Estuary Editorial (Friday)

Editorial: Time to save our estuaries

OPINION: The sky isn't falling. But the estuaries are gasping.

An Environment Southland report on the state of our estuaries places them on the verge of an ecological disaster. You could say we've been hearing that for while now. Take any comfort from that sense of familiarity and you're kidding yourself.

The problem has been expanding and accelerating. All Southland's estuaries bar one, Freshwater, has shown signs of rapid degradation and most have exponential increases in those reeking eutrophic areas where algae feed off the nutrients that escape our heavily-farmed land.

It's far from a localised problem and neither local nor national government has been idle. You might recall that in 2011 the Government, ahem, "required" regions to maintain or improve the water quality in their lakes, rivers, wetlands and aquifers.

Then came a proposed national "plan of action" (a title to distinguish this from plans of inaction?) for improving water quality and the way freshwater is managed.

This led to the announcement of a "collaborative planning option for the development of a freshwater plan within a community".

And yep, some extra resourcing resulted. Budget 2014 put another $20 million, over four years, to boost freshwater and environment initiatives, a large part of which was to help councils and communities improve the way they plan and make decisions about managing their local freshwater resources. Down on the farm, ES has already introduced new resource-consent requirements for dairy conversions - a good move, albeit one that hasn't led to a whole heap of refusals.

Cynicism is not required here. There has been, for years now, a genuine and not-insubstantial attempt to front up to the problem after a sustained time of dangerous under-reaction not simply by authorities, but by our wider society.

Breathing estuaries aren't nice-to-have things. More than just an indicator of how we're doing environmentally they're really important ecosystems in themselves. Ask the fishing industry.

We seriously need to turn the figures around. And we haven't. That is scary.

Estuary news (Thursday)

Estuarine disaster forecast

BRIDGET RAILTON

Estuaries in Southland are on the verge of an ecological disaster, according to Environment Southland reports.

A report on estuarine and rocky-shore monitoring results was presented to councillors at yesterday's environmental management committee meeting. It painted a dire picture on the health of estuaries.

All bar Freshwater Estuary showed signs of rapid degradation, with the gross eutrophic (rich in nutrients that feed algae) areas of most increasing exponentially.

Jacobs River Estuary's area at a gross eutrophic level had increased from 20 hectares in 2008 to 141ha in 2013 - 30 per cent of the estuary.

Councillor Robert Guyton said he was concerned by this and questioned whether it showed the estuary was on the verge of a huge ecological collapse.

"They talk about estuaries being the canary in the mine and it looks like the canary is dead," Guyton said.

It was a big concern as, among other things, estuaries were habitats for flatfish, the loss of which which would impact the fishing industry, he said.

After the report's presentation, Malcolm Lawson, chief executive of Cra8, the fishery to the south of New Zealand, spoke about the impact of water quality on the fishing industry.

After the food safety scares in China stemming from New Zealand products, New Zealand's fishing industry could not afford any negative perceptions, Lawson said. The industry was keen for opportunities to work with the council and other agencies.

"We can't afford for them to have a perception we are fishing out of waters that are polluted. Whether it's true or not, once that perception is generated it's difficult to change."

Leo's future (letter to The Southland Times editor)

The weather's been patchy lately; hot then cold, rainy then sunny not only here in Southland but across New Zealand.

Globally, the story's the same; odd weather, unseasonal and unusual, just as the climate scientists predicted it would be. There have been soaring temperatures in some countries, extreme cold in others. According to the scientists, the extra energy created by burning fossil fuels; coal, oil and gas creates an unstable climate that causes serious problems for human-kind and they were right; that's exactly what's been happening.

Should we do something about it now, or should we leave it to our grandchildren to try to cope with a dangerously unstable and hostile climate?

I think we should take action now.

Sadly, our Government thinks it's best to pretend it's not happening.

On behalf of my little grandson, I challenge that irresponsible thinking.

Interviewing people with something to say

What an elegant title from the Southland Times 'letters' editor today; pithy and amusing too.
He was referring to my letter of response to councillor Miller's earlier, in-my-opinion lame, effort.

Marion Miller rises (November 1) in defence of the "old guard" on the council of Environment Southland.

 In doing her duty she takes a swipe at The Southland Times' report and criticises the reporter for not interviewing those 'old guards', talking instead to the councillors who expressed a lively opinion during the meeting. 

 You can hardly blame the reporter for looking for something other than platitudes to offer readers.

ROBERT GUYTON

Rowly Currie too, had a letter published this morning (it's a good day for democracy, eh, Stuart!).

Rowly exposed an aspect of 'council business' that most people won't have known about; the continued influence of ex-chairman Stuart Collie. Rowly wrote (under the title, Democratic process):

In response to Stuart Collie (November 2) all Environment Southland councillors understand and accept the democratic process.

 The majority view will always triumph. 

 Sometimes, some may not favour an outcome, and will say so, which is a democratic right.
 It would appear that Stuart Collie`s remarks relate to the fact that he is the proud mentor of Ali Timms.

ROWLY CURRIE

Beautiful!

Warmest regards (for paranormal)

Lord Christopher Monckton writes in today's Southland Times:

The monstrous conspiracy of global warming, perpetrated by a scandalously huge majority of the scientific world, persists.

The latest outrageous deception is the attempt to ascribe some sort of significance to the "fact" that Antarctic Peninsula is melting in summers at a level not seen for 1000 years. This requires us to take on blind faith the assumption that this so-called continent exists outside the minds of alarmists.

To point to Antarctica's presence on maps is a fatuous nonsense. When was the last time a scientist came out and acknowledged that Antarctica didn't feature in the early maps used by some of the world's most intrepid and admired explorers? Has anyone even asked who first added it, and for what reasons? Certainly not the uncritical mainstream news media. What proof do we have, beyond anecdotal reports from those who claim to have been there - a perfect way for any ne'er-do-well who needs to cover his tracks to disappear from scrutiny for long stretches at a time?

As for satellite imaging purporting to show the presence of some southern polar mass; it is already a well-established fact that images can be doctored. You could just as easily insert an Atlantis in the same space. The latest report describes the so-called continent as the "Antarctic Circle" when even those fabricated images show something that is far from perfectly round. The global warming brigade can't even get that part of their story straight.

Then there is the highly questionable issue of timing and the assumption that the world is more than 1000 years old. Nowhere in the Old or New Testament will you find references to the terms "BC" or "AD". The hands that wrote the scriptures under guidance from the Holy Spirit did not insert these misleading signposts; they were added centuries later by worldly monarchs taking their eyes off scripture and falling under the thrall of that most perilously fashionable of disciplines, mathematics. In any case, they got it wrong. Nowhere in these calendars do they allow for the year 0, rendering them mathematically unsound. Surely another kick in the credibility goolies for global warming.

The latest report also claims that the Antarctic Circle (sic) has seen the most extreme global warming on Earth since the 1960s - a decade widely associated with hallucinogenic drug-taking. Hardly a trustworthy basis for any serious comparison. Any evidence gathered in that decade must be dismissed out of hand. And how many of the scientists at present pleading with the world to react gained their so-called degrees in that decade? We shudder to think.



The breathtaking vanity of those who believe in anthropomorphic global warming must also be confronted and rejected. Not necessarily in that order. If history has taught us anything - and the jury is still out on that - it's that mankind's assumption that we could materially influence the glorious majesty of the natural world speaks of nothing other than our failure to accept our own insignificance. An unspeakable vanity. Whatever came of our attempts to influence the seasons by sacrificing beasts, virgins and the like? Nothing. Do rain dances end droughts? Of course not. Did all our teeny tiny attempts to split atoms in ways that might generate huge discharges of energy result in any explosions of truly global consequence? Not so far, buster.

We need to worry about today and let the future take care of itself. Should the day ever come that climatic calamity is upon us, and we are up to our armpits in hard evidence, that is the time to sit back in restful contemplation and give consideration as to what exactly we should or shouldn't have done. Until then it's all conjecture.

Resignation call

Responses from the general public to "Ruby" Timms' hoax call are being taken into account by the councillors of Environment Southland and no doubt by on-holiday chairman Timms herself. This one from today's "YOUR VIEW" column of the Southland Times has it right, in my view:

Resignation call

Ali Timms should resign as chairwoman of Environment Southland immediately.
  Her deceitful action was deliberate and premeditated, and there is no place in local government for such unacceptable and dishonest behaviour.
  In 1995, when Hon John Carter, Bay of Islands MP rang a Northland radio station and pretended to be a Maori called Hone he was sacked as senior whip.
  Ms Timms behaviour has been widely reported throughout the country and featured on television.
  Environment Southland by association has been brought into disrepute.
  Environment Southland councillors as a whole have compounded the issue by agreeing to a six-week stand down, when in fact decisive action was required.
  Mayor Tim Shadbolt deserves congratulations for his dignity and composure throughout this unsavoury incident.
TERRY KING
Invercargill

Fallow for PM

(Inserting the stiletto between the ribs is a fine art. Michael Fallow of the Southland Times is the master artist.)

Trials and trails

Did the editor write Thursday´s editorial? Myross Bush school is trialling a lower speed limit - not trailing it.
SHIRLEY GOODWIN

* Though the editor was not, himself, part of the flawed writing or proofreading process in that editorial, he remains accountable for any mistakes in it. It´s one of the trials and tribulations of editor-ship - Michael Fallow.

Ka pai te mahi o te tangata ra

Nice work, Maurice!
Proposing yesterday that the Council ups its use of te reo Maori was timely and well received - by me any way, and effective in that it was immediately implemented and looks to be set to grow, like nga aka, through the pakeha framework that is our everyday Council business. There was some reticence from etahi Councillors fearful that they'd be swamped by the unfamiliar, but all up, a successful rout by Councillor Rodway. I couldn't let the opportunity pass without a korero i roto i te reo tuturu and could see that some were uncomfortable with not being able to know what it was that I was saying, but hei aha :-)
The Southland Times printed the story this morning and here it is:

ES mulls greater use of te reo

Environment Southland will look at using more Maori language in its meetings, documents and signs.
  Cr Maurice Rodway made the recommendation at the council meeting yesterday, after councillors and staff met with iwi at the Murihiku Marae last month to discuss the water national policy statement.
  Using more of the language would help councillors understand it, as well as understand concepts such as rangatiratanga and tikanga, "many of which we only partly grasp, I suspect, Cr Rodway said.
  Bilingual headings in meeting agendas and using Maori words more as an everyday part of the council's formal activities would be a start, he said.
  Cr Robert Guyton, who responded in te reo Maori and English, said he had spoken to iwi this week and mentioned Cr Rodway would be raising the idea at yesterday's meeting, and they were "quite excited".
  Several councillors suggested instead of the word "investigate" in the recommendation, they use "endeavour" or "initiate".
  Chairman Ali Timms said some of the changes would happen straight away and others over time.

Local input into mining debate important

(Letter to the editor of the Southland Times today)

Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt is no stranger to mining, having spent plenty of time tunneling through Fiordland rock when he was a younger man.
  Nowadays he seems to be taking a more cautious approach to industries that impact heavily on the environment and asks, in his Mayoral Moments column:
"Should Southlanders accept mining or should we fight tooth and nail to protect our environmental heritage and clean, green image?"
  The answer is obvious to me, but the National Government seems to have dismissed it and grinds-on with its pro-mining agenda in our region, despite what Southlanders might think about it.
  The mayor, referring to Southland's goldmining past adds: "Our wealth is based on exploiting the environment, and now we have to reverse our mindset and collective memory."
  District Mayor Frana Cardno echoes his disquiet.
  She says on her mayoral blog;
"Of grave concern to me personally and to many others I talk to in Southland is the mining of our lignite resources."
  Could someone please tell John Key and his pro-mining ministers that Southlanders, especially our mayors, want to have their say about his plans to tear up the place?

Federated Farmers call to double Councillors' pay

It was a very interesting submission from the federation's Doug Fraser in the ES boardroom yesterday. As always, we greatly value submissions but I found Doug's especially encouraging where he called for a doubling of Councillor's remuneration! I'd decline a pay rise of that magnitude of course, but felt flattered that the Federated Farmers valued my work, and that of my fellow Councillors so highly as to support such a generous increase.
You just never quite know what the Feds are thinking!
Shaun Yeo, Southland Times embedded cartoonist, made a lovely job of summing up Doug's other main point; that the Council should be reduced to a team of 6. From the gleam in Doug's eye, I could tell that I was a shoe-in :-)

Fairtrade editorial - Southland Times

Riverton is a canny choice to become, maybe, the first Fairtrade town in New Zealand.

Towns and cities with this designation – and there are more than 1000 of them in 20 countries – have shown collective, practical support for the goals of the movement supporting producer organisations to deliver sustainable livelihoods for farmers, workers and their communities.

Aparima College pupil Hollie Guyton has set up a committee to bring Fairtrade status to her school and town.
Riverton is an excellent introductory town for this to happen in Southland; it's a compact community with pretty good Green credentials due, at least in some part, to the influence of Hollie's parents, Robert and Robyn Guyton: Green activists in the political sense – he is an Environment Southland councillor – and the practical, as witnessed by the splendid South Coast Environment Centre Open Orchard project to revive fruit growing in Southland.

As things stand none of New Zealand's small towns has the Fairtrade endorsement. But that's not because it's some loopy scheme.

The fact that Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland do have this status should reassure those who might otherwise assume it entails a collective ban on all products that haven't received the big green benediction.Not so.

The towns simply have to meet goals including a sufficient range of Fairtrade products being available; demonstrable support from a local council resolution and participation from the likes of schools, workplaces, places of worship and community organisations; a steering group, and – well, they can tick this one off – media coverage.

Fairtrade has been gaining traction throughout the country, sales last year rising 24 per cent to $45 million.

For the most part that's been coffee and chocolate, although bananas, tea, sugar and cotton clothing also figure. And the range of products is ever-broadening. Auckland Grammar, don't you know, has switched to Fairtrade certified sports balls, made by workers paid an acceptable minimum wage, rather than being handstitched by impoverished Pakistani children.

Fairtrade consumables are supplied from farmers receiving fair and stable prices aimed to cover the cost of sustainable production as well as a premium to be invested in social, environmental and economic projects in their own developing communities. (A few New Zealand farmers might, in their darker moments, wonder whether they qualify ... ).

Mutterings against Fairtrade tend to be that it puts the consumer in a position of choosing between a locally made product and one from a developing nation, with all those wicked extra food kilometres and carbon footprints. But the products are not commonly grown or produced locally and – as New Zealand often has to point out to its own trading partners – air miles aren't the only determinants of virtue.

So, for instance, compare and contrast the options of cotton from African farmers on the brink of starvation or from subsidised United States farmers.

Will Riverton embrace the scheme? It might do. The town surely seems a logical starting point, and one which could then give other communities a local basis for comparison.

Ms Guyton's group aspires to convince other areas in Southland, and Invercargill city, to take part. Seems reasonable.

- © Fairfax NZ News

National pulls swifty on public - today's letter

In today's Southland Times Labour's Rino Tirikatene said,
"The backdown with the education policy shows you the power you have by mobilising and coming together for a common purpose to effect change."
Tirikatene's call to arms caused our resident Nat MP Eric Roy to have conniptions and splutter, "He's dreaming! We have a mandate! We Have a Mandate!!", or words to that effect.
Mr Tirikatene's statements complimented my letter that ran today, where I did my bit to alert Southlanders to the Government's manoeuvrings around asset sales, thus:

 "National has learned from its 'bigger classes are better for you' mistake. When ordinary New Zealanders rose up and said no to the Government's badly thought-out plan to crowd classrooms to save a few dollars, National saw that giving the public a chance to speak was dangerous. At the same time opposition to their selling our assets has grown rapidly as people realise how foolish that plan is. National is now acting urgently to try to seal the deal before New Zealanders, owners of the assets, can gather their thoughts and do what they did to the 'crowded classrooms' scheme; stop it in its tracks. The process of hearing submissions from the public has been cut short by several weeks. The 'sell assets' legislation is to be fast-tracked, heard under urgency. National is scrambling to prevent New Zealanders from having their say."

I wrote a letter to the editor

Bill

Bill English's budget has caused a lot of upset in the education world. Intermediate schools; their teachers and the parents of the students who go to them, were dismayed to find that huge cuts were to be made to teaching staff and to the practical subjects offered. What reason could there be for such severe cuts to Intermediate schools? National has for a long time now, pushed the idea that bigger classes are better, that crowding children into a classroom will help their learning. Children at State schools that is. Not those going to private schools, where many of the politicians own children go. At the private schools, parents are promised small class sizes and the benefits that come from the extra attention their child will receive as a result. What I find difficult to understand, is how the Government can say two different things and expect us to believe them. Small is good for their children, but big is good for ours. I don't believe them.

 Robert Guyton

The Southland Times people kindly accompanied my letter with a photo of Budget Bill, at the point of delivery, and captioned it,
"Double standard Bill English's Budget says bigger classes are better."

GE pastures letter - Southland Times

Our Southland landscape is largely covered in pasture grasses, an enormous 'green' that generates wealth for our region. It would be a tragedy for our dairy, beef and wool industries if that broad pasture became contaminated. The introduction of genetically-engineered grasses would rob us of our clean, grass-fed, global- market advantage. Southland farmers should guard against the incursion of g.e. pasture grasses currently being field-trialled in Australia with the financial support of Fonterra. Our good quality Southland pastures are worth protecting from the bio-tech industries that seek to spread their products across the globe.

Rosemarie Smith - champion gardener

Rosemarie Smith, Southland Times garden writer tells us this morning that mining ruins good garden soil, or something along those lines, only she does it a little more obliquely and entertainingly. Rosemarie has put a cat among the pigeons with her latest article, which focuses on the Moanataiari subdivision of Thames, her old stamping ground. Or rather, place of cultivation. She describes the harm done to the soil there following the mining and the legacy that still exists, years after the batteries stopped pounding. It's not a story that's new, but it's timely. Rosemarie is presently living nearby to the proposed lignite mines of Mataura and clearly is concerned that damage like that she's seen up north, will affect her gardening activities down here, should Solid Energy's open cut lignite mine go ahead. Her whole article raises the alarm over just what mining does to the soil and for how long it does it. She's to be congratulated for raising the issue of the real effects of large scale mining on ordinary people and their livelihoods.
There's a photograph of Rosemarie (I can't post it or the article as it isn't on-line), showing her holding a handful of the soil she presently cultivates, and the caption reads:
"Unknown: What's in this soil?
The Moanataiari case has made me think about the history of the soils in my own garden beds and about long-term air and water quality issues that might arise from Think Big lignite developments upwind."
Curiously and coincidentally, I had a letter published in the same newspaper this morning, on the theme of gardens and lignite.

Mining ruins farms


I struggle to believe Greg Visser's assurances that the Mataura farms destroyed by mining for lignite will be put back better than before once the mining is finished.
  Solid Energy plans to remove millions of tonnes of lignite from beneath some of the best farmland in the world.
  To do that, they'll have to bulldoze that excellent soil off to one side, dig up the layers of subsoil and pile it somewhere, then with their huge machines grind the mass of lignite out and carry it away.
  If I imagine this happening on the scale of my garden, I have no confidence whatsoever that what I've developed during the years could be "put back better than before"., especially given that so much of my garden would become a deep-pit lake, as is promised for Mataura.
  Mr Visser might believe that the wonders of diggers and bulldozers, urea and propaganda can care for the farmland of Mataura, but I don't."

Robert Guyton

Serendipitous, eh!

Mr Pfahlert responds

When you are a big-wig in the oil industry, you've no need to answer a letter through the 'letters to the editor' column with its 250-word restriction - you can claim the whole of the EDITORIAL/OPINION block to get around it!
Mr Pfahlert, Petroleum Exploration and Production Association executive officer opened today's Southland Times opinion piece with,

"Environment Southland councillor Robert Guyton has asked what drilling companies would do in the event of a serious spill."

To his great credit, Mr Pfahlert then launches into a detailed description of a range of contingency plans he hopes would address a serious spill should it occur off the coast of Southland. He cites 'international support', the use of oil dispersants, booms and skimmers, a wildlife response unit and 'well-capping technology' that must necessarily be sited overseas. Each of his points are highly contestable and I'm compiling a response that addresses those but most striking to the casual reader would be a counter to Mr Pfahlert's analogy of the air crash. He says,

"By way of analogy, we don't design planes to protect passengers when they crash, They are designed for the purpose of flying, yet people who fly understand that the consequences of an air crash are often fatal. "

Goodness! There's so much to play with there! I'm thinking immediately of those who choose not to fly and wondering about Southlanders who choose not to have oil rigs off shore of their beaches. Mr Pfahlert's analogy doesn't work so well there! There's the whole insurance issue as well. Airlines, you'd imagine, compensate the families of those killed in air-crashes? Will the oil industry cover all the damage that results from a spill? Car manufacturers provide an analogy too, with their designed-for-a-crash vehicles, shock-absorbing chassis, air-bags, side-strengthening etc. And of course, travellers can go by bicycle or even, perish the thought, walk.
I think Mr Pfahlert chose a poor analogy in his falling-from-the-sky passenger jet.
Still, I mustn't be churlish. I was very gracious of Mr Pfahlert to respond to my questioning so comprehensively.
I expect he'll get some response via the 'letters' column.
Perhaps you, gentle reader, might be moved to put pen to paper.
Later today, I'll transcribe the article here, or perhaps lift Kylie's scanned copy. Sadly, the Southland Times doesn't put it's Opinion pieces on line any more.

We're full!

Southland has full house of dairy farms - report
(Southland Times front-page story)

"Southland cannot handle any more dairy farms.
 A report detailing the state of the environment is due out next month and according to Environment Southland chief executive Ciaran Keogh the region cannot deal with any more effects from intensified farming."

That's a killer opening paragraph right there, reporter Scot MacKay! Perhaps that's why the story's not on-line.

I suspect that once teased out, the story will be that while present practices and the effects of those on the environment make the 'full-house' claim true, changes to those farming ways can allow for the expansion that Fonterra are banking on.
At least that's the message behind the article and Mr Keogh's headline-grabbing claim, in my opinion. He'll have curdled the milk in the coffee of the DairyNZ and Fonterra executives coffee this morning though - the hot-line to his office will be fizzing!
Many Southlanders will be satisfied with the first part of the story, and won't buy the 'we can squeeze more on if we tidy up our act' sub-plot. In fact, they'll likely think we passed the point of fullness long ago. Certainly the wounded Waituna Lagoon broadcasts that message loud and clear. Farmers though, are still adamant that there must be no limit to the number of cows! It's a collision-course situation, in my view, and already there are casualties. The report described in the article by Mr Keogh will be interpreted by many as sure proof that farming is destroying our rivers and lagoons and that while farmers and their agents are beginning to talk the talk, they ain't walking.
"The council has signalled the report is not good news for the region, but will provide a way forward to manage it", reporter Scott reports.
"In terms of runoff from farms we cannot handle any more, in fact in some areas we need to reduce it", Mr Keogh bravely states.
Good man.
We need to hear truth, not platitudes.

Collie out of hibernation

Did he stumble out of his warm, dry cave by himself, or was he encouraged to emerge from his long slumber by those upset by my outspokenness, that's what I wondered as I fielded ex-chairman Collie's terse accusations of bias, at the yesterday's 'listen to the public' meeting in Invercargill. Collie was like a bear with a sore head, and his grumbling was caused by my calling a meeting where, shock, horror, the public was able to say what they thought, without restriction, to a councillor who was willing to listen and note their concerns. Collie thought this most improper and said so. He probably wasn't expecting the stropping that followed! Several members of the crowd that turned out for the meeting vigorously chastised the ex-chairman for his churlish views and stated their strong support for the opportunity the meeting provided for them to have their say. Collie vainly tried to maintain his objections, until Labour's Leslie Soper delivered the coup de grace with some well chosen facts and definitive phrases that ended Collies diatribe on predetermination and made my heart swell with pride! There was applause all round at her words. To Collies' credit, he stayed for the rest of the meeting and got to hear, as I did, what people thought about Solid Energy's lignite mining plans, along with other associated issues. The crowd was a well informed one and covered some very important concerns, all of which I will take to the council I sit on, for their information. I learned a great deal from those people and was hugely grateful for their opinions and their support. The Southland Times reporter, naturally, chose to focus on the conflict, as reporters are bound to do, and I've copy/pasted that story below. Thank you, by the way, very much to all those who came to the meeting. I was very encouraged by what I heard and by the calibre of thought that I heard being expressed.

Environment Southland councillor Robert Guyton has been accused of having a conflict of interest after he held his own public meeting to discuss lignite mining yesterday.
Former council chairman Stuart Collie, who was at the meeting, asked if it was appropriate if Mr Guyton sat on the council's resource consent committee.
Mr Guyton's opinion on mining was "predetermined" and that meant sitting on the resource consents committee was a conflict of interest, Mr Collie said.
"As a councillor you've got some very well-known point-of-views ... from a consent committee point-of-view I don't know how you can operate in that role," Mr Collie said.
Mr Guyton earlier this week announced he would hold the meeting to gauge public opinion, instead of attending a council resource consents committee hearing for Solid Energy, which plans to build a $25 million briquetting plant in the Mataura Valley.
Mr Guyton said he had been careful about commenting on mining, and had stepped aside from sitting on yesterday's actual hearing so he could not be accused of having a conflict of interest.
He had also invited people with all viewpoints to attend, he said.
About 30 people turned up at his meeting yesterday afternoon, and the majority appeared to hold their own concerns about the sustainability and potential negative impacts further mining could bring to the area.
Others attending the meeting threw their weight behind Mr Guyton, with many arguing councillors were elected because of the viewpoints they represented.
Otatara woman Sherry Elton said she was grateful Mr Guyton voiced his opinions. "Robert's views have been Robert's views since he was a kid. I'm pleased there's somebody in there willing to listen to me."
After the meeting, Environment Southland chief executive Ciaran Keogh said he was disappointed to hear Mr Collie had publicly criticised Mr Guyton.
"I think it's inappropriate for him to be saying those sorts of things about one of our councillors," he said. Many councillors had their own opinions, but all had a duty to remain impartial when making decisions.
He declined to comment on whether individual meetings could impact on Mr Guyton's role on the committee.
alana.dixon@stl.co.nz

* As I expected, the council granted the consent applications from Solid Energy at a meeting held at the same time. "The committee unanimously approved the application for a consent period of 20 years etc..."

Clear, unmistakable evidence.

'The world continues to warm' say both the Southland Times and the Otago Daily Times, with a shared article that doesn't beat around the bush over climate change - Atmospheric CO2 rising fast says the ST, with the ODT titling their version: Temperatures rise as gases in climate mount. Will anyone take any notice of an article that clearly states that 'The world's climate is not only continuing to warm, it is also adding heat-trappng greenhouse gases even faster than in the past.'?
It's difficult to believe that this report will move many, if any of us to action or even acceptance of the looming disaster.
'The indicators show unequivocally....'
'There is a clear and unmistakable signal...'
Does this move you? Perhaps you're suffering from climate change fatigue, or maybe you believe the science 'isn't in yet', or maybe you believe at all to be a conspiracy by some secret cabal/sect/uber-rich organization to fool us all and bleed us dry, whatever the reason, I don't think that most of us would be able to recognise and respond to a clear truth if it was presented to us in the simplest way - as this warning has been. I haven't heard this message disrupting or disturbing the social networks I operate in and I've got some very intelligent and aware friends and acquaintances.
It's disturbed me though and I'm doing something about it.

Highs and lows

I'd wondered if the the recent publicity for this blog through the Southland Times and Southland Express might have had an effect of readership - I imagined it might have a beneficial effect but there was no way of knowing whether it would boost or kill off my readership, so I took a look behind the scenes at the 'stats' facility that Blogger provides for its bloggers and found that it's climbing strongly. That's very pleasing and I know what to do if at some stage it begins to dip - wind up my fellow councillors to such an extent that they throw me into the spotlight again! It won't be difficult - they're getting very tetchy about my expressed interest in Solid Energy's plans for mining Mataura, even though I assure them, quite genuinely, that our role as councillors is to unearth (sorry for the pun) all of the facts from all sides of the argument, before making any decisions. Hasn't placated some of them though and they continue to simmer :-)