Thought for today

Beth McCarthy Takaka, February 23 Neil Kearns Ruby Bay, February 24 Paul Watson Blenheim, February 26 Robin Whalley Nelson, February 26

Dam costs

‘‘Cost of building dam blows out by $25 million’’ (Nelson Mail, February 22) – there is no satisfaction in being able to say, ‘‘We told you so’’ (we being the people who were against ratefunding the dam). Despair: yes. Trepidation: certainly.

Are we reassured by Tasman District mayor Tim King’s response to the news? Certainly not. His ‘‘hope’’ in the other funding partners ‘‘stepping up’’ falls very short of his and previous mayor Richard Kempthorne’s absolute faith in the viability of the funding model – the nearimpossibility of a blowout.

How do I trim my budget to accommodate ever-increasing rates for a project which benefits private interests? Must I visit my grandkids in the North Island only once per year? Do I cancel having the asbestos cladding removed from my property? Should I start busking outside the council chambers? I’m not hopeful.

New blowout likely

Hold on to your hats, Tasman ratepayers – this 20 per cent-plus dam blowout at such an early stage won’t be the last.

You would assume that test drilling was done to check on the rock type. Perhaps it was known, and they decided to go ahead anyway and hope all would be well.

Besides, once work started on the site, the authorities could say it was too late to turn back. Never mind – the long-suffering ratepayer will front up for the extra. The council made a certainty of that.

Brook group

I agree with Bryan Forrest (Letters, February 26) re. the Brook Valley Community Group. Further, I think that in this case it deserves to be declared bankrupt – and to be liquidated.

I am sorry, but this group must be punished for irresponsible use of its finances in its position as an accepted incorporated society in our city. Instigating a lawsuit against another community group that has the backing of the city council cannot be a responsible thing to do.

I believe that far from resisting bankruptcy, the group must apply for it, because otherwise, individual members are responsible for covering the debts incurred. They blithely forget that bankruptcy is not an automatic legal right. They must be punished – as an example to other community groups.

Andy Espersen

Nelson, February 26

Forestry damage

From 1878, sailing ships were able to sail to Blackball above Havelock in Pelorus Sound to collect sawn native timber from the Brownlee sawmill. In the latter half of the 1940s, when I lived in Havelock, the harbour was full of silt, but once past Cullen’s Point, boats could navigate freely. Now boats must stay in the channel until they reach Mahau Sound.

On a drive to Nelson recently, the disastrous damage to hillsides is all too obvious, with multiple tracks cut across the hills, logs dragged and opening up the surface of the soil, and slash left behind, waiting for the next heavy rain to flood it all into the valley below. From there, the rivers and streams carry it into the estuaries and sea.

This is happening all over New Zealand. Imagine the damage when the billion trees that are being added to the existing forests are harvested in 20 to 30 years.

Most of the larger forests are owned by overseas interests. Profits and carbon credits are siphoned offshore.

Immeasurable cost to our environment, infrastructure and society can be laid at the door of exotic forestry. By all means plant native forests for conservation, not milling. Can we afford to keep farming exotic forests? I don’t think so!

Road noise and debris

Re. Lower Queen St traffic noise (Letters, February 26): the noise due to the poor quality of the road surface is also apparent on Nelson’s Haven Rd. Empty fertiliser trucks regularly ‘‘boom’’ across the road surface at up to 90 decibels. But worse is the metal and detritus that falls from the trucks and on to the cycleway. One day someone is going to be seriously hurt when this hits them.