 1950s mentality, not 2018.

We know now there is great psychological value from the presence of grand trees/greenery.

Why is Whanganui gaining popularity?

Visitors don't just come because of the rich arts and sports events but because the city has grace and charm.

Many of our old buildings are sadly neglected and in need of care. Without the majestic, tall plane trees the place could easily look seedy and run-down.

Instead, there is comforting charm and grace.

Why should a small group of bureaucrats have the power to destroy the heritage of our forefathers and then probably move on to blight another little city? Paid vandalism.

I call for a moratorium on any further removals and for the population to speak out.

ROSEMARY BARAGWANATH
Whanganui