Another $84 per family to visit Kapiti Island!

By Christopher Ruthe

The Mayor is selling the Kapiti Island $4.6 million Gateway project as a splendid idea. He convinced the previous Council to spend $1.4 million on land he said would be great for the Gateway project. That money is already gone. That white elephant is not being used for the Gateway. So how does the Mayor’s latest investment project rank among all his splendid ideas?

It will cost ratepayers

The $4.6 million is a guestimate. Remember the Aquatic Centre that went from costing $9 million for a 50 metre pool to approximately $22 million for a 25 metre pool, and the estimated income was double what was actually achieved? Going on past performance, expect the same again.

He wants to give it get priority ahead of restoring the Waikanae Library for instance. Why?

The Mayor claims $5.4 million per annum benefit to Kapiti economy. There is nothing I can find in a report KCDC has received that supports that figure. However, it clearly states that it will cost ratepayers a minimum of $300,000 in the next 3 years.

The projected income for KCDC starts at $256,000 per annum, increasing to $350,000 in the next 4 years. The report on the project does not say where the money comes from, but presumably from visitors to the Gateway. If 14,000 visit the Gateway that is $18.28 per person, add GST $2.72, and everyone will be paying $21 — on top of the existing ticket price. If customers baulk at paying this, undoubtedly the ratepayer will have to pick up the tab, just as it is subsidizing each swimmer $13 at the Aquatic Centre.

Projections based on false figures

The projections for use of the gateway are based on up to 58,000 visits to the Island according to In a feasibility study was completed by Tourism Research Consultants Limited (TRC) for Council.

I have spoken to DOC and they say there is no ability to have such an increase in numbers. The Conservator said there had to be a significant restriction on numbers for conservation reasons.

DOC is not paying

The Department of Conservation should be paying for what is a bio security facility. It is paying nothing. The boat companies are paying nothing. The accommodation owners are paying nothing. None of these parties who have a direct interest want to pay. Why, because they now adding $84.00 for a building for ticket sales and bio-security is a fundamentally flawed idea.

I referred DOC to not only the number projections, but also a Council Report saying DOC will double the width of the existing track, and will build a series of alternative tracks so visitor numbers can increase to 58,000.

The Conservator said he had no knowledge of such plans and would be surprised if DOC would agree to such large scale works on a conservation estate.

The Covid-19 economic reality ignored

No consideration has been given to the economic impact of the lockdown, with tens of thousands facing unemployment, and discretionary income likely to be hit. KCDC has sought no expert advice on reduced foreign tourists and the detrimental effect of each visitor paying an extra $21 for an island visit.

Refusal to meet current obligations

The Council is already highly indebted. It refused to bring its library book budget up to the NZ standard because it pleads poverty. It has put off the Waikanae Library for up to 10 years. That library is shut due entirely to the negligence of Council staff and previous councilors failing in their governance duties.

Rather than sort that out, this new Council seems hell bent on forking out subsidies for out-of-town visitors to have a nice departure lounge, Their interest far outweighs that of Ratepayers who are basically library-less in Waikanae. Perhaps the intention is to close it forever? A number of anti-library councilors got dumped in the last election. Do the few remaining ones continue to hold sway?

There are plenty of women’s rights campaigners out there — what makes Yasmine different is given away by her surname.  She is the author of Unveiled : How Western Liberals Empower Radical Islam which she had to self-publish as no mainstream publisher would touch it (they know what happened with Jyllands-Posten of Denmark and Charlie Hebdo of France, for example).

Her twitter handle is #HijabIsRapeCulture which came to the fore last year with Jacinda wearing one in public at least three times in her misguided, ignorant virtue signalling.

Listen to the interview here

In the interview she mentions the Muslim Brotherhood which began in Egypt — there has been conflict between it and the country’s rulers since the 1950s, and there is this clip below of President Nasser laughing at the Muslim Brotherhood in 1958 for suggesting that women should be required to wear the hijab and that Islamic law should be enforced across the country.

The Muslim Brotherhood has now been designated as a terrorist organisation by the Egyptian government; President El Sisi has tried to persuade President Trump to do the same in the U.S.

Although the country is still at the Level 2 imposition, from Friday at noon the maximum number of attendees at all private and public gatherings will increase to 100 people.  It’s unlikely that total attendees at the Mahara Place market on Tuesday mornings would exceed that (or even come close to it).

• Friday 19 June: Regulated period for election advertising expenses begins
• Monday 6 July: Launch of Electoral Commission enrollment update campaign
• Wednesday 12 August: Dissolution of Parliament
• Sunday 16 August: Writ Day — the Governor General issues formal direction to the Electoral Commission to hold the election. The writ includes the election date, deadline for nominating candidates and deadline for returning the writ with the names of winning candidates
• Thursday 20 August noon: Deadline for registered political parties to bulk nominate their electorate candidates to the Electoral Commission
• Thursday 20 August noon: Deadline for political parties to submit list candidates to the Electoral Commission
• Friday 21 August noon: Deadline for individual nominations of electorate candidates to Returning Officers
• Wednesday 2 September: Overseas voting starts
• Saturday 5 September: Advance voting starts
• Friday 18 September: Advance voting ends
• Friday 18 September midnight: Regulated period ends. All election and referendum advertising must end. Signs must be taken down by midnight
• Saturday 19 September: Election day. Voting places open from 9 am to 7 pm

Election night. Preliminary election results released progressively from 7 pm. Referendum votes will not be counted on election night.

• Friday 2 October: Preliminary referendum results will be released
• Friday 9 October: Official results for the 2020 General Election and referendums declared
• Thursday 15 October: Last day for the return of the writ.

(by JoBach28 on Instagram)

Another photo of the garden that was in last January’s Waikanae Garden trail at 465 Te Moana Road (see the earlier post).

Theft and deception

By Tony Orman

A conservationist and one of the instigators of the original Predator-Free New Zealand (PFNZ) has blasted a national conservation organisation — Forest and Bird — and the Department of Conservation (DoC) for creating a “tapestry of theft and deception” to sabotage the original concept while setting up their own “poisonous projects” using the original name.

There was one major difference, the pirated project contained the use of poison, e.g. 1080, which the original scheme did not.

The criticism of both DoC and Forest and Bird is in a newly published book Duped: The True Story Behind Predator Free NZ written by Les Kelly of Marlborough. “It was a crime against democracy too. They went behind our backs,” he says. “We were blind-sided.”

Les in hindsight realises the original Predator Free NZ members were well-meaning but politically naive. “We were duped,” he rues.

The big plus for Les Kelly’s team’s scheme was that it uses no poisons. In setting out the duplicity and deceit he pulls no punches. Forest and Bird Officer Kevin Hackwell gets caned for his claim about 1080 that: “it’s as safe to eat as a packet of salt and vinegar chips.”

“And to think they (Forest and Bird) call 1080 protesters nutters,” says Les Kelly. “Forest and Bird should be charged with criminal negligence.” He tells of the myth around deer repellent supposedly used with 1080 to not kill wild deer.

Deer repellent – strengthening 1080 toxicity?

He tells of contractors being instructed to double the 1080 strength to kill deer. “So are DOC and OSPRI (bovine Tb agency) telling the truth when they say they are putting deer repellent in the pellets? Or are they increasing the strength and toxicity of pellets to include deer in the kill?”

Les Kelly slams the lack of objective investigative journalism by the media such as newspapers and TV referring to “a news media that appears to have been instructed by their owners not to investigate.” A non-government organisation is needed to tackle the challenge of making New Zealand free of predators says Les Kelly.

Set up an independent organisation

“There needs to be established, an independent not-for-profit, non-government predator free organisation (NGO) that would have the ability to access considerable national and international corporate and philanthropic funding and protect it from future political interference,” he says.

He urgently wants help, both financially and in terms of personnel to form a NGO. It is vital the NGO has no political affiliations and is run along strict business lines with a professional CEO and board of directors.

Les Kelly envisages a non-profit NGO would:-

• create employment
• utilise redundant helicopter fleet post-covid19 (ex-tourism)
• help government with DoC’s reduced income stream through loss of tourism
• alleviate the considerable current work and financial burden from DoC.

Poisons are cruel on nature

Poisons such as 1080 and brodifacoum take days and even weeks to kill pests. Other creatures such as birds, insects, invertebrates, deer and other animals also suffer an unnecessary slow and cruel death besides target “pests”.

Shunning poisons, the original scheme uses Good-natured traps which are toxin-free, self resetting all-weather traps. Death is virtually instantaneous. “In fact it is the most humane method available,” explains Les.

Duped by Les Kelly is available from predatorfreenz@gmail.com, Price $25 plus postage: i.e. $29.50 for urban delivery or $33.50 for rural delivery.