A commercial property owner recently wrote in favour of greater protection on the Taupo Quay side, presumably to protect their interests.Why should the ratepayer cover this? Many non-profit-making organisations have or will be required to earthquake-proof buildings at their own cost. Why should flood protection be any different?
M HUGHES
Whanganui
A no-brainer
Bob Walker (letters, February 25), shows little economic nous, common sense or compassion for long-suffering Anzac Parade residents in his persistent, uninformed ramblings about flood protection.
I would have expected more from a former councillor.
He argues stopbanks are a waste of ratepayers' money. He fails to understand that while there is a community cost to raising stopbanks there is also a cost to doing nothing. For example, $361,000 has been spent so far just to repair Kowhai Park.
The many hidden costs of doing nothing include: Cleaning out silt-clogged/damaged pipes; the inconvenience of a park closed for months on end; residents who have to vacate their homes , some for over a year.
Whanganui Girls' College hostel and sports facilities were also badly affected and a main arterial route unusable.
Mr Walker's managed retreat is estimated to cost $23m (I suggest even more), removing and lifting homes. The cost of stopbanks is around $6-7m and could be spread over two or three years. Raising the road, as Mr Walker suggests, is even more expensive according to Horizons civil engineer Ramon Strong. Can you imagine the cost to relocate Kowhai Park? Stopbanks really are a no-brainer.
While Mr Walker has spoken to two residents, there are nearly 100 affected properties in this location. About 50, at my guess, were severely affected. Many, like myself, love our homes and do not want to move. Many cannot be raised because they have concrete foundations. But, all that aside, who will pay for this pie-in-the-sky managed retreat?
The answer is no-one. Residents cannot afford it. Insurance companies and central government will not pay. Whanganui District Council cannot afford to pay. Horizons Regional Council cannot afford to pay because it is not just Anzac Parade they have to consider; it is Putiki, Whangaehu, Turakina, Levin, Foxton and many more.
While Kowhai Park and homes in the Anzac Parade vicinity should never have been built there, they are there now and something has to be done about this ongoing problem. I hope the Whanganui community shows more compassion and economic sense than Mr Walker by supporting stopbanks being raised to a realistic level.
(Abridged)
STEVE BARON
Whanganui East
Correction
In my haste to refute the claim by Bob Harris that the Hauhau were defeated at Waitotara, I made a mistake.
Weraroa was the empty pa that Governor Grey claimed to have taken without loss.
Moturoa was the pa that was attacked by Government forces and their Maori allies.
Those rejects and outcasts defeated the militia and chased them all the way back to Wairoa (Waverley).
POTONGA NEILSON
Castlecliff
Quay toilets
Re the proposed toilet block for the Quay.
This would certainly be a bonus for the Saturday markets. The info centre toilets must have maximum usage and the Moutoa ones are too far for elderly and children. It would also be an asset for the many others who frequent the area.
As for the campers etc, most would respect and welcome these facilities. It would also be beneficial for the events often held on the river.
M J MARTIN
Whanganui
God speaks
Mandy Donne-Lee says God talks to us. Why has no one bothered to record his voice, so easy in this modern world?
Apparently there is now only one God. The others have been killed off and are twiddling their fingers in heaven.
After the 2014 floods I had a talk with God, asking why he allowed such carnage.
He said, "That was not me, that was Mother Nature".
I said, "But you are the Almighty; bring her to heel".
He said, "I can't. You have a go".
Was it God talking to me or had I moved to lunatic/dementia mode, a place a lot of my friends think I frequent?
I am sure Mandy will think I am sane.
G R SCOWN
Whanganui
