Waitomo loos foul image for Tourists

This article was published in the New Zealand Herald januray 17 2011. 

A visitor found 'disgusting' public toilets at a walkway that was green, but far from clean.  A set of "absolutely disgusting" toilets at the entrance to one of New Zealand's best short walks has drawn complaints that they are a blight on tourism. The Waitomo Walkway in the Waikato has featured in the Rough Guide to New Zealand and is a popular walk - but at its entrance stands a dark green toilet facility littered with bottles and what appears to be bags of faeces. "I hope it's the only one like that in New Zealand," said Gerard Hill. "It's absolutely disgusting. You'd obviously be horrified." Mr Hill warned off a mother who was about to take her children inside, then walked across the road to an i-Site to complain. There, he encountered his second disappointment when no one could put him in touch with the maintainer of the toilets. Department of Conservation area manager Ray Scrimgeour said the toilets were not DoC's, and he noted that there were clean council-run toilets across the road and ones maintained by DoC at the other end of the walk. He said he did not think the dirty toilets at the beginning of the walk sullied the walkway's reputation. "I see it as some derelict building ... I thought they were disused." DoC said the Waitomo Rugby Sports and Recreation Club had jurisdiction over the toilets. The club's Betty Holden said it maintained the domain adjacent to the toilets, but an independent sports day committee kept the toilets locked, only opening them up once a year for a sporting event. But whoever had authority over the toilets, Mr Hill said they were placed in a "strategic location" for visitors - particularly those with weak bladders - and would benefit from a spruce-up rather than being closed down. A set of eco-toilets, complete with solar panels, would boost the country's sustainable image, Mr Hill said. Waitomo Caves sports day committee chairman Kim Osdorny said the committee scrubbed the toilets for its annual event, then turned off the water at the end - the rest of the time, it was out of its hands. "It's on a piece of Maori land, and the Sports and Recreation Club is the custodian of the grounds ... We've been trying to hassle the [council] for years to maintain it, and getting absolutely nowhere," Mr Osdorny said.  "It's a bit of a bloody eyesore."

It is Possible

This letter was published in the New Zealand Herald Thursday  January 15 titled Tourism  Potential

Auckland has many jewels including natural  and cultural . We can pump our local econmy by saving  our Heritage buildings ansd telling our stories.
All we need to do is take a breath and make the decision .Future generations will thank us.   

The reestablishment of a tram service around the a  Heritage district of the Auckland waterfront is great news for our economy . Many  agree with Gary Froggatt of the Tramway Union that a  tram services  should have been maintained. The retention of such services in San Francisco and Melbourne have been an enduring  goldmine for those cities. Tram barns remain in Wellington.  Their design could easily be copied    

If  our council can retain all the heritage buildings in the Wynyard quarter then this will provide real benefits. The veteran  ferry Kestrel whose return was also funded by the former Regional Council, can also provide an income. Our city council or more specifically  the Waitemata Community  Board,  should work with the local interests including the waterfront community to ensure that we have things happening in time for the Rugby World Cup.

If commonsense occurs and we find a suitable solution that enables the protection of the Turua Street art deco buildings this would be helpful or not only for  heritage but for the economy. Imagine the Kestrel or  the William Daldy with a  full complement of tourists aboard, cruising to St Heliers visiting the  galleries  in  Turua Street and attending live performance in the RSA Hall. We can only wish.    

Enough is Enough

The following letter was published in the New Zealand Herald Wednesday 29 December 2010 in response to a letter from Councillor  Mike Lee in the New Zealand Herald Monday 27 December 2010

No one doubts the commitment of the former Auckland  Regional Council, especially Mike Lee and Sandra Coney, to the heritage buildings that are crucial to the Wynyard Quarter.

 However Aucklanders are concerned that despite a change in council,  the people we elected have not been able to stop the destruction of important buildings.

Mike Lee in his letter sums up best that the Art Deco society will have its day in court supported by Sandra Coney and himself.  There is no guarantee that the buildings listed by the Auckland Regional Council will be protected.

All sympathize with councillors Lee and Coney’s’ frustration. However what resources would The Historic Places Trust and  a small group like the Art deco society have? Courts are expensive places to go.

People voted by significant margins for a change of council  because they were exasperated by the time and costs involved in going to court and because they wanted a  council to stand up.  

 Now  is a time for leadership. Regardless of previous councils back room deals, we need the council to draw a line in the sand and send a message to all those who wish to destroy our city’s heritage, that their time is over .

Enough is enough.

We voted for a change

The decisions of Mayor Brown and his council to allow the demolition of important buildings at Wynyard  Quarter are distressing . Tens of thousands of Aucklanders voted for Mayor Brown and his team because we wanted change.  It now apparent that it is business as usual as the former council officers continue as if nothing has changed. Wanting to keep heritage buildings is not just sentiment .They are important to us for many  reasons;  economically they can help local business to prosper as visitors look for something different.  This is not rocket science .    Mayor Brown  must listen to the people and not be lead by his council officers. He needs to show leadership  or suffer the indignity of being a one term mayor. Five hundred people in St Heliers did not give up a Sunday afternoon for the hell of it .  We all want to live in Auckland and  want the city to reflect our values and for it to develop in such  a way that enhances what we have. Future generations also  have the  right to the  physical beauty of our buildings and the  streetscapes we enjoy .
Published  in the New Zealand Herald   Friday    24 December 2010

Letter of the week New Zealand Herald 4 December 2010

The return of the Kestrel to Waitamata harbour is a wonderful Christmas
present for the Auckland maritime and heritage community. All great maritime
cities have a fleet of working heritage vessels. The Kestrel was one of the
jewels of the Auckland maritime scene and of the national maritime scene.
The sooner the Kestrel can be recommissioned and put back into use the
better for Auckland and our Tourism industry. It is not just the beauty of
the boat, but its social history that goes back 105 years that is important
to us all.

Many of us shed more than a few tears when the Stagecoach Company bought out
our local ferry company Fullers. One of Stagecoach's first actions was to
sell the Kestrel. At that time the Kestrel was not only well loved and
patronised by many people of Auckland (citizens and visitors alike) it was
also maintained to the highest condition at the insistence of George Hudson,
the managing director of Fullers at that time.

Let us hope that our maritime history continues to be valued for future
generations of Aucklanders.

Alan Matson Heritage campaigner

The Weekend Herald of Saturday 6 November published a wonderful feature on Alan Matson and the success he has had in saving many of our buildings . Alan is not a one trick pony but is also a skilled negotiator and is passionate about Auckland .
Auckland city's population will be growing at a fast rate and we will have 200, 000 more residents with in 25 years .
How we accommodate them while maintaining our status as one of the worlds most livable cities and also protecting our important heritage will be a challenge . We will also need more recreational options including swimming p0ols, libraries, playing fields and skateboarding areas .
Alan has the skills to assist Auckland in many areas and should be contracted or employed directly by our city .
The letter below was published in today's New Zealand Herald in an abridged form.

On the strength of the support from former Auckland City counclilors and other who praise his work in protecting Auckland heritage he should receive a civic honour .
Auckland needs people like him working in our council not only on heritage but also on urban design. We need to get this right, there must be a role for him in our new city .

The immense amount of work that the spacial plan for Auckland requires is well beyond the resources of our new local boards. The five month time frame to produce this report is so tight that mistakes may be made which could well lead to litigation and delays.

Mr. Matson and some others have the skills to help minimise and also recognise issues before they develop. We will be accommodating 200,000 more people in Auckland within twenty five years. This growth will impact on all areas of our city and needs to be managed well. If we get it wrong and reduce our quality of life we this will impact in numerous ways including economically.

Alan Matson has a contribution to make and our new council should embrace him.

Leadership Standards

On Monday morning TV 0ne Breakfast Show, the host Paul Henry in an interview with our Prime Minster insulted our governor General saying 'Is he really a New Zealander?'

For the record Sir Anand Satyanand is New Zealand born of Fijian Indian extraction .
He attended Richmond Rd school in then working class Grey Lynn, Auckland.

As governor general he has proved to be most competent and in touch with our people. I have heard him speak at a number of functions in this role. He is a warm,generous man. Sadly our Prime Minster John Key and his employer TV one both took 24 hours before they defended the governor. This is not what we expect from our leaders. They have all fallen below our national standard.
Below is a letter published today Thursday 6 October in the New Zealand in an abbreviated form.
I am first and foremost a Republican and a Democrat and my comments are not to taken as an endorsement of the British Monarchy.




The suspension of broadcaster Paul Henry is a first step. State and private broadcasters have responsibilities to our nation.

Henry is not the first broadcaster to make inflammatory statements that have the potential to simultaneously damage race relations in New Zealand and our international reputation as a country that works hard to improve on what are generally very good relations between the peoples who make up our nation.


When broadcasters like Henry, Paul Holmes [remember the Cheeky Darkies?], MP Hone Harawira make such statements, it says much about our nation. These gentlemen are not ignorant. They are intelligent , informed , educated and streetwise so are fully aware of what they say.

Their bosses are correct in reining them in, but more needs to happen. The code of practice of the networks needs to be tougher. They should have public polices of their commitment to race relations and respect for our citizens regardless of race , creed or sexual orientation . Media has a role to assist in taking our nation forward.

Henry has been allowed to let us down . His employer is also culpable.