In an article reporting on the results of my survey in the Whangarei Leader (24th July 2007), Dorothy McHattie, Whangarei’s representative on the Northland Tourism Development Group, is quoted as saying: “The Town Basin is an important tourist attraction in the central town. It is important the public has a say in the development of the facility. It is absolutely essential it stays in public ownership.”

Laura Franklin, in her Northern Advocate editorial on 14th May this year, comments on responses to the news that the WDC had voted to consider all options for development of the Town Basin land: “The readers who rushed to send their comments to the Advocate sounded an unequivocal ‘no’. Developers should not get hold of the Town Basin.” She goes on to say that ratepayers seem cynical of assurances from Council that there would be safeguards in place to protect the character of our Town Basin. “But what ratepayers are clearly trying to tell the council is that the necessary relationship of trust does not exist.  Too many meetings are held behind closed doors.”

W M G Yovich wrote to the Advocate (6th August 2007): “Council is ignoring its ratepayers by not involving the community and undertaking an extensive consultative process that would identify the activities that could be promoted for the benefit of our community and visitors. ...  It is wasting ratepayers’ money on secret negotiations with developers and states that it can’t afford any development but is busy wasting money on consultants”. He asks: “How much has it blown on consultants this last year?”

Greg Innes, in a Guest Writer column in the Northern Advocate, 23rd May 2007, concludes: “So in many ways how we maintain and enhance the sense of place is more by commonsense of working together locally than by grand engineering design. Thinking beyond a mentality of just building infrastructure to one that encourages working together across organisations and with community...”

In a recent letter to the Northern Advocate’s editor, Paul Berks concludes: “Our elected representatives may feel that great gain for a few outweighs the disadvantages to the many, but that could well be a minority opinion.”