Dunedin’s ‘amazing’ bus drivers engender pride
On the topic of cruise ship visits, we’d like to offer some feedback, as recent cruisers.
We were on the last trip of the Viking Orion for the season, which docked at Port Chalmers on Monday, February 19.
It wasn’t a particularly nice day, and as we are Dunedin residents, we opted to stay onboard the boat.
Most of the passengers went off on their various tours. Their enthusiasm for Dunedin, when they came back aboard, was really special to hear.
In fact, for the duration of our cruise of 31 days, hardly a day went by when Dunedin wasn’t mentioned as one of the favourite stops.
They loved that the city had a feeling of how life used to be, without the bustle, and the architecture and Scottish influence were also high on the list. The wildlife trips sold out and were also very popular.
But most of all, the passengers spoke about the amazing bus drivers, whom they said went out of their way to give them the best experience. They said the drivers had great knowledge of the city and talked about their own lives growing up here. Well done to those drivers involved.
We may not have the bright lights and razzmatazz of the larger cities of the world, but it appears that we still have much of what the world wants to experience.
We felt very proud of Dunedin, and that it had been one of their trip highlights.
Demonising the left-wing
Is ignorance the new woke? There has been a disturbing and growing trend to dismiss (or "cancel") ideas one does not agree with as "left-wing."
This often entails rejection of another’s views, and the dismissal of facts, logic, and evidence put forward to support those views.
Dismissing an individual as left-wing serves to demonise them as the other and therefore as at the least irrelevant, and possibly as dangerous.
This is the road to fascism and unfortunately is not limited to the letters pages of the ODT.
What is both frightening and amusing is that only a few decades ago what is labelled as left-wing would be considered centrist or centre right. If those who use the term in a derogatory manner were to meet a "left-wing" person with views such as those common in the 1970s Western European democracies they would undoubtedly soil their undergarments.
No joke
A playground in George St? Is this a delayed April Fool's Day joke?
Cheers DCC
Thank you Dunedin City Council for turning the railway station clock into an Anzac commemoration.
Just how he rolls
Prime Minister Luxon has provided some moments of unintentional levity. His claim, when demoting Ministers Lee and Simmonds, that this is "how I roll" sounded like something from a David Brent/Big Lebowski crossover. Can we expect he will soon declare himself just "a chilled-out entertainer"?
In addition, he claimed to be a Crusaders fan since he was a "little boy", despite the franchise only being founded in 1996.
Meanwhile, his chaotic coalition continues on its fact-free, expert-free destruction of the economy and environment. No amount of invented anecdotes and rehearsed CEO-speak is going to distract from that.
Dogs’ behaviour can depend on environment
The front page (ODT, 24.2.24) shows a dog and cat as best mates and objections to the dog being labelled dangerous.
I lived in a flat where the dog and cat were best mates, the cat even sleeping against the belly of the dog at night.
Another dog came into the flat and got on well with the others, all lying together. After many weeks of pet bliss, the cat was inadvertently locked inside the flat with the dogs. The dog owners came back to find the dogs had chased the cat through the house and mauled it to death. Everyone was shocked and in total disbelief about what had happened.
We can only summise that something had caused a pack mentality to kick in with the dogs.
Therefore I am wary that, no matter how friendly, any two dogs left alone can be potentially dangerous, and wasn't surprised when I read further in the article that a second friendly dog was allegedly involved. A question for dog trainer Gary Wulff who stock-tested Alfie, "would he happily leave Alfie and Otto alone together in a paddock of lambs?" I would not leave two friendly chihuahua in a room with a kitten, no matter how well they got on. But the labelling of each individual friendly dog as dangerous is another matter. The fact both owners have made sure the two dogs can’t escape anymore seems to be the answer to stopping them being dangerous.
Loyalty
Coming home from the dawn service in Oamaru on April 25 I was somewhat bemused to see the ODT awaiting my arrival. The dawn service is naturally one of remembrance and thanks for which we are truly grateful. As I picked up my paper I felt a spirit of thanks in another way to the ODT for their ongoing loyalty and service.
The future of South Dunedin
The Dunedin City Council has been working closely with the local community as research, possibilities and approaches are explored for South Dunedin’s Future.
This open engagement methodology is what we are also working on with central government.
It is not a "cap in hand plea for cash" rather it is an opportunity for government to partner with community and Council to develop climate adaptation infrastructure in the best interest of all 3 parties. It is far cheaper to build resilience ahead of a deluge than to pay for cleanup after a disaster.
Everyone knows this and we are looking for cross-party support so that the partnership ethos endures beyond election cycles.
The confidential business case leaked last week and referred to in Saturday’s ODT, focused on 1 aspect and was written more than a year ago.
The South Dunedin Future report included in a DCC Council agenda of 5 December 2023 with its 16 approaches is a more current indication of discussion topics for our meetings at Parliament this week.
Council is working for a safer and better South Dunedin with improved resilience and wellbeing for all.
Act for Dunedin
Dunedin councillors must act in the interests of Ōtepoti, regardless of political affiliations, as it is their obligation and moral imperative to question government.
Cr Steve Walker was right to challenge Mayor Radich over ostensibly muzzling councillors, silencing those who voted them in.
Where is the Radich that campaigned passionately for the hospital when Labour was in? What is his job again?
Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@odt.co.nz
