My new wardrobe and other people’s money
My new summer-autumn wardrobe, excluding footwear, could cost $58,000 if I let a fashion stylist choose for me and we were spending OPs' (other people's money).
Seeing it's my money, for my lifestyle, I ask myself what's wrong with the clothes I own, what do I need, what can I afford and another question: if I skimp on the nice but unnecessaries what could I do instead that's important to me?
Supporting groups that try to plug the gaps between lucky people like me who have food and a place to live and people who don't, feels better than new shoes.
$50 million looks like the stylists have made a grab for an opportunity to use OPs' money without considering the OPs' (ratepayers') needs. I don't smell "making every dollar count".
Is the council asking or analysing what's wrong with the Octagon; what do people want to do in the Octagon they can't do now; is it a place to look nice or to do things in?
"Vibrant" doesn't result from rocks and planter boxes, it happens when people have a reason to be in a place, interacting.
Save the money
$50 million for the newest Octagon vanity project. Save the money for something useful like housing, or sponge parks to prevent flooding, or health, or welfare, or supporting local community agencies.
Rates rile
I am very concerned to read in the ODT (30.11.23) an article about Mayor Tim Cadogan. If you look at his photo, he seems very pleased with himself and his council, however I can assure him that the ratepayers will be furious.
You must know that if any individual ratepayer were in a similar situation to consider a rate increase of over 20%,particularly when we are in a serious cost of living crisis, that they would be forced to cut their clothing according the costs and trim their budget rather than expect us to just accept a rise of this huge magnitude.
I believe that the Central Otago District Council should do likewise and simply live within their means rather impose serious financial hardship on many ratepayers. Only tackle absolutely necessary projects and not nice-to-have envy projects.
Tim Cadogan does not want "tomorrow to pay for today". This is his reason for warning of a sharp rates rise. Well, tomorrow should indeed pay for today in the context of infrastructure; bridges and Three Waters investments are mentioned. Who is going to benefit from these? The people of tomorrow.
Thursday tops
I love my Thursday read of the Otago Daily Times. Joe Bennett, the entertaining wordsmith, dwells on our love/hate relationship with butter. Dr Rod Pik, an Israeli psychiatrist domiciled in our country and well versed in the background to the Israeli-Palestinian troubles, describes the Dalet Plan of the Israeli settlers to dispossess the Palestinians of their homeland. This will be a shock to many readers. Dr Pik reminds us human lives are more important than ideology, race, state or flag.
Finally Geoffrey Miller of the Democracy Project reminds us of the COP28 climate conference in Dubai. Our last prime ministerial attendance was COP21 in Paris by John Key and climate change now seems to be a low priority.
Smokefree reversal retrograde and wrong
This coalition government's decision to reverse the policy to curb smoking is nothing but sickening, hypocritical, and absolutely goes against all medical advice. The proposed legislation was heralded worldwide and similar legislation was being proposed elsewhere: we are now the laughing stock of the world.
That said, I note the comments of Te Pāti Māori co-leader calling the reversal of said policy "systemic genocide", and as a liberal thinker I take some umbrage at that. Yes, Māori and Pacific people are overrepresented in the legal and prison systems, suffer greater in health and education issues and likewise with employment and housing but the issue of smoking is a "people’' issue, it is not an issue particular to one peoples. I acknowledge her concerns but if the aforementioned issues are not dealt with first then the position of Māori and Pacific peoples will continue to decline and start to imitate the situation of the native population across the Ditch, irrespective of whether they smoke.
Sadly, with the coalition we have, there is evidence already of the scant interest of social, cultural or community needs. Their priority seems to be ensuring big business, farming and employers are catered for first.
Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@odt.co.nz
