I wrote the following letter to the editor to explain my views concerning the debate about reopening the Sand Bar on a prominent public reserve adjacent to Mount Main Beach in an 'unholy' alliance with the YMCA which would provide a kidzone and a teenzone adjoining the bar.
Dear Sir
The proposal for the YMCA to team-up with the Sand Bar is born from a lack of clarity concerning the purpose or plan for the Mount over the New Year period. What kind of place do we want it to be? One of the reasons for setting up the Sand Bar was to change the drinking culture; it is time to review this and set our vision for the future.
If the community wants a temporary bar situated on a prime location in a liquor-free zone then plan accordingly. If we want a family-friendly public open space that can be enjoyed by children and young people together with a wide cross-section of the community, then plan accordingly. But these options are mutually exclusive and in my view there is no merit whatsoever in placing recreational facilities for children and young people on either side of a bar. There are 37 licensed premises within walking distance of the beach: do we really need another one?
My preference is for a family-friendly public open space where the YMCA could run holiday activities for the kids. It is after all the best Sand Pit in the country.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Papamoa walkway-cycleway
I wrote this 'letter to the editor' today in response to an article in the BOP Times concerning a planned 14km walkway-cycleway between Bayfair and Papamoa East.
Dear Sir
I applaud the proposed 14km walkway-cycleway from Bayfair to Papamoa East and I commend Papamoa College in their quest for a green star environmental rating. This is an outstanding example of well-planned and cost-effective infrastructure that recognises and supports the aspirations of the local community. The walkway-cycleway is not just a “nice to have”, it is a fundamental community asset that will contribute to better health outcomes; improve community safety; and enhance environmental sustainability.
Dear Sir
I applaud the proposed 14km walkway-cycleway from Bayfair to Papamoa East and I commend Papamoa College in their quest for a green star environmental rating. This is an outstanding example of well-planned and cost-effective infrastructure that recognises and supports the aspirations of the local community. The walkway-cycleway is not just a “nice to have”, it is a fundamental community asset that will contribute to better health outcomes; improve community safety; and enhance environmental sustainability.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Headline: homeless situation turns nasty
On 25 May the Bay of Plenty Times front page headline story was about a shop manager in downtown Tauranga who had experienced a 'terrifying' incident where she was harrassed for more than 20 minutes by a drunk and out-of-control 'vagrant'. The article suggested the person was homeless. The incident prompted me to write the following letter to the Editor:
Dear Sir
Your front page story 25 May highlights two distinct issues: the first concerns the safety of retailers, and the second is the issue of homelessness in Tauranga. On the first issue, retailers are vulnerable to shoplifting/theft, robbery, intimidation and violence. Shops are often staffed by women, frequently young, and in small numbers. In response to these crime and safety risks, Tauranga Police, together with Tauranga Safe City, Department of Labour, ACC, Mainstreet Coordinators and other agencies put together a Retail Crime Prevention Expo over two days in July last year at Bureta Park. The Expo is a programme of talks and displays that addresses all aspects of retail crime – including how to respond to threatening behaviour. Every retailer across the city and western Bay of Plenty was contacted personally by the Police and Mainstreet Coordinators and despite armed robberies in Te Puke and Katikati on the weekend prior, attendance was poor. Nevertheless the group is planning to run another Expo and we urge retailers to take the time to come and learn about how to protect themselves, their staff and their businesses. In the meantime, assistance is a phone call away with the Community Constables who are only too willing to come and provide information and advice.
On the second matter, the perpetrator in this incident was not homeless. He was drunk. The issue of homelessness in Tauranga is being addressed through the actions of a steering group comprised of all the government agencies, Council, and churches that are working with homeless people. Arising from this group, the Tauranga Moana Nightshelter Trust has been formed with Mayor Stuart Crosby as patron. The Trust is drawing on local and international best-practice to establish a Nightshelter in Tauranga that will provide a bed for people living without shelter, and access to support services that can help break the cycle of homelessness.
Dear Sir
Your front page story 25 May highlights two distinct issues: the first concerns the safety of retailers, and the second is the issue of homelessness in Tauranga. On the first issue, retailers are vulnerable to shoplifting/theft, robbery, intimidation and violence. Shops are often staffed by women, frequently young, and in small numbers. In response to these crime and safety risks, Tauranga Police, together with Tauranga Safe City, Department of Labour, ACC, Mainstreet Coordinators and other agencies put together a Retail Crime Prevention Expo over two days in July last year at Bureta Park. The Expo is a programme of talks and displays that addresses all aspects of retail crime – including how to respond to threatening behaviour. Every retailer across the city and western Bay of Plenty was contacted personally by the Police and Mainstreet Coordinators and despite armed robberies in Te Puke and Katikati on the weekend prior, attendance was poor. Nevertheless the group is planning to run another Expo and we urge retailers to take the time to come and learn about how to protect themselves, their staff and their businesses. In the meantime, assistance is a phone call away with the Community Constables who are only too willing to come and provide information and advice.
On the second matter, the perpetrator in this incident was not homeless. He was drunk. The issue of homelessness in Tauranga is being addressed through the actions of a steering group comprised of all the government agencies, Council, and churches that are working with homeless people. Arising from this group, the Tauranga Moana Nightshelter Trust has been formed with Mayor Stuart Crosby as patron. The Trust is drawing on local and international best-practice to establish a Nightshelter in Tauranga that will provide a bed for people living without shelter, and access to support services that can help break the cycle of homelessness.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Busted for selling alcohol to children
The Editor
Bay of Plenty Times
Dear Sir
'Well done' to the Liquor Licensing Authority for closing down the Omanu Omanu Wines & Spirits liquor store, and congratulations to Sgt Nigel McGlone and the other licensing agencies for their tenacity in bringing about this outcome. This store has been a blight in our community and is well-known for selling alcohol to under 18s.
I also want to applaud the positive efforts being made by the majority of liquor stores, including the big liquor chains and supermarkets, through the Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty Off-Licence Alcohol Accord. This initiative is a partnership between the retailers, the monitoring and enforcement agencies, and the community health promotion sector. OLAA as it is known promotes responsible retailing of alcohol, and in particular, supports campaigns aimed at raising awareness about the risks and harm that arise from the sale and supply of alcohol to teens. The members will be pleased with this latest outcome because it contradicts everything they stand for. I want to encourage the retailers to keep lifting their game because that will help expose the dodgy and illegal operators who bring the business into disrepute.
Michael Mills
Tauranga Safe City Coordinator
Bay of Plenty Times
Dear Sir
'Well done' to the Liquor Licensing Authority for closing down the Omanu Omanu Wines & Spirits liquor store, and congratulations to Sgt Nigel McGlone and the other licensing agencies for their tenacity in bringing about this outcome. This store has been a blight in our community and is well-known for selling alcohol to under 18s.
I also want to applaud the positive efforts being made by the majority of liquor stores, including the big liquor chains and supermarkets, through the Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty Off-Licence Alcohol Accord. This initiative is a partnership between the retailers, the monitoring and enforcement agencies, and the community health promotion sector. OLAA as it is known promotes responsible retailing of alcohol, and in particular, supports campaigns aimed at raising awareness about the risks and harm that arise from the sale and supply of alcohol to teens. The members will be pleased with this latest outcome because it contradicts everything they stand for. I want to encourage the retailers to keep lifting their game because that will help expose the dodgy and illegal operators who bring the business into disrepute.
Michael Mills
Tauranga Safe City Coordinator
Monday, April 12, 2010
Tragic end to a blossoming life
1,500 people attended the funeral of Samantha Mouat at Baypark Stadium last week. Sam as she was known, aged 15 yrs, died in a freak accident while racing her ministock car at a track in Kaikohe over Easter. Sam was described as 'a giving generous person', who was 'kind, caring, sweet and beautiful' and who had 'more energy than anyone'.
Sam had a love-affair with her ministock and was the only girl in the engineering class at her school. She was supported in her sport by her family and many friends. At a time when 'boy-racers' are grabbing the headlines for all the wrong reasons, Sam and her family pursued her passion through organised motorsport: which is absolutely the correct thing to do. The tragedy is that despite the safety compliance, and all the resources at the race track, Sam's life was lost.
New Zealand has a long tradition and love of motorsport as evidenced by the crowds that will flock to the V8s in Hamilton this weekend; and to the International Rally of NZ in a few weeks time. I have been to both these events and others, not because I am a true petrolhead, but because there is something stimulating and thrilling about the noise and speed and smell and inherent danger. I have friends approaching retirement who still race their mini at meetings up and down the country, even after major heart surgery!
New Zealand has had the blackest Easter road toll in years (11 fatalities), and for every preventable death on our roads the Police and other authorities lament the lack of common sense and simple safety precautions. The statistics show that young drivers remain at greatest risk of causing or experiencing injury or death, particularly when fueled by alcohol or other substances.
My sincerest sympathy goes to Sam's parents who did the best for their baby girl, but now must feel that it was not enough. My advice to other parents who face the challenges of teenagers and motorsport is not to be put off by this tragedy. It is still preferable that they do so in an organised environment whether that be karting, ministocks, motorcross... whatever, rather than mindlessly and dangerously in uncontrolled situations that frequently create a public nuisance and at other times end in disaster.
Sam had a love-affair with her ministock and was the only girl in the engineering class at her school. She was supported in her sport by her family and many friends. At a time when 'boy-racers' are grabbing the headlines for all the wrong reasons, Sam and her family pursued her passion through organised motorsport: which is absolutely the correct thing to do. The tragedy is that despite the safety compliance, and all the resources at the race track, Sam's life was lost.
New Zealand has a long tradition and love of motorsport as evidenced by the crowds that will flock to the V8s in Hamilton this weekend; and to the International Rally of NZ in a few weeks time. I have been to both these events and others, not because I am a true petrolhead, but because there is something stimulating and thrilling about the noise and speed and smell and inherent danger. I have friends approaching retirement who still race their mini at meetings up and down the country, even after major heart surgery!
New Zealand has had the blackest Easter road toll in years (11 fatalities), and for every preventable death on our roads the Police and other authorities lament the lack of common sense and simple safety precautions. The statistics show that young drivers remain at greatest risk of causing or experiencing injury or death, particularly when fueled by alcohol or other substances.
My sincerest sympathy goes to Sam's parents who did the best for their baby girl, but now must feel that it was not enough. My advice to other parents who face the challenges of teenagers and motorsport is not to be put off by this tragedy. It is still preferable that they do so in an organised environment whether that be karting, ministocks, motorcross... whatever, rather than mindlessly and dangerously in uncontrolled situations that frequently create a public nuisance and at other times end in disaster.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Brief Interventions
The following is the text of an abstract submitted for presentation at the ALAC Conference in May 2010:
A collective of youth/alcohol-related agencies acting under the YATA network in Tauranga pulled together a pilot project with the Police to offer brief interventions to youth (aged under 18) who had come to notice for alcohol and other drug-related offences over the Christmas and New Year period. This replaced the proposed project with the Tauranga Hospital Emergency Department.
The brief interventions were one component in a multi-faceted social marketing campaign “A Summer to Remember” delivered by Tauranga Safe City that focused on parental risks and responsibility when providing alcohol to teens.
With funding from ACC and ALAC, the Police youth referrals received single sessions of assessment and counselling (brief interventions) delivered by a team of DAPAANZ registered counsellors. The team endeavoured to contact youth (and/or their families) within a 72 hour timeframe to offer an immediate response to the circumstances that led to them coming to Police notice, and their substance use.
The project was based on the model successfully implemented by Dr Paul Quigley at the Wellington Hospital Emergency Department; and supported by a growing body of evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of the brief intervention approach.
Since the start of the project 37 youth have been referred with a contact rate of around 95% and an intervention rate of around 75%. This is due to Counsellors adopting a tenacious ‘we will get hold of you’ approach which seems to have been effective.
In most cases Counsellor contacts were openly received by the young people, with many families expressing both surprise and gratitude that there had been a response to their young person’s offending behaviour.
We believe this is the first time the brief interventions methodology has been used in a Police setting and indications are that it has been sufficiently effective to warrant further exploration and on-going evaluation.
A collective of youth/alcohol-related agencies acting under the YATA network in Tauranga pulled together a pilot project with the Police to offer brief interventions to youth (aged under 18) who had come to notice for alcohol and other drug-related offences over the Christmas and New Year period. This replaced the proposed project with the Tauranga Hospital Emergency Department.
The brief interventions were one component in a multi-faceted social marketing campaign “A Summer to Remember” delivered by Tauranga Safe City that focused on parental risks and responsibility when providing alcohol to teens.
With funding from ACC and ALAC, the Police youth referrals received single sessions of assessment and counselling (brief interventions) delivered by a team of DAPAANZ registered counsellors. The team endeavoured to contact youth (and/or their families) within a 72 hour timeframe to offer an immediate response to the circumstances that led to them coming to Police notice, and their substance use.
The project was based on the model successfully implemented by Dr Paul Quigley at the Wellington Hospital Emergency Department; and supported by a growing body of evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of the brief intervention approach.
Since the start of the project 37 youth have been referred with a contact rate of around 95% and an intervention rate of around 75%. This is due to Counsellors adopting a tenacious ‘we will get hold of you’ approach which seems to have been effective.
In most cases Counsellor contacts were openly received by the young people, with many families expressing both surprise and gratitude that there had been a response to their young person’s offending behaviour.
We believe this is the first time the brief interventions methodology has been used in a Police setting and indications are that it has been sufficiently effective to warrant further exploration and on-going evaluation.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Matua alcohol-free event goes wrong
An alcohol-free party organised by a group of enterprising young people last weekend at Matua Park was spoiled when a large number (approx 300) of local youths aged 14-17yrs chose not pay the $5 to enter the event but instead milled-around, many in possession of quantities of alcohol . The young people were dispersed without any issues by the Police. A front page article reported one nasty incident where a local resident got into a confrontation with a group of drunken youths and was beaten up.
The following day, the Matua Residents Assn chairman Richard Kluit explained that permission had been granted to the organisers to use the Park because they were trying to do something positive and provide an activity for local youth. He acknowledged that they should have taken a closer look at the proposal. He described them as "good kids from good families with nothing to do but hang out and drink alcohol". He visited the event at 11.00pm and described the scene: " It was not a pack of hoons - they were kids from our neighbourhood". He stated they were well-dressed and not looking for trouble.
For Richard Kluit, the incident highlights an on-going situation where "week in and week out these kids are gathering somewhere...carrying their booze and gathering for little parties, sometimes in parks. When something is organised, then arrive en-masse". The two issues facing the community was giving the kids something to do on Friday and Saturday nights, and the problems associated with easy access to alcohol. He asks "if the parents are supplying the alcohol, why shouldn't the parents take more responsibility?"
I applaud Richard Kluit's attitude and his assessment of the situation. The "Summer to Remember" campaign that featured in an earlier blog reinforces the risks of adults supplying teens alcohol in unsupervised environments. The campaign challenges parents to have the conversation with their teens about drinking and set limits around their access to alcohol. We are already working on a new campaign with ALAC to further emphasise parental responsibility and offering a 'toolkit' for parents to engage with their teens.
The following day, the Matua Residents Assn chairman Richard Kluit explained that permission had been granted to the organisers to use the Park because they were trying to do something positive and provide an activity for local youth. He acknowledged that they should have taken a closer look at the proposal. He described them as "good kids from good families with nothing to do but hang out and drink alcohol". He visited the event at 11.00pm and described the scene: " It was not a pack of hoons - they were kids from our neighbourhood". He stated they were well-dressed and not looking for trouble.
For Richard Kluit, the incident highlights an on-going situation where "week in and week out these kids are gathering somewhere...carrying their booze and gathering for little parties, sometimes in parks. When something is organised, then arrive en-masse". The two issues facing the community was giving the kids something to do on Friday and Saturday nights, and the problems associated with easy access to alcohol. He asks "if the parents are supplying the alcohol, why shouldn't the parents take more responsibility?"
I applaud Richard Kluit's attitude and his assessment of the situation. The "Summer to Remember" campaign that featured in an earlier blog reinforces the risks of adults supplying teens alcohol in unsupervised environments. The campaign challenges parents to have the conversation with their teens about drinking and set limits around their access to alcohol. We are already working on a new campaign with ALAC to further emphasise parental responsibility and offering a 'toolkit' for parents to engage with their teens.
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