The Star: February 02, 2017

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16 follow us on facebook.com/riseupchristchurch Thursday February 2 2017 Viewpoint The Star • More responses, page 18 • Woods, Brownlee columns, page 21 City councillors Aaron Keown and Phil Clearwater have mooted the idea of implementing a regional fuel tax for Canterbury to fix the earthquakedamaged roads. Readers react Craig Austin – First time to comment on a council idea. Why are the taxpayers always getting hit in the pocket? We pay rates for things like this or is it another way to give councillors a pay rise? Tax the tourists for the road use. John Stone, of Harewood – It’s a definite “no” for the Canterbury fuel tax idea. I don’t recall Mayor Dalziel and Cr Keown mentioning this idea in their election campaigns for the last council elections, so its a case of keeping it quiet until safely re-elected. Sorry guys – lack of transparency from you means lack of support from us. Wayne Hawker - Totally opposed to this proposal especially when the Government is slowly bailing out on their share of costs towards the rebuild of Christchurch. AMI Stadium is a prime example where if the Government Phil Aaron Clearwater Keown actually agreed to enter a costsharing agreement on the repair of the existing stadium not just the building of a new stadium in central city that majority of ratepayers don’t want, between $150 million and $200 million could be saved for ratepayers and taxpayers which could then target other areas such as roading. Before Christmas, the company that re-mediated the land under the Arts Centre stated they could do the same at AMI for a fixed price of $30 million which then gives all parties a starting point for a project expected to cost about $375 million which is still nearly $200 million cheaper than the new proposed stadium which at this stage does not even have a business case study attached to the proposal. Inn reality, most likely the costs will continue to rise as the proposed site will also need land remediation. The new central library is another example which has lead to an explosion of costs that now fall on a cash-strapped council. Dick Osborne – How can two-bit politicians moot an idea to impose a fuel tax on Canterbury customers? We are already being rippedoff by the petrol companies, compared to the rest of the country we are paying far too much now! Check out the prices in Tauranga (a port city also) published in Bay of Plenty Times on January 24. Over a dozen outlets selling 91 octane from $1.717 to $1.909. It sounds a great idea if you can bum around in a city council car all day! Michael J. Brathwaite, of Spreydon – While Aaron Keown sometimes comes up with suggestions I support, the idea of a fuel tax to repair the roads is not one of them. Since “repairing” streets these days means narrowing them, replacing the parking spaces with yellow lines, cycle lanes and trees, putting in the new type of gutters that flood every time it rains, and reducing the speed limits, along with adding judder bars and median strips. I would rather put up with the roads the way they are. Motorists get a very raw deal in Christchurch these days. Perhaps they could levy a toll from cyclists rather than motorists. Joy Priest, of Addington – The price of petrol is barely affordable for many people now, adding another 10c a litre will only make it even more expensive. The council appears to have millions to spend digging up perfectly good roads and buying people’s homes to demolish, to build cycleways and yet they have no money for repairing damaged roads? Ratepayers want our money spent to repair our city to benefit us all, not spent on cycleways for so few to use, people who seem to think they are saving the world, instead of that they are robbing our city of progress for us all. LIQUID LAUNDROMATS 47 Carmen road, Hornby gasoline alley site CnR CaRMen RoaD & WateRloo RoaD 7 DAYS: 7am-7pm WASH & DRY ALL YOUR LAUNDRY IN ABOUT 1 HOUR $4.00 WaSH $4.00 dry Wash 2 Mink Blankets, Duvets or Woolrests for only $10 DRY UP TO 4 LOADS IN ONLY 20 MINUTES! $4 SAvE TIME & ELEcTRIcITY • Fast Dryers • Sports Gear • Duvets • Mink Blankets • Bedding • Washers • Domestic Laundry Other Locations: 345 Stanmore Road, Richmond 289 Colombo Street, Sydenham www.liquidlaundromats.co.nz
The Star follow us on facebook.com/riseupchristchurch Thursday February 2 2017 17 Trevor Hemsley – No, no, no. We are already paying way over the top for fuel and many are struggling. While I’m at it I would also say that the Government has no right to give the decision on fluoridating our water to the DHB which is very pro the idea. In effect the Government is saying yes to fluoridation. It is up to the people of Christchurch to decide through the city council. Martin Barnes – No way should the council (Aaron Keown) implement a fuel tax to fund road repairs. Christchurch people are already doing it tough just keeping a roof over their heads and paying bills, we don’t need another $20- $30 a week added to our already high fuel costs. There are already enough taxes on fuel. And what will be the cost of collecting this tax – admin fees. In closing I bet not all the money would go to roading repairs. Maurice Burrows – I support a small charge but the difficulties in implementing the charge would be untenable. How will the tax be geographically defined? A short trip to Darfield or Leeston to fill up would probably pay off. What about electric/hybrid Clothing Bin Locations for Pink Bags Blue Child Cancer Foundation bins are available all over CHRISTCHURCH for pink clothing bags, any used Clothing, Toys, Bric-a-Brac and anything useable. New World Northwood New World Rolleston Oderings Cashmere Countdown Moorhouse Ave Soleares Ave Shops Parklands Kindy, 20 Chadbury St SAVEMART NEW BRighTON, hAWKE ST Beach Rd Tyre & Auto Centre, 91 Beach Rd Bealey Discounter, Cnr Bealey & Champion St SAVEMART 472 CRANFORD ST Springfield Dairy, Abberley Cres Roll On inn Dairy, 251 Sawyers Arms Rd Mobil Redwood Challenge Service Station Blighs Rd New World halswell Westfield Riccarton SAVEMART 94 ShANDS RD National Bank Carpark, Riccarton New World, Peer St Shopping Centre, Staverley St SAVEMART 45 BATTERSEA ST Cracroft Dairy, Cashmere Rd Countdown Beckenham, Colombo St Thorrington School Supervalue Lincoln Rd Landsdowne Play Centre, Landsdowne Tce You help a lot when you drop pink clothing bags in one of the above bins. Any used clothing acceptable, other bags and cartons of clothing acceptable. If you can’t get to a bin or have large items, phone for a collector to call ph 349-5896 or 029 272-5519. Thank-you for helping. vehicles? For their size they are far heavier than petrol/diesel vehicles and therefore cause more than their share of road wear and tear. The state of Michigan in the United States is introducing a higher registration charge for electric/hybrid vehicles because they don’t pay the same taxes at the pump. Graeme Wilce – I am really annoyed that Phil Clearwater and Aaron Keown have the audacity to expect the people of Christchurch to pay a fuel tax on to top of the ever increasing amount of petrol that we face each day, week, or month. Library 24/7 Read, enjoy and travel Give eBooks a go! christchurchcitylibraries.com Just to get the bloody roads fixed, this comes out of the “rates” that constantly go up each year. Why don’t those council people get all these people in rented houses to contribute to the “rates” would be more appropriate. Me and my wife are both retired now and it’s quite hard on our budget just to fill-up the car, and we live on the east side of Christchurch and I notice quite a lot of people having to cart their groceries, walking past our home, and most of them are elderly folks to. Obviously they are trying their best to conserve gas in their vehicles. IDEA: A regional fuel tax for Canterbury could pay for the repair of its earthquake damaged roads, such as New Brighton Rd, city councillors say. It’s all okay for those councillors to come up with these crazy ideas, dollars for this and dollars for that, they have a big income, and it just wouldn’t worry them. They can “bloody well pull their heads in” and go and do some work for a change, instead of trying to squeeze every last dollar from the motorists in Canterbury and Christchurch. Lynn Rodway – No way to a local body fuel tax. The price of fuel is already too high in this low wage/high prices economy. The city council needs to adjust its budget so it is not forever loading up the ratepayer with more tax. Stan Wilkins, of Richmond – From what Cr Keown requested and Cr Clearwater suggested begs the question: What happened to the money supposedly budgeted for over the years in the first instance? I would have thought that it would have been the first question to be asked by the “councillor”. The quake was back in 2011! Secondly, it is obvious that those in charge of the budgets have not got a clue. In the same issue of The Star, an article is quoted as saying the council would consider a grant to repair a building (historical or not) to the tune of $900,000 or how about the $1 million going toward a parking lot. Strange why they needed to buy the properties to support an application for consent for a the Matuku Takotako: Sumner Centre? While here, can he explain what the rate increase last year will fund? It’s a joke. There is nothing mentioned about a strategy for repairing the roads outside of charging a tax. Is this what his supporters signed up for, “Smooth roads that really work”, did he bother to tell them of his intentions at the time of his campaign? •Turn to page 18
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The Star: February 02, 2017

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