My Account
Back off MPI
Alan Sandrey, Point Wells
I was appalled to read your article regarding the raw milk crackdown by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MM Jan 15). What is the matter with them? Have they nothing better to do than harass law-abiding people – producing and selling a product that is in demand and, if they didn’t make it so difficult would be in even greater demand? It is my belief that there must be pressure being applied to get these farmers closed down. Fonterra tried this with the supermarkets when Lewis Road milk started to become popular, trying to pressure them not to stock it. To say the product is risky is a fatuous argument. This good, wholesome full cream milk is not only extremely good for you, it is delicious. It is our choice that we buy this product and we should be allowed that choice. My wife and I have four litres a week from our limited partnership (how ridiculous to have to do this) with Bakewell Creamery, and we hope that others will see the light and support them.
Rotary roadworks
John Northcott, Warkworth
Congratulations to Mick Saunders and Jon Nicholson for fixing one of the problems at the Hill Street intersection in Warkworth, especially considering the risks they took (MM Jan 15). Where was the obligatory forest of orange cones and warning signs? Was there a team armed with walkie-talkies and stop/go signs controlling traffic? For that matter, was a traffic control plan prepared by a registered engineer? I doubt that everyone was wearing high-viz vests, hard hats and steel-toed boots. Did the work have resource consent? Did they make sure no earthworms were harmed as they threw the rocks into the hole? Were the rocks to the correct specification and were they compacted properly? The danger is not yet over. Mick and Jon should be waiting in fear and trembling for a knock on the door from a City Council jobsworth ready to give them a severe finger-wagging. Congratulations again, lads. We need more like you.
Just do it
Barry Thompson, Snells Beach
I’m getting really frustrated and I am not alone. For many years now I have lived in Warkworth, a lovely place to call home. In those years I have read many letters from people like me who are frustrated at the inaction relating to the Hill Street intersection. It’s got so bad that we have to allow a further 20 minutes just to get into Warkworth from Snells Beach or risk missing appointments. The most used app on my phone is Google Maps to check traffic conditions. Recently, I have been tempted to create a slip lane into Warkworth myself. It would take so little effort to do a “number 8 wire” job with a sledgehammer, some gravel and road marking paint. I see that Warkworth Rotary members have used their initiative to lay some gravel infill so we can mount the kerb to expedite traffic flow. My point is that there are probably thousands of people like me who are fed up and want action. So how do we get it done? How do we get the action that is so obviously needed? We use people power – the power of one person joining with thousands demanding action, not delays and false promises. If sufficient people, who complain to their mates about the problem, took their own action instead of talking about it, then we would see progress. I believe the time has come for affirmative action. In one night, we could significantly improve traffic flows through the Warkworth intersection. The agencies of government won’t do it, so maybe it is time for the people to take action. Are we allowed to do this? No. Should we do this? Yes.
Visitors to Warkworth may find themselves hopping along the shopping trail this year. ‘Two old bastards’ – Murray Chapman and Peter Henderson – have taken it upon themselves to paint the game on footpaths around the town centre. The first two sites are outside the Warkworth iSite and Harcourts, with more in the pipeline. “It’s about having a bit of fun,” they say. “We thought the kids would enjoy them, but we’ve seen a few older people having a go, too, which is just great.” Two of the first “big kids” to have a go were Council representatives, Beth Houlbrooke and Greg Sayers.
