The people have spoken

The people have spoken!

Yes the election result is a reminder of those that seek and gain public office of any kind, is that you are representing those that voted you in after what you promised. And if you promise to spend money to build your own memorial to be admired by future generations the present generation may not take to kindly to your dream and send a message of reality. 

That is pretty much what has happened in the Te Awamutu council elections to the Waipa District Council. But do we have a new bunch of green councillors that will take time to get up to speed and under perform as a result? Time will tell and it is up to those that voted these people in to steer them and give them support and keep them honest on promises of more open information flows.

One thing is certain the Museum/Cultural Centre is no where near to a point that will come up with a consensus and I can not help thinking that if some one had rang the bell a bit earlier and had this discussion a year ago that the outcome may have been a lot different. May this be a lesson, you need to drag the majority along with you to have your dream become reality.

And long may democracy live!

Waipa local body elections

Who would, in their right mind stand for Council? 
Not as if you are paid well, you will not get praised for doing it, in fact you get a lot of abuse when you get it wrong!

This is most probably they way the incumbent councilors are thinking right now, who are we as a community? 


Not so long ago we where far enough away from Hamilton to be a self sufficient rural town with a hart and soul. These days we are a bit of that and a bit a satellite town for Hamilton. Our rural identity is not as strong as it once was, even farmers look around for the best deal and can not always find that in Te Awamutu anymore. The rest look at the bigger world out there and find anything they wish for in Hamilton and beyond. 

Our counselors, apart from Dean Taylor and Hazel Barnes, do little to give us a hart, a hart developed by communication with the rate payers, after all as counselors you are suppose to represent their needs, not your own version of or hobby project. The rate payers are about as connected with the council as a beef farmer with the vegetarian movement. 

An example is the bomb shell when the Museum/Cultural Center plans where reveled. Rate payers shockingly claimed to know nothing about it, council claims it has been on the table for years. Have the past councilors done enough to communicate with the rate payer? .........I think not!

I read the claims for re-election such as, 'I have worked hard and have achieved for the council', I have experience, (in what?) look people we want some evidence of that, anyone can say those empty words. Sorry, if I have just hurt your feelings but to work in a state of disengagement with your voters is just not good enough. Say what you stand for make yourself available to the community and listen to what they are saying. Write some letters to the Courier Editor from time to time to inform rather than to defend. Sure Dean Taylor has got a unfair advantage there but that is why he gets people on side at least you know what he is up to!

Oh and did I mention there is a shrinking job market and people are struggling financially out here?

'LOWER RATES' is a good catch cry!

Te Awamutu Museum

Reading the Courier this week, I noticed a advertisement depicting post office staff in front of the Post Office taken in 1963. This was incidentally as the ad describes the third building for this purpose build on the same site.


It came as a bolt from the sky.

A historical significant building with a rich local historic story to tell. Right in the middle of Te Awamutu, accessible to all people. It has even potential for a museum cafe!.


I believe the building ownership is in the hands of a Maori group in payment for grieves settlement of the historic past. The building has been neglected and has become a negative image for the town ship right on the corner of the very hart of Te Awamutu.


This is getting better all the time, the museum has significant Maori art affects by the dozen and wants to display them at a cost of 15 million dollars in the proposed new building.


Am I missing something here?................can you join the dots?........... I have!!

Candidates for Waipa Council and Te Awamutu community board

http://www.elections2010.co.nz/2010/elections/waipa-district-council#waipa-district-mayor

Makes you wonder what the incumbents have done for the rate payer.

You do get the feeling many do it for their own power trip?

I would like to see other publicly stating what they are standing for.

We have one Mayoral hopeful wanting to reduce rates, well that is a first!

Te Awamutu SPCA breakdown

Looking back over the Te Awamutu history until the disbanding of the Te Awamutu SPCA committee removing them and taking over the control of the facility by the RSPCA national office under direction of Charles Cadwallader. The reason for doing this in the first place was, as has been stated publicly by Charles Cadwallader in different public statements, the facility was under managed. Under managing their consent, over population by a fantastic number, (including animals from volunteers who would bring their own animals to the centre). Bob Kerridge does in his office in Auckland all the time. After all these are animal lovers and they own animals themselves, and enjoy their company. Further there where claims of under manageging the cleanliness of the facility with faeces and flies in the facility. Further claims of under managing the long term tenancies of animals and generally breaking the Animal welfare Act by acting as animal inspectors and making financial alliance’s with interested parties.

Now we have had some time to reflect on these things let analyse these and get the facts straight.

First some historical facts, Te Awamutu SPCA has been around for 30 or more years and as with all volunteer community organisations gone through highs and lows as members came and went and with strong leadership came with real commitment and some of the true animal heroes are still on the scene. At one point the group was almost defunct after the RSPCA disbanded the committee and one must remember this organisation was a back yard operation. But when the group was close to falling over and the RSPCA was about to become the recipient of all the cash in the kitty (including a bequest), a local vet stepped in and called to wider Te Awamutu community to take action or loose a badly needed service that truly looked after the animals in need of a second chance and life. this was the start of what was until recently the Te Awamutu SPCA Animal Heaven. The steering group started again with energy that has not been seen before and from this back yard operation the plan to do it properly was formed and Fundraising and building began.
[Image]
A design for a 35 dogs and 100 cat facility was worked on and eventually build. Along the way when in the out skirts of town the facility was connected to all and every dog barking for miles. This resulted in the overnight housing to be noise proofed and ultimately a reduction in dogs allowed to be cared for, down to only 20, almost halve the original required size for this town. The Council has a 5 dog facility and started to rely on this for dogs the Dog Control staff decided should get another chance. So the need to turn dogs over faster was created with a very active re-homing focused operation. With this close working relationship between Waipa district council staff animal welfare worked great. This was until Council had to swap Cambridge dog control oficers between Te Awamutu and Cambridge. The person had a price on her head for her aggressively catching and killing of “stay dogs”. Even if they were on their own section she would price them of and hurdle them in her van before residents knew of the plight of their beloved pet. She herself owns 8 dogs and after the Waipa Dsistrict Council passed a by law to restrict ownership of dogs to maximum 5 with permit she had to move out to a neighbouring council to get around this by law.
You can see where this is going and yes on her insistence she organised through the RSPCA enforcement inspectors (ex-policemen) to raid the Te Awamutu facility to get rid ones and for all this animal mad committee that has a no-kill policy and hides dogs from her that she wants to kill to satisfy her mental quota. And when a green new Environment Team Leader was place in charge of the council dog enforcement department earlier this year she saw her chance and her dream finally came true.
[Image]After decimating the successful working committee and place a volunteer in charge the Te Awamutu SPCA has slowly lost all its gains. No money to pay mortgage or power. Phone is about to be cut of after the RSPCA run up massive bills ringing all over the world. No advertising and consequently no animals re-homed. Waipa animal control officer after putting down eight of the SPCA and peoples privately owned dogs is using this facility as if it where its own. A recent introduction of a Parvo infected dog to the facility and the consequence re-homing to a volunteer high lights the incompetence of those involved. This virus is now on all the animals that come through the facility. All dogs used to go into a holding situation and get checked by a vet before it was allowed to join other animals let alone get let out for re-homing.   

                                        

                                                                          The Parvo virus

                                

Sadly all the expertise has been lost amateurs with good intentions are making a hash of it and the RSPCA has run away trying to find anything on past members to make out they knew all along what they were doing. It now appears they had no grounds to do the raid and if anything they have done more damage to the lives of Waipa's abandoned animals than anyone before. So we had the best of people and systems but some people in powerful positions combined with ignorance and self-interest have managed to embarrass themselves to the point they cannot admit to the truth and now have to stick to their original story and in the process we are left with badly treated local hero's, dead animals and no future for the others or future animals in need.

WHAT A MESS!

Update: http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/6571372/Troubled-SPCA-branch-is-put-out-of-its-misery