Pressure group forming to lobby council for the south

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 678, 18 March 1997, Page 1

Pressure group forming to lobby council for the south

■"Utterfrustration"with the Ruapehu District Council' sinvolvementin m Waimarino has led to a group of business people to set up an Rorporated society to lobby council and generally promote developftnt in Ohakune and the surrounding area. ■The group plans to hold a public meeting to set up the society and to ftble the council and the community to "put their respective positions." ■This follows a meeting at the Powderhorn Chateau of concerned ■iness people to recei ve an update on the stalled "Winning Waimarino" Rject. ■The feeling of the meeting was one of tttter frustration with council Holvement in this region," said spokesman John McCarthy. ■4r McCarthy emphasised to the Bulletin that he is not acting alone, as I been suggested, and that he is merely acting as the spokesman in ■cing the press statements. ■he group feels the areas' alleged problems stem from the "ill-

considered amalgamation when the Waimarino was forced into an alliance from hell with Taumarunui". "It was an idea that was never going to work and it was opposed strongly at the time," said Mr McCarthy. "Since that time the Waimarino has gone from a district that was Turn to Page 2

Pressure group forming for south

FROM PAGE 1 financially viable with money in the bank to a district where development is stalled and to a situation where we are dependant on whatever crumbs we can beg from council headquarters in Taumarunui," he claimed. He said southern

Ruapehu people were subsidising the Taumarunui infrastructure. "The fact that council and it's lame duck organisation Ruapehu Construction Limited were actually based in Taumarunui provides an enormous boost to the local economy of that town but could be interpreted as a

direct cost to our own area in terms of access to services." He said the group criticises Ohakune' s footpaths, kerbs, public toilets, roads (including the "sticky mess of tar on the main road into Ohakune") and services such as rubbish collection. Also of concern was the rumour that the Department of Conservation Ohakune field centre was to be downgraded, and that the council "has a responsibility to ensure that DoC centres on either side of the mountain are retained". 'There is no doubt that council and our council representati ves have some very hard questions to front up to," said Mr McCarthy. Those at the meeting generally felt that there was very little community of interest between the northern and southern parts of the district. One idea that came up was that the Waimarino may be better off either on its own again or, failing that, looking at a potential amalgamation with other districts. Rangitikei Wanganui and Taupo were mooted as possible alternatives. "Ohakune and the wider Waimarino district are really the 'jewelinthecrown' in terms of the tourism potential, but are in real danger of becoming the 'cash cow' for a financially destitute northern end," said Mr McCarthy. He said they were not

"about bashing T aumarunui" and the northern town had its own problems. He said he would be very

interested to find anyone in the community who felt that this district was better off as a result of being ruled! from Taumarunui. I