Lorraine Adams said the recently reported friction between penguins, tourists and traffic at Oamaru Harbour was nothing new and something she had raised ''100-plus times'' before. The birds had endured the same issues for years, and nothing had been done about it.
''Maybe they should relocated to another part of the coast because we don't deserve them here.''
Miss Adams is a passionate advocate for the protection of the penguins and their nesting areas at the harbour, and has campaigned and spent ''hundreds of hours'' providing nesting areas.
She pushed for the reserve on the foreshore north of Holmes Wharf, and called for it to be extended as it eroded, organised traffic to protect crossing areas, rescued injured or trapped birds and raised money for fences and the birds' welfare.
In recent years, partly because of frustration over a lack of progress and dealing with authorities, including the Waitaki District Council, she has reduced her involvement.
''Nobody at the council can say they were not aware of the problems associated with the colony and harbour area. The issues started after the colony opened.''
At that time, Miss Adams warned there was no control over traffic when it left the colony at night and ignoring the problems would not make them go away.
She used to go down to the harbour to organise traffic so penguins could safely cross the road.
''On those nights, tourists were often disgusted at what they were witnessing and offered help.''
She suggested changes which could be made, including the speed humps and signage.
Other ideas ''always fell on deaf ears''.
Waitaki councillors were invited to the area to see for themselves, but not many turned up or were not interested in what they were being told.
The council and Tourism Waitaki recently agreed an action plan including more support, co-ordination and a uniform for supervising volunteers, as well as a traffic management plan for the area and cordoning off an area outside the colony for people watching penguins.
But Miss Adams said only small changes were needed to alleviate the problems.
One of the main problems was lack of correct information for visitors to the harbour about what to do and not to do, where to walk, where to stand and where to park.
Visitors should be allowed to view penguins for free if they did not want to pay to visit the colony, but should be supervised and made aware of basic guidelines to protect the birds.
