SUBMISSION TO COUNCIL 22 November 2012
Dear Councillors I am making this submission on behalf of my husband and myself. My husband Steve is a decorated Australian Navy Officer and risks his life daily as a bomb disposal expert. He is in Afghanistan today, saving lives. I am from Canada and now am a permanent resident worked for the Aga Khan Development Network, European Commission, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kingdom, Belgium, Germany and Luxemburg etc. in a spots, including Afghanistan, Chechnya, Haiti etc.
here with my husband. I have the International Red Cross, of The Netherlands, United variety of international trouble
I continue to undertake such contracts. We had the choice of the whole of NZ in which to live and have our own peaceful stress less retreat. Steve spent months researching to find a place that had a beautiful coast, good diving and fishing, where the environment was safe and secure. Where we would be able to rest and relax between stressful assignments in the world war zones. We chose Kapiti. It ticked all the boxes. We did a full investigation of the property we were interested in buying. There was nothing on the Council web site or anywhere else that we saw as negative. WE chose a house one back from the beach. What great stress it was to receive out of the blue a notice of 25 August 2012 saying we lived in a property - 130 meters from the sea- that is likely to be washed away. We were horrified. We could not believe it. What is equally unbelievable is that if we had bought in Horowhenua, on the identical accreting coastline, we would have no problem In the over 2 years here were we consulted before the KCDC announcement? No. Having worked with many National Governments at a senior level I could not believe that such a wrecking of our peaceful occupation of our property could happen by stealth. Without consultation. We had naively believed that the relevant laws in NZ would give us rights to be consulted, to have an input. But no, not in Kapiti it would appear. The reason I am here today is to plead with you as our elected representatives to hold off from the course you have been following. We
are asking that you fully consult before you proceed with Chapter 4 of the Draft District Plan. The formality of the hearing procedures does not allow genuine consultation, yet your web site says you are a consulting council, that listens and acts in the interest of all ratepayers. And I had believed that included us. Now we are told of managed retreat. A withdrawal of services. There was not a hint of this when we were buying .Kapiti Council's web site spoke of protecting the environment, not withdrawing from it. Making Kapiti a place people want to live in. Who will want to come to a place where fundamental property rights are discarded through Council fiat? As I have said I have worked in many countries The Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, China, Tibet, Turkmenistan, Krygzystan, Kazakhstan, Haiti that have no democratic governments. Which of you councillors here today stood on a policy of managed retreat? Was it in your manifesto? If not, what mandate have you got from us ratepayers to put in such a policy? Did one of you councillors propose the idea? I ask for the details. To foist upon your community, the people that elected you a policy that they knew nothing about flies in the face of real democratic principles. Only one of you to date has stood up against it. Mr. Gurunathan. I ask you all to follow suit. There is no urgency when the very low risks we face are 50 years away. Please bring common sense to bear. There are massive issues here. Undue haste is not needed time for gathering of all relevant data is required so an acceptable set of hazard related provisions are included in the District plan.
Salima Padamsey 165a Manly St Paraparaumu Beach.