Whinges

Audio Assault

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 15:52:00 +1200

Dear Editor,

As I write this, I’m focusing very hard, as my ears are getting assaulted with a new take from the abomination on Stanley Street, the local Catholic church, with their usual shennanigans from 6pm every Friday night through till late.

This is my only quiet night in, as I work hard all week and most evenings, and the new element of my aural torture, the “Karaoke” is distressing and franky, not only are the Pizzas better in Hell (me sucking up for a freebie) but so is the music. Given the draconian planning restrictions and the contact whinges about other commercial establishments in the centre of town, I find it difficult to understand that no-one else has picked up on this intrusion into my living room and is it not double-standards?

Infact, John Lennon’s “Imagine” is currently vibrating around my personal space. I’m sure he would be turning in his grave if he could hear how his song is being murdered by some tone deaf person. Please Lakes District Council, can you request that these talentless folk take their sound-system inside, as I’m well over a kilometre away, so who knows what it’s like for many others nearer the epicentre of this forsaken racket!? Such a thing is anti-social, counter-productive and surely swelling the ranks of my fellow Atheists!?

Response from the Presbyterian Church,

As the only church on Stanley Street, we have been asked to respond. For the past 8 years the Presbyterian Church on Stanley St has been providing free Pasta dinners (with home baking) for between 150 to 400 visitors and locals, each Friday for 6 weeks in winter. If the winger would like 6 free pasta dinners next year, he is welcome to come along. We only had live music on one night (20/8) as our regular musician, Mark Wilson, was not well enough to perform.

As the free Pasta Cafe is open at 6pm, ends at 8 and is closed up tight by 8:30pm, then the later music may well have been coming from another source. If anyone deserves a free pizza it is the lead volunteers from the church (or even Mark) who give up so much time each year to make this event happen. Maybe some of your readers who have enjoyed our hospitality can respond to this also and let all the volunteers know their efforts are appreciated.

If we have offended anyone by our trying to be a good neighbour, then we sincerely opologise. I guess I should also apologise in advance if any singing escapes the church this coming Friday night (10/9) as the Watoto Children’s Choir will be singing in the Church from 7 to 9pm. These inspirational Ugandan Orphans are giving a FREE Live Concert of Hope as Tear Fund ambassadors. Everyone is welcome!

Judy Williamson, Volunteer

Connectabus Clarity - Response To Website Comments

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 15:52:00 +1200

Dear Lakes Weekly Bulletin Readers,

We’d like to clear up any confusion… Here are the facts:

- The Otago Regional Council / NZTA subsidy covers only our 3 new routes:
Kelvin Heights, Arthurs Point & Lake Hayes Estate

- We are paid only very slightly more than the actual cost to run these services. There is no “pot of gold” for Connectabus!

- It is important to recognize connectabus has not changed it’s fare structures in five years, and we will also be absorbing the October GST increase.

- All of our other routes have to be commercially economic to run.

- Running a bus is just like running a taxi or train or a London Bus– it costs a fixed amount for each journey. If there is 1 person aboard, it is very expensive per person. If there are 30 people, it is cheap per person.

- Queenstown has only a small and spread-out population, the only reason that we can operate our unsubsidised services at all is because of the number of visitor to Queenstown which effectively “subsidise” local residents.

So to encourage local residents to commit to using our service regularly we offer a 5-consecutive-day pass – as much travel as you like for $35. We also offer all the usual child, student, and seniors concessions, and the Go Card, which has a 10% discount built in. We are implementing further incentive packages for local clients over the next two months. All our fares are subject to approval by the Otago Regional Council, as is our timetable.

We are a community-minded organisation, small and locally-owned, and we do not like pollution any more than our fellow citizens do, and most of our coaches are Euro 4, standard with computerized fuelling systems save more fuel than any additive. We are committed to offering a professional service which works for the good of the whole community and is commercially sustainable into the future.

Morgan McCammon
Marketing Manager
Connectabus

Breaking and Entering

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:52:00 +1200

Dear Editor,

I would just like to put forward a few comments to those 15-16 year olds that entered a lot of houses between 2 and 5am last Tuesday night and stole from us and many others. Firstly well done to the police in recovering all of our things that were taken but to the offenders, my children are now nervous about being at home and double check doors and windows before they go to bed.

You stole my daughters camera that she got for her birthday and deleted all my photos. Cameras can be replaced but I will never again have those moments with my kids. We live in a safe place, but in one action you have made our family feel invaded. If you can remember when you where 8, how would you have felt if something like this had happened to you? A home should be somewhere you feel safe and warm. Youth Justice will protect you at this stage but I hope you realise the effect you have had on peoples lives.

I was also young and stupid but I can always say I respected people and their property. I hope your lives take a turn for the better otherwise there is only one place you are heading. Thinking before you act is always a wise idea.

Get some perspective!

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:52:00 +1200

Dear Editor,

My whinge is to do with everyone whinging about people gettin drunk and peeing in the street or pinching a steak and cheese pie from the ‘two-four’. Seriously I read the papers every week and the incidents that make the crime section are quite funny. I can’t believe that people make the paper for things like this.

Now I have lived here for over 3 years now and I’m still here because I know it is safe, amazing place and beautiful. Now everyone is saying and talking about all these issues we have with drunken tourists but what do you expect when these people are on holiday in a town that is a holiday resort! I’m from Manchester and in the UK you would read the paper and expect much worse. An example of the crime section over there - ‘on the weekend is 3 people got stabbed, taxi driver beaten, kids selling heroin at school aged 12, Asian man beated by 4 whites, oh yeah and the bank got robbed’... so please, please wake up and smell the coffee people and be proud of this beautiful town.

Last Request

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:52:00 +1200

Dear Editor,

I have lived here for 3 years now and I love it. Like many, I just couldn’t bring myself to leave the great people and vibe that make this town so wonderful. Having said that, there is one thing that bothers me...

I have some experience in booking acts back home but I can only imagine the cost of bringing international acts to this town. Back in the UK there are so many artists on your doorstep, but the cost of bringing artists all the way here must be huge. The choices I had were something I totally took for granted and what brings me to my point...

I am sick of hearing people complain about how little there is to choose from and in the same breath, the cost of tickets to gigs. Do they not realise that these ticket sales are what pays for these fantastic artists and that it’s our support and enthusiasm that makes these things happen? People completely under estimate the effort it requires to pull these things together. It’s easy to slap on a cd and play the latest chart tunes but if you’ve been here a while, chances are you’ve moved on from that. Don’t get me wrong, there is a definite market for pop tunes and dress ups which is why I can see how heading down this avenue must be so alluring, but I for one am thankful that there are those who stick to the genre they have a passion for. It’s just unfortunate that these people seem to be terribly under appreciated.

So come on punters, unless you are content with weekend after weekend of radio tunes, mediocre DJ’s and average musicians, how about you quit your whinging and dig deep. I’m sure if you put things into perspective you’ll see it’s a small price to pay.

Vanishing Vacancies

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:52:00 +1200

Dear Editor,

I see that QLDC has yet again taken away long-term parks in favour of more short-term parking, this time at the entrance to the rugby ground car park. The two new 10-minute bays that sit opposite the constantly empty disabled bays that we got last year, serve absolutely no-one except for SuperLiquor, so I can only presume that they must have some pretty handy friends in high places. The result - two more workers who can’t find a long-term bay, or 10 minutes earlier everyone needs to get to town to find a parking space in the morning. Cheers.

With the loss of heaps of parking bays on Church Street in favour of yet another Loading Zone, parking is now a bigger problem than ever before. We have more and more people coming to Queenstown every year and yet less and less places for them to park. This creates total gridlock from about 5pm when the town is full of people trying to leave work who come bumper-to-bumper with people trying desperately to find a park for the evening. This is horrible for everyone - for the frustrated drivers going round and round in circles and for the pedestrians who have to dodge through the traffic, not to mention the pollution it causes!

When was the last time QLDC created free, long-term parking spaces for workers? I know they can take them away, but do they ever create new ones? They can’t seriously expect workers living on Fernhill, or out at Arthurs Point to cycle to work every day; the bus costs about $10, and the paid parking facilities are extortionate! Get real, QLDC - we’re all earning about $15p/h, you might not like that we all drive to work, but what the hell else do you expect us to do? Maybe I should go stand in the middle of the road with my thumb out...!

P.S Any chance of anyone at QLDC moving on the campervan with the NZ flag in the window that’s been sat in the rugby ground car park for at least the last fornight?

Response from Queenstown Lakes District Council,

The changes to parking in the Queenstown CBD are the result of a major review of parking controls completed last year. We consulted with businesses and the wider community and many of the resulting changes are an attempt to better reflect the parking demands in the immediate area. In this instance, the P10 spaces in the Rec Ground Carpark are there to assist local business and the Senior Citizens Association whose building is just across the road. The P10 area means that those members of the association who are no longer able to drive can be dropped off and picked up reasonably close to the building.

Bus services in Queenstown have improved and they do offer big discounts on the cash fare for regular users. For example Connectabus offers a 5-day ticket that costs only $35 – not bad for a
whole week of travel – particularly for commuters from Arthur’s Point, Frankton, Kelvin Heights, Lake Hayes Estate, Quail Rise and Arrowtown.

We do get it that travelling by bus isn’t for everyone. But providing more free, unrestricted parking in the CBD isn’t a great option either. For example it reinforces our reliance on the single occupant car trip, would contribute to even more congestion in the CBD and also provides very little reason for people to try alternative travel options like carpooling, taking the bus, walking or cycling. Plus, free parking comes at a price - the Council is already in debt to the tune of $1.1m due to the purchase of the Boundary Street carpark in the mid 1990s and the later development of the underground carpark in Church Street.

Regards,
QLDC

Let’s cross the street

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:52:00 +1200

Dear Editor,

While I don’t get out to enjoy the wonderful night life here much (having 2 children), my partner and I ventured into town for a night out the other Saturday. We are in our late 30’s (not old) and I must say we were really disgusted with the behaviour of the ‘young people’ around town.

Highly intoxicated, loud, rude, obnoxious are some of the words I would use to describe the larrikins getting around town. Some of these larrikins were mere children – certainly underage, so it made us wonder where the parents of these children thought they were? Another thing I noticed was the number of these youths who walked around quite freely with bottles of beer and some in paper sleeves which I assume to be wine or spirits.

Now I’m not 100% sure what the deal is with drinking in public and I imagine it can be hard to enforce with events on in Earnslaw Park but seriously, the cheek of these guys blatantly cruising round with their bottles dishing out lip to others! Shame on you guys, have a little respect, some of us are trying to have a nice, well deserved night out.

Thumbs Down

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:52:00 +1200

Dear Editor,

So I have a small issue. Being a Queenstown local (and yes I was actually born here and went to school here) I appreciate this town. I appreciate how hard it is to get anywhere, how expensive food/rent/gas/petrol is and I understand the social aspect of this town - believe me, that part I understand very well.

So here’s my beef. I live in Fernhill and drive down through town and up the mountain almost every day in order to work. The reason I drive you ask, when NZSKI provides a very good staff transport option? Because, as we all know, it’s bloody expensive just breathing in this town so therefore I have two jobs which means some days I need to be off the hill pronto and in one hell of a hurry. Don’t get me wrong, I like working lots.... keeps me out of the bars and I meet rad people. My rant? Hitch-hikers.. yup that old whinge I hear you say but understand that I have been in the carless genre before, so I can appreciate what it’s like but from the other side of the story:

1. It costs. It costs a lot to drive up and down the hill. And when you add an extra body (or three) and some gear, it costs even more.

2. Damage to the vehicle. Since I started being a taxi driver, I’ve had smashed lights inside my car, numerous scratches to the interior and snow left all thru the carpet. Yummo.

3. Rude. Come on passengers, I like to talk and I also like to listen so if I’m trying to be friendly with a little small talk and I’m curious as to what brings you here, why not engage in a little conversation!

4. A simple “thank you” is quite nice.... also that chick that offered me a drink in her bar the other day to say ‘thanks’ - yeah I’ll be in for that, your a good sort and will pick you up again.

5. Don’t stand in the middle of the road... (sound familiar?!) and don’t glare at me when I don’t pick you up. 9 times out of 10 it’s because you’re either on the phone, look stupid or the kind of person that thinks everyone is their personal chauffer.

I recently had the pleasant experience of hitching down Remarks... obviously it was a day I didn’t have to do the bolt and decided against driving. The guys I stood in line with where rude, obnoxious and yelled abuse at every partially empty car that went past. NOT COOL.

Getting a free lift is a privilege not a right. Remember that saying ‘put yourself in someone else’s shoes’? Perhaps you should try it sometime. All I can say is that from now on the only hitchers I pick up will be people I know. Walk, suckers!