Make-up of water group relevant

• Published date: 05 August 2021

One Otago Regional Council (ORC) rural councillor (Gary Kelliher) will be excluded from voting due to an interest in water, in common with another 1700-odd water permit holders.

Another councillor (Cr Marion Hobbs) with a direct political association to Environment Minister David Parker, is not excluded from voting. Why?

The much-vaunted Manuherekia Reference Group appointed by the ORC and set up to offer advice to the ORC comprises the following:

ORC staff — three.

Independent — three.

Water user groups — four.

Environmental groups — 10.

The Central Otago Environmental Society (COES), which it is believed comprises 12 members, had 25% of their members appointed to the reference group. It is important for the public to understand that at an ORC-organised meeting held in Clyde some months ago, two members of COES stated that they wanted to see this area return to pre-agricultural days.

Nobody denies COES the right to express their opinions but the public need to know the whole truth of what COES members believe and why such people were appointed in such numbers to the reference group.

Any anonymous submissions to the ORC should be immediately discarded.

[Abridged - Ed]

Gerrard Eckhoff

Alexandra

Shortfalls overstated

In response to the mayor’s comments in The News July 29, he as the main apologist to the Central Otago District Council (CODC) funding withdrawal to Central Stories, like any good lawyer, grossly overstates Central Stories’ supposed shortfalls in the area of expected deliveries.

One would wonder in all this museum strategy saga if he is politically attempting to woo an audience geographically west of Central Stories.

What an awful assumption to come to ... I apologise.

What we have heard from his fellow CODC councillors in defence of their joint decision is stony silence apart from reading that in the minority two braver councillors were in favour of Central Stories receiving emergency funding in the interim.

The mayor purports to regularly attend and hopefully enjoy events and exhibitions held in Central Stories Henderson/Grant galleries.

And here is the crux of the funding issue and where CODC have got it so badly wrong, Central Stories not only administers a museum but also galleries which cater for the visual and performing arts.

That combination of purposes was due to the late Russell Henderson’s vision and great generosity and wish to create a cultural hub of excellence to serve the whole Central Otago district.

The Vincent Community Board...