Letters

Amalgamation
Your item “Survey shows opinions mixed” (“Star” August ) shows little ambition among Wairarapa residents for their futures. The random survey result showing 45 percent of those questioned (residents, I assume) currently prefer a stand-alone Wairarapa council as their preferred option for a reshaped wider Wellington region is a chimera.

With no costings and no details yet available on the shape, size or anything else in relation to the so-called Option 3, the survey merely shows less than a majority of the area’s people are afraid that some local control may be lost by an amalgamation into a wider regional local government system.

Time to wake up and smell the roses – and to consider the (so far) resounding success of the “Auckland model” of amalgamation.

Piddling on the corners to protect this mainly rural provincial patch, as the current three-council study appears to be doing, won’t answer the challenges that the glaring Auckland example is setting.

Protecting us from real change to my mind is the way that will stifle the potential a full Wellington regional amalgamation can unleash. It certainly won’t bring about the potential growth many seem afraid to consider seriously and that Auckland is already contemplating.

If the only outcomes of a proper regional amalgamation are lower overall costs, greater coordination of resources and effort, unitary focus on regional issues, real social progress and economic growth, then bring it on.

Piecemeal fiddling at the edges of these issues doesn’t offer a way forward for the fewer than 500,000 people that live in greater Wellington _ or the 40,000 in the Wairarapa.

Full-blown local body redesign most certainly will.

I’m sure when people think this central issue through, they will realize they want to be part of a bold reshaping that potentially can initiate progress into a more promising future than the timid and limiting model that’s currently being touted.
Ray Lilley

Closed restaurants
My husband and I recently spent a weekend in Martinborough.  We were very disappointed  at the lack of restaurants open on the Friday and Saturday nights.   Only the Hotel and The French Cafe, which didn’t appeal. The other restaurants and Cafe’s appeared to close at 4pm. We had to drive into Greytown to find somewhere to eat.   

People had told us that we must visit Martinborough as the restaurants there were amazing.  Unfortunately, not the weekend we were there. We were shocked to find all the Vineyard Cafe’s closed also. A very disappointing weekend, especially when we were looking forward to tasting some wonderful food.?
Jillian McRobert ?

Thanks MADCAPS
The Martinborough MADCAPS held their production of ‘Sentimental Journey in the Martinborough Town Hall 15th -18th August

This show had the Wow! factor.

The Hall was superbly decorated throughout. We sat back and were entertained by a live band, easy listening, toe tapping songs that we knew from the 1919s ‘Oh dem golden slippers’ on through the decades to the present year.

Pus some skits as extras.
Well done!
Annette Clark

Good to See
My last month’s letter to the Star seems to be getting results. Many of our town’s streets, footpaths, gutters and grass verges are [almost] immaculate! So a big bouquet goes to all those locals who are not chucking rubbish and/or picking it up for recycling. One good idea is for each resident to keep their own boundary clean, and then it’s done.
Maree Roy.