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15 May 2008
Manukau City Council rejects community recycling
service
A Manukau City councillor has
criticised his council and its Mayor for rejecting a move to
extend recycling services to community organisations in Manukau.
Howick councillor Jami-Lee Ross was
one of several councillors that advocated for the city’s new
recycling service to be extended to all community organisations in
the City.
The move came after the Manukau City
Council had previously decided only to extend the service to Marae
in the city. Mr Ross says the Council is not being even handed by
extending the service to Marae only and not other community
organisations.
“I am very supportive of Marae being
included in the new recycling service being introduced this year,
but only if that same service is offered to other community
organisations in the city,” says Mr Ross.
“I am concerned that Manukau City
Council is not viewing all community groups in the same light. It
is completely unfair for the Council to extend recycling services
to Marae, but forget about the many pre-schools, sports clubs and
churches in Manukau.”
Mr Ross proposed a motion that the
Council considers providing the service to all community
organisations next year as a matter of fairness. He says it is
unreasonable for the Council to give preferential treatment to one
group over another.
The motion proposed by Mr Ross was
lost by five votes to seven at the Council’s Policy and Activities
Committee on Thursday morning.
A further motion was subsequently
moved by Councillor Daniel Newman that all community organisations
be included in the recycling services immediately from July
onwards, which was also lost by five votes to seven.
Mr Ross says he is particularly
surprised that those councillors who call themselves advocates of
recycling and a sustainable city have opposed a move to increase
recycling in Manukau.
“Mayor Len Brown was especially
critical of our suggestion that Marae be treated like all other
community organisations in the city and spoke strongly in support
of recycling in Manukau’s Marae.
“However when we proposed that
churches, sports clubs and pre-schools also receive the service,
Mayor Brown and six other councillors rejected that proposal.
“It is appalling for those elected
representatives to decide that one community group is more
deserving of a ratepayer funded service than others. These
organisations are the pillars of our community and we should not
be picking winners and losers amongst them.”
Mr Ross says recycling is an
important service that local government provides, and he will
continue to push for all Manukau community organisations to be
included in the new recycling programme.
ENDS
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