Cr Bill Faulkner Faulkners Corner www.sunlive.co.nz

Concerns the wreck of the Rena was going to be a matter of ‘out of sight out of mind' once the bow section had been removed from the top of Astrolabe reef were expressed by Mayor Stuart Crosby at the Projects and Monitoring Committee this week. He is right. Astrolabe is about 20kms off the Mount and about 7kms off Motiti. So it's only the boating, diving and fishing fraternity who would be directly aware if the wreck is allowed to stay there. There are about 300 containers still there. About 300 tonnes of oil fuel. Plus nasties from the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter production. Plus diabolical small plastic beads used in plastics production. And a raft of smaller contaminants and pollutants.

Astrolabe Reef gets a real pounding in windy conditions because it's quite a steep gradient to the ocean floor. It will never be an attractive safe dive site for tourists. Unless there is a public uproar the possibility is that the wreck will remain a festering sore, a blot on the Bay of Plenty for generations to come. Just like the wreck of the Niagra sunk of Whangarei in WWII when it hit a mine that is still weeping oil to this day.

Mayor Crosby noted there was a little information being released here and there about the situation but it was no longer prominent news. He requested staff collate all available information and present it on a regular monthly basis to the monitoring committee. As usual, it's the almighty dollar that's at the bottom of this (pun intended). It will cost huge dollars to get rid of the Rena wreck and associated pollution. Tough! The ship owners and insurers should have thought of this when pursuing their business with ruthless efficiencies and cost cutting that appears to have been involved in the background to the disaster.

The Public Liability Insurance and other cover is, presumably, to cover exactly this event. But little ol' NZ may be being viewed as naïve, a soft touch, understanding and accepting. Contrast this with the Americans and the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico: The sharks are out there to get the dollars and that's how we should be too.

I note that the Bay Times are on about elected member meeting attendances again. As I note each time they ‘reveal' this, it's not a mechanism to measure elected member worth or quality of contribution. Historically some elected members made a great contribution by being absent. And attendance records don't include task force or associated Council representation on community committees. But inexplicably the informal forum on the Tangata Whenua committee is recorded, (the one meeting I'm recorded as missing!) Here's the list as supplied under the Official Information Act request –

At the Projects and Monitoring Committee elected members received six monthly reports from its contracted agencies – Priority One, City Centre Strategy, Mount Mainstreet, Greerton Village Community Association, Creative Tauranga and Downtown Tauranga Mainstreet.

Mount Mainstreet reported a $13 surplus and Creative a loss of $43,522.07 – which they say was funded out of accumulated surplus. Hairy Maclary sculpture projects had $400,000 of the $850,000 needed to be raised by Creative to fund the project.

Ratepayers will not be contributing via rates to this. Elected members met with nominees for the positions of directors on the about to be created new CCO (Council Controlled Organisation) to run ASB Baypark arena and ASB Stadium and Councils aquatic operations. Selection was done by an independent panel with no elected members on it. About 75 applicants, we were told and most were of a very high calibre. Council, of course, has the final say and appointments will be confirmed or denied next week.

It is an important delegation for elected members to make and we have learned from the past. As I've noted in the past, Council, by its very nature and public scrutiny is not an appropriate way of operating competitive commercial operations. These CCOs must have the capacity to make sound commercial decisions not based on feel good motives. I hasten to add that monopoly operations like water and wastewater must remain in Council's direct control on a cost only basis. There is high expectation this single entity will make these trading operations much more into the real business world and away from ratepayers' breasts. There is likely to be a re-capitalisation to provide a sound financial base to start from. Certainly there are some big reputations that will depend on successful outcomes.

At Strategy and Policy committee there was discussion as to whether or not Council would continue the seemingly never-ending talkfest on housing affordability being conducted through Smartgrowth. On a 6-5 vote you will continue to fund the discussion. Terry Molloy hit the nail on the head when he said the raw cost of land was around $30,000 per section before development expenses. Give or take that number there's another $150,000 or more added by the time you get to own it.

Murray Guy said there's around $4000 now required for scaffolding and Rick Curach said around $5000 for double glazing. Someone should talk to building supply manufacturers about how house materials are reputedly some 25-30 per cent dearer here than in Australia (excluding exchange rate). Our first section cost $2100 in Otumoetai with no services. We sold our car to pay for it (a Ford Zephyr). Today, it would need to be an upmarket BMW or suchlike. Then there's GST at 15 per cent to Central Government coffers. So in my book unless Central Government addresses these real issues housing affordability is going to remain as difficult as it's always been There's not much Council can do that will make much difference.

This week's mindbender – Speak in anger and you'll give the greatest speech you'll ever regret. From anonymous.