Dear Editor, To Tatou Vai (TTV) spokesperson Jaewynn McKay, in response to the fact that water is running over the weir at the Papua intake, leads us to believe that it is a case of rain falling unevenly from one catchment to the next.

Dear Editor,

To Tatou Vai (TTV) spokesperson Jaewynn McKay, in response to the fact that water is running over the weir at the Papua intake, leads us to believe that it is a case of rain falling unevenly from one catchment to the next.

Problem with that explanation is that water has been flowing over the weir at Papua for weeks and is still doing so, having nothing at all to do with rainfall.

The water in our pipes today is mostly water that is stored in our mountains, and water that condenses overnight on trees in the watersheds. Were it not for those sources, we would have significantly less water in our pipes at this moment.

The designers of the $120m boondoggle either did not know this simple fact or ignored this simple fact. We should be capturing that water that is going over the weir.

It is interesting that a letter writer asked TTV if any other weirs were overflowing and that only silence followed.

We understand, TTV, that you inherited a still-born system that was doomed to fail from the moment it was conceived and mismanaged by TMV (Te Mato Vai) with the assistance of the Chinese funders, but that is no reason to continue with the BS. Just come clean, tell us how bad it really is, and then find the money and fix it.

(Name and address supplied)

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So let me get this straight, before the water works fiasco we all drank water from old pipes no one got sick and we had pressure problems in dry season. Now we have new pipes and new storage filter systems at the uptake river source, so by that measure the water is cleaner than before but the water pressure still sucks. Now you’re telling us to save water because the government wants to divert thousands of litres into a system that adds chemicals to the water we used to drink and not get sick from, so we don’t get sick? And we paid millions for this?

Don’t think about blaming the dry season. The system was supposed to work so we avoided the very problem we are having with it. 

Waste of money

(Name and address supplied)

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White ribbon day 

The problem with having these annual focus days on everyday problems is everyone feels righteous about buying and wearing a ribbon and walking down to the park to listen to music. But what are they doing every other day when they hear the domestic abuse next door or see the effects on the bodies of the women and children? 

Domestic violence needs more attention towards making a difference than one day. It’s time the government spent money on cutting back violence in the homes rather than cutting down the trees around them.  

(Name and address supplied)

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Superfund issues

While there has been ample coverage of the esoteric debate around Cook Islands vs. NZ superannuation, I think most people would be more interested in the financial status and projections of their accounts i.e. most recent annual investment returns on the different tranches of investments, future investment philosophy, projected investment returns, etc. 

Would it be possible for CINews to cover these important stakeholder topics? I’m assuming this was covered at the meeting last week?

Teanaroa Worthington