10 Tuesday <strong>August</strong> 7 <strong>2018</strong> Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi NOR’WEST NEWS OUTLET HUNDREDS OF PRODUCTS AT CRAZY OUTLET PRICES! OVERSTOCKED - END OF LINE SCRATCHED & DENTED EXCHANGE - FACTORY SECONDS EX DISPLAY PRODUCTS FRIDGE FREEZERS • WASHING MACHINES • DRYERS • COOKING SMALL APPLIANCES • AUDIO • MANCHESTER • LOUNGE SUITES DINING SUITES • BEDROOM SUITES • BEDS & HEAPS MORE! TRITON CHAIR Available in 4 colours! JUST $ 149 Barbadoes St COME CHECK OUT OUR SHOWROOM 99 FERRY RD, CHRISTCHURCH St Asaph St Ferry Rd OUTLET STORE Fitzgerald Ave Your Local Views IMPORTANT: In this week’s Soapbox, a community board member discusses transparency around the interactive touch wall for Tūranga, Christchurch’s new central library. Transparency in spending is vitally important Fendalton-Waimairi- Harewood Community Board member Shirish Paranjape talks about transparency in governance TRANSPARENCY is one of the prime tenets in governance, including local governance. Transparency is a very broad subject and can include transparency in decision-making as well as transparency in spending. Transparency in spending is critically important, particularly when it is someone else’s money. As a country, New Zealand can be justifiably proud of its reputation globally. If we look at the indices published annually by Transparency International, New Zealand has consistently been among the top three. In 2017, New Zealand had the No 1 position. However, if we go by the happenings around us, the city of Christchurch will perhaps not be a contender for any such high ranking for transparency. Sadly, more than once, the city council has come under fire for not being transparent. It is always a sorry state of affairs when taxpayers or ratepayers have to knock the doors of the Ombudsman against a city council. Even worse when the directives/recommendations issued by the Ombudsman are ignored by the city council, and the Ombudsman has to knock on the doors of the Attorney- General to step in. Without going through who is right, who is wrong – those in public offices, including the employed staff and elected members of city council – must recognise that if they are hiding something – intentionally or otherwise – things will catch up sooner or later. Also, full/more transparency ought to be exercised particularly when the price of the item is high, or the “value” is subjective. For example, a million dollar spend on a piece of art will always incur more public scrutiny than the same amount spent on a roading or pumping project. The worst thing those in office can do is either to hide behind “commercial sensitivity” or delay, block or ignore requests. Chances are, if one is hiding something, something is not right. One can only hope that the digital wall was an isolated incident with city council, and that the authorities will not act as a wall in future, figuratively speaking. What is your opinion? INTEREST 12MONTHS FREE ON ANY PURCHASE OVER $499 # OUTLET STORE HURRY, ONCE IT’S GONE, IT’S GONE! Call us on 03 3798249 or email us chchoutlet@smithscity.co.nz # Credit criteria applies, ask in-store for details. Outlet Store items are over stocked, end of line, scratch & dent, ex display, ex repair items and more. Readers respond to a proposal to move a bus stop 150m on Innes Rd, meaning up to eight nearby businesses could lose their parking Jo Kirwan – Definitely a safety issue having the bus stop so close to the school and way too close to the pedestrian crossing too. As a parent of a child at Mairehau Primary, I hope people rethink this move. Jan Driscoll – Typical idiocy from the planners . . . they don’t have a clue, hope to heavens the business owners get it stopped. Trevor Taylor – Council doesn’t care. It will say, the shoppers should be riding a bike or taking the bus, not driving evil cars. Aaron Campbell – At the top end of Innes Rd they are moving two houses so it is closer to a walk through, just goes to show how lazy and stupid this council really is. The new proposed bus stop is outside an elderly person’s property who I mow lawns for and she is outraged, and rightly so, come on council sharpen up. I don’t know the cost to shift a bus stop but I wouldn’t have thought it would be a cheap exercise, just another way this council is wasting ratepayers hard-earned money. Don Gould – Catch the playback of yesterday’s council meeting. Community board isn’t keeping up with events happening in their area. These bus issues aren’t even hitting their radar. Lianne Dalziel had more than a few interesting comments to make.
NOR’WEST NEWS Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi Tuesday <strong>August</strong> 7 <strong>2018</strong> 11 HARCOURTS GOLD FOR REVENUE PER SALES CONSULTANT John McFadden BUSINESS OWNER HARCOURTS GOLD AREINZ Lynette McFadden BUSINESS OWNER HARCOURTS GOLD AREINZ Kyle Sutherland EXECUTIVE MANAGER HARCOURTS GOLD PAPANUI Anna McKenzie OPERATIONS MANAGER HARCOURTS GOLD PAPANUI Nikila Creagh SALES MANAGER HARCOURTS GOLD EASTSIDE Margaret Danzer SALES MANAGER HARCOURTS GOLD REDWOOD optimum selling time!”
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