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Opinion
It is hard to oust incumbents (Tim Shadbolt’s mental decline being an exception) but the three-term mayor of Waipa, Jim Mylchreest, lost by 1900 dog-loving votes after the BFD published my article Council to Ban Dogs from Park in June.
Jim had an opportunity to make amends when the public backlash exploded but he blew it. He left it to his staff to deal with, and their response was to blame elderly dog owners for their lack of computer skills.
The council had a hidden agenda. They wanted to put a building on the park, which meant they needed to get rid of the dogs. In 2020 they commissioned a report to justify their decision, and as usual, the well-paid consultants cherrypicked information for the desired outcome.
Hoping that after two years nobody would notice, they omitted the required consultation with all dog owners from the annual registration, instead burying it on the council website – where two links were needed to find it – and claiming “cultural” excuses. It was a chance find by one person on social media during the one-week-only consultation period.
The dishonesty is staggering and they nearly got away with it.
Half the dog owners in Cambridge are retired and don’t use the internet. The working half are too busy to check the council website every week. Why would you?
The BFD article debunked the cultural excuses; I know the real tikanga of the park. The article was widely circulated and the anger spread.
Council staff responded by offering new consultation via webinars. This was just insulting. Elderly people gathered around shared screens trying to work their way through software they had never used before was not a realistic option. Working people still couldn’t find the time. When a community board leader complained, the council Chief Executive bullied her into shutting up.
I made a complaint about this to the Mayor. But when he dismissed it without the most basic of processes required by the New Zealand Bill of Rights, his fate was sealed. He could have taken charge to fix things and prove himself a leader. He didn’t do it.
It was never about the dogs. It was about the council no longer serving the people.
