Muddying the waters

18 October 2011:

The cartoon (7th Oct in the Southland Times) relating to dairy rates increase for the benefit of Lake Waituna causes some offence to me and no doubt to others.

It is the publication of items such as this that push this important issue further back in to the mire (yes I acknowledge the pun).

The Waituna issue seems unfairly loaded on the shoulders of farmers nearest the Lake.

Unbalanced cartoons may appear to the casual reader as re-enforcement of the negative side of this argument.

Ali Timms E.S. chairwoman has stated that farmers in the Lake Waituna area have complied with the council requirements, yet there was no feature article emphasising this to balance any debate.

Increasing the dairy rate portion of E.S. rating will do little to solve the problem . Throwing money at a problem seldom does. Council records on the opening of the lake appear to reach no further back than 1972. Interesting as this data co-incides with the beginnings of the Tiwai smelter. There must be records from the Catchment Board and Lands and Survey Department that reach further back than that? They would give a precious insight in to the time when the Waituna area was seen as ripe for development.

I appeal to well meaning letter writers. If you have never lived in the area or spent many many hours of recreation on the Lake then please don’t write offering solutions. All you are doing is muddying the waters (pun intended)for those seeking solutions.

– ANNETTE GUNTHER, Wallacetown

Category: Waituna