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December 2017
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DoC thugs attack senior citizens
The sinister side of DoC is starting to emerge as it appears DoC were caught off-guard while illegally
SEE INSIDE Page 2 -
MPI nominated for 2018 Seafood Champion Awards
Page 8 -
Introduce fishing to school curriculum
Page 9 -
Labour fails first fishing test
Page 10 - Firearms generating public discord Page 16 - Fishing is part of the Kiwi way of life Page 19 - Heavy Metals found in popular pet foods
storing, and handling 1080 poison in a public carpark in Whitianga recently. There were no notices stating the parking spaces were reserved as a DoC work place, there were no notices stating it was a hazardous area, the trucks were not separated by barriers with poison signs, there were no poison warning signs on the trucks, this was undoubtedly a clandestine operation where DoC were caught off-guard by people who recognised what the trucks were loading in a public place with 1080 dust everywhere. Were they witnesses to criminal activity? If this had been a bona fide activity there would have been no cause for DoC staff to get alarmed and throw their weight around. DoC has militarized aerial poisoning instead of using trapping and alternative methods for pest control by local industry and thereby creating employment as Coromandel residents place strong emphasis on the role of forests in recreation, employment and training of youth in bushcraft and self-reliance. After a senior citizen Mr Graeme Sturgeon was allegedly assaulted in front of several witnesses, and
while being filmed DoC has come out and charged Mr Sturgeon with assaulting a DoC Security guard. By all accounts Mr Sturgeon was initially sitting in his car when first assaulted and was dragged out of his car by security staff who ripped his clothes in the process. Mr Sturgeon was part of a group of people preparing to attend a rally in Whitianga to oppose the aerial deluging of a World Health Organisation, Class 1A, EcoToxin 1080 poison onto their land and particularly onto their “home patch” and precious waterways. Just because these people oppose 1080 aerial poison dropping does not mean that DoC should stoop to this level of thuggery and give them a licence to have people assaulted. A DoC security guard allegedly assaulted Mr Sturgeon in the Liquor King carpark, Whitianga, where 20 tonnes of 1080 poison was illegally stored for six weeks in secret, in Whitianga’s CBD, adjacent to residential homes and supermarkets, without appropriate signage, all unknown to the building’s other tenants and unknown to the fire department. Dr. Wendy Pond, secretary of a local conservation group, and retired University lecturer one of the witnesses to Mr Sturgeon’s assault was also assaulted. While sitting in her car, a DoC thug illegally opened her car door to remove the ignition key, and attempted to pull the key out to detain her. He then assaulted her. Diana Halstead another witness was also assaulted. All these people are senior citizens in their seventies. According to one of the witnesses who can personally recognize Mr Steve Bolton, the Head of DoC operations for the Coromandel was present and saw the assault on Mr Sturgeon. Mrs Diana Halstead is an art-
ist, Graeme Sturgeon is an author and conservationist and Dr. Wendy Pond is a retired Senior Lecturer from Victoria University. There are so many things wrong with what happened in Whitianga, but fortunately there is a lot of photographic evidence for the Police to be able to identify the DoC thugs and understand the sequence of events. 1. Storing, loading and handling a highly toxic substance in an urban area public carpark. 2. Storing, loading and handling 20 tonnes of 1080 poison near two supermarkets. 3. The proximity of 20 tonnes of one of the most lethal poisons in the world to food outlets is alarming to say the least. 4. The Whitianga Fire Brigade was not aware of this substance being stored in the middle of their town. Businesses in the Liquor King building had not been informed that staff and clients were adjacent to a “skull and cross bones” ecotoxin poison held in storage. 5. The Thames Coromandel District Council had not approved the storage. 6. None of the workers loading the poison were wearing safety gear - gloves or masks when handling the poison. 7. The security guards at the 1080 drop zone had no ID and their vehicle had had its number plate removed and its registration and diesel labels removed from their window sleeves. 8. Most seriously of all, three senior citizens, who were doing nothing wrong and were in a public place, were assaulted by DoC security guards who refused to give their names. 9. No medical attention was offered by DoC or Police even though it is protocol to call for an Ambulance, and DOC staff would have had a First Aid medical kit available. 10. The clandestine operation was first uncovered earlier that even-
ing by a member of the public who while driving round the building and that the smell of 1080 was recognizable, indicating that 1080 is a contaminate carried on the air. 11. DoC used a public space for transfer of dangerous goods. There was no signage on the trucks or in the car park to warn the public that a toxic substance with no known antidote was being handled in the open. 12. A DOC agent assaulted a senior
citizen who drove into an area that was known to him as a public parking area. There was no signage stating that the area was closed to the public. 13. There was no reprimand from the DOC managers when the security guard under their supervision committed an unprovoked assault by beating up Mr Sturgeon and two other senior citizens. 14. After the DoC agent committed Cover story continued page 2...
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