Joint action urged on dumping
A regional councillor says it is high time Horizons Regional Council and Wanganui District Council took combined action to stop illegal dumping around the Whanganui River banks and walkways.
The Castlecliff Residents' Association has again highlighted illegal dumping to the Chronicle and said some time between Friday night and Saturday morning a sheep's carcass was dumped on the riverbank track leading from the port to the north mole.
Lynne Douglas, from the residents' group, said the district council after-hours number was called to report the dumping.
"We explained clearly to them that this sort of thing is a health hazard, as wandering dogs, cats and rats drag these entrails around, as I saw one dog doing," Mrs Douglas said.
Despite reporting it, the carcass was still there on Sunday afternoon, she said.
"If this was up at Virginia Lake, how long would they stay there?" she asked.
Now Bob Walker, one of the Wanganui councillors on the regional council, has waded into the debate.
"I've really had a gutsful of the shagging around on this issue. Both councils have a task here and, for reasons unknown to me, no one is prepared to make the first move," he said yesterday.
A simple solution was putting surveillance cameras in place "where these idiots can't get to them".
"There are enough buildings and power poles to sling them from."
He said he was not interested in photos of council staff cleaning up the mess.
"That's a half-baked publicity stunt, and I don't want to be involved in anything like that.
"I would prefer to be involved in coming up with a decent solution like nailing some of these tossers and sending a clear message: do this type of thing on a farm or marae, not in a public place where kids and members of the public walk by."
He said he had "rabbited on" about this problem for long enough and it was time some action followed.
"So, all in all, last weekend we had the dumping of 'dirty water' into the sea and a sheep 'homicide' for all to see and with over 1000 people attending one of this coast's most popular fishing competitions. Great for Wanganui, I don't think," he said.
