A little time remains for reminding Christchurch city councillors who
they serve - communities ahead of retail! - in less than two days.
Anger is mounting that Council might keep pushing synthetic drug
problems out of the city and into the neighbourhoods: Addington, New
Brighton and Hornby being cases in point where human damage is already
documented. Now is the time to make a BIG difference, by centralising
better substance oversight under local authority care.
On Thursday morning Council meets and receives the report of its
Strategy and Planning Committee, which met last Friday. There a decision
was taken, to alter the draft policy developed through community
consultation over how legal-high sales should be regulated. With health
authorities taking part and council staff support, the consensus
recommendation gained had been to bring all R18 outlets into the central
city and Sydenham commercial areas, and at distance from sensitive
sites.[1]
Ahead of Friday's committee meeting there was a 5 to 2 majority adamant
for protecting the suburban centres from harmful substance sales this
way. But something bad happened at committee, to turn that position
around.
Cr Paul Lonsdale led a defence of the central city's image (only) and
convinced chair Jamie Gough, David East and Raf Manji to support him -
the drug problem would continue to be pushed out of sight and out of
mind; with the same high price to families of the chemical cocktail
samplers that we have now, when supply is truly in their face.
What makes these four wiser than the large representative focus group
that council staff had worked with in drafting the original policy?
Nothing. Politics has intruded, to add "town centres" (B1 and B2 zones)
for retail sales of synthetic drugs. Luckily our Mayor has been
extolling the necessity of strengthening communities for resilience, so
there is hope that the professionals in responding to this matter will
still be listened to.
The community and health sector representatives felt that the central
city was the right place for the psychoactive drug sales (if we must
have them at all) for good reasons: it's the most policed area already,
with some CCTV in place to keep an eye out for people in distress; it's
also near the hospital, should that distress become serious.
But Lonsdale, Gough, East and Manji don't care about that or community
well-being; they would rather buyers fell off the rails, at higher risk
to themselves, where no one 'important' can see them. How cruel and
unjust! - Let them know what you think.
I would remind Christchurch that the same councillor leading this
dangerous argument, to overturn community views and in favour of CBD
retail values instead of safety, lured 185 people to their deaths on 22
February 2011, in that CBD: with the same kind of illusion in what
constitutes a safe trading city. The man is simply unqualified for good
governance. Marketing magic tricks, to smokescreen problems away? -
Don't let them flavour our City Council.
[1] More information at
http://resources.ccc.govt.nz/files/TheCouncil/meetingsminutes/agendas/2014/March/StrategyandPlanningCommittee21March2014Full%20Agenda.pdf
and
http://resources.ccc.govt.nz/files/TheCouncil/meetingsminutes/agendas/2014/March/Council27March2014Agenda.pdf
Kia ora
~ Rik
they serve - communities ahead of retail! - in less than two days.
Anger is mounting that Council might keep pushing synthetic drug
problems out of the city and into the neighbourhoods: Addington, New
Brighton and Hornby being cases in point where human damage is already
documented. Now is the time to make a BIG difference, by centralising
better substance oversight under local authority care.
On Thursday morning Council meets and receives the report of its
Strategy and Planning Committee, which met last Friday. There a decision
was taken, to alter the draft policy developed through community
consultation over how legal-high sales should be regulated. With health
authorities taking part and council staff support, the consensus
recommendation gained had been to bring all R18 outlets into the central
city and Sydenham commercial areas, and at distance from sensitive
sites.[1]
Ahead of Friday's committee meeting there was a 5 to 2 majority adamant
for protecting the suburban centres from harmful substance sales this
way. But something bad happened at committee, to turn that position
around.
Cr Paul Lonsdale led a defence of the central city's image (only) and
convinced chair Jamie Gough, David East and Raf Manji to support him -
the drug problem would continue to be pushed out of sight and out of
mind; with the same high price to families of the chemical cocktail
samplers that we have now, when supply is truly in their face.
What makes these four wiser than the large representative focus group
that council staff had worked with in drafting the original policy?
Nothing. Politics has intruded, to add "town centres" (B1 and B2 zones)
for retail sales of synthetic drugs. Luckily our Mayor has been
extolling the necessity of strengthening communities for resilience, so
there is hope that the professionals in responding to this matter will
still be listened to.
The community and health sector representatives felt that the central
city was the right place for the psychoactive drug sales (if we must
have them at all) for good reasons: it's the most policed area already,
with some CCTV in place to keep an eye out for people in distress; it's
also near the hospital, should that distress become serious.
But Lonsdale, Gough, East and Manji don't care about that or community
well-being; they would rather buyers fell off the rails, at higher risk
to themselves, where no one 'important' can see them. How cruel and
unjust! - Let them know what you think.
I would remind Christchurch that the same councillor leading this
dangerous argument, to overturn community views and in favour of CBD
retail values instead of safety, lured 185 people to their deaths on 22
February 2011, in that CBD: with the same kind of illusion in what
constitutes a safe trading city. The man is simply unqualified for good
governance. Marketing magic tricks, to smokescreen problems away? -
Don't let them flavour our City Council.
[1] More information at
http://resources.ccc.govt.nz/files/TheCouncil/meetingsminutes/agendas/2014/March/StrategyandPlanningCommittee21March2014Full%20Agenda.pdf
and
http://resources.ccc.govt.nz/files/TheCouncil/meetingsminutes/agendas/2014/March/Council27March2014Agenda.pdf
Kia ora
~ Rik
