Letters To The Editor

from ISSUE 1,036 - FRIDAY 13TH MAY 2022

Long Time Members Farewell

The informa on and opinions published are not necessarily those of the Malvern News proprietor. The final approval of le(ers for print, rests with the editor. Le(ers to the Editor should be no more than 200 words in length. Le(ers to the Editor won’t be considered for publica on without the writer’s name (given and surname) and area of residence (not address) also being printed. Le(ers wri(en using a pseudonym, are unable to be published.

Min Cookson,

To the Editor: Annual Scout Camp Anzac Weekend I am thrilled to see that this wonderful opportunity still exists for our young people. In 1968, I experienced a similar camp in Hororata as a keen scout of the time, so it is very pleasing to see it’s still available today. Full credit to Michael Oakley and the volunteers who make this weekend happen. For many kids this is a chance of a lifetime and one I have never forgotten. In this day with H&S and the responsibility that goes with an event like this, I take my hat o to the organisers for putting their hand up. We have lost so many of these adventures for our young people through the di culty of modern constraints. Well done, and thank you. Long may this continue.

Mark Mulholland, Darfield.

To the Editor: Recent cost of living increases, we all know, are in no doubt being caused by the ripple e ects of the three key global drivers and not by any New Zealand Government’s financial mismanagement. Those e ects occurring now are caused largely by the Russian-Ukraine conflict, a global Covid pandemic and our planet Earth’s climate change exacerbated by human activities. Can I suggest instead of arguing about whose fault it is, or isn’t, for increased living costs, without seeing these issues as a conduit for obvious political point scoring - that genuine people take action locally. Growing your own fruit and vegetables or helping others to, could help to address increased prices we are all faced with for these essential food commodities. Another plus in doing that is, gardening is found to be very therapeutic in promoting individual well-being and health. Most residents in and around Darfield have plenty of space for productive vegetable gardens with crops such as beans, peas, carrots, pumpkins, corn and potatoes that thrive here. Fruits including apples, grapes, feijoas, berries and many other assorted fruit tree crop varieties produce incredibly well in this environment too. The Canterbury Plains, which was once known as the ‘granary of New Zealand’, used to produce thousands of tons of wheat, oats and barley, mostly for local consumption. That landuse activity has virtually vanished in recent agricultural history, in favour of rapid landuse change with widespread irrigation for dairying. This has been in order to support the new -found huge corporate dairy industries, who export most dairy products o shore. The upshot of that activity is that we now import most of our wheat from overseas. So, could we start to produce our own wheat again and have less dairying? This action might even be fiscally prudent for New Zealand’s long-term economy and correspondingly could also be a better option for the health of the rural environment, especially our rivers.

John Knox, Christchurch. (formerly Darfield).

your expert local residential, lifestyle and rural salesperson. Give Min a call for anything real estate. 027 249 5417

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