THE GREAT 1080 DEBATE - TAUPO

Well, what a joke!

The Great 1080 debate, organised by Taupo District Council, for tomorrow night (09/06/09) at The Great Lake Centre in Taupo, has been deferred, and softened, due to the opposition ..... not being prepared! They have had the last 20 years to be prepared, however.
Could it be that they didn't want to face the "Live" questions fired from the other side of the table, by the "credible" scientific, medical and practical experts we had waiting for them???
There is a whisper that the proponents told the Taupo District Council that the ERMA review was held in 2007, so they need not show up.
Below is the press release by the TDC, Following that is the response from Clyde Graf.


MEDIA RELEASE


4 June 2009

POSTPONED 1080 debate GOES straight to council

Tuesday’s 1080 debate has been postponed to a special council meeting sometime next month so all sides of the argument can be heard

The great 1080 debate had been scheduled to happen on Tuesday 9th June at the Great Lake Centre but Taupo District Mayor Rick Cooper says the short notice caused a few problems with availability, “we got feedback from some of the key players that they would be keen to present their views to Council, but the arrangements for 9 June didn’t suit. It is very important that they be able to attend so we decided to postpone it until we can find a time and date that works for everyone.”

“As Council are very keen to consider this issue, we have decided to reconsider the format of the meeting and convene a special Council meeting where the speakers can present their case straight to the Council, this allows questions from Councillors to be put directly to the speakers.”

Mayor Cooper says the Great Lake Centre is still very much an option as it will allow the public to attend in greater numbers if they wish “there is more room at the Great Lake Centre and Council may choose to sit there instead of the chambers.”

He says although this will delay the Council consideration of this a little, it is very important that it be dealt with in an even handed and objective manner “my fellow Councillors and I want to take this extra time to ensure we get the best advice from all sides on this serious issue.”

END


The Great 1080 Debate The Rebuttal 05/06/09

Dear Sir,

As the person responsible for assembling the team opposing the use of 1080 in New Zealand, for The Great 1080 Debate, I by no means direct my comments at the Taupo District Council, or the extensive work it has undertaken to try and arrange this unprecedented, engaging, public hearing.

This letter is in response to the no-show officials that were requested by the Mayor of Taupo to attend The Great Debate to defend their ecocidal practice of dropping enough poison to kill 20 million people per year, every year, into our forests, with little regard for where it terminates, or who or what it affects.

Scientists warn that dropping 1000's of tonnes of 1080 bait (which is also an insecticide) into our forests annually, is endangering some rare insects. In this case, it would seem our "Ecological Protectors" are not only extincting some rare species of invertebrates that they are entrusted to protect, but by refusing to front up to this debate, they share the same anatomy.

The pro 1080 candidates for this debate have suggested that they need more time to arrange their case. It must be remembered that these aerial assault artists have been at this practice for decades - one could be forgiven for thinking that after 30 years of contaminating our country, they would be able to rattle off their justification, verbatim, as is often the case through their media releases.

It is the opposition that should be able to call for extension time, not these heavily funded puppets that are running scared! These bureaucrats should face up to any organised mayoral request, to face the questions that their very existence and advocacy raises.

Taupo District Council contacted me, at short notice - I did not reply with....that can't work for us! At the drop of a hat, our underfunded, patriotic New Zealander's, made themselves available, to defend the nation, with no excuses. We assembled a team that would expose the proponents of aerial 1080 poisoning operations to a multitude of horrors and breaches, let alone ecocide.

It is reported, that in their response, they have proposed the idea that they present their "advocacy observations" (my punctuation) - to the panel - here by dodging the possibility of live retort from those armed with credible scientific expertise, credible medical expertise, credible and extensive ground experience, in a live format - this is nothing less than a reprieve.

After ERMA, the only type of format my team are in support of, is a well structured, well chaired, LIVE debate. Not a hearing where difficult questions projected by our concerned experts can be avoided, as appeared to be the case with the ERMA hearings.

Because the pro 1080 bunch are so bent on getting their facts straight, citing this as the need for more time, lets not stop at a Taupo district - live debate - let's push for national debates, in every town - or better still, an international live debate. After all, we promote our image and products to the world - let's get some uninfluenced scientists, some tourism officials and some of our biggest export partners to all get around the table and have an INTERNATIONAL, LIVE DEBATE ON THE USE OF 1080 IN NEW ZEALAND....because, apparently we have nothing to hide! Yes sir, lets do it!

The word POISON instills unease, fear, contamination, suffering and death. By simply using it we have not only contaminated our environment and wildlife, we have also contaminated our image.

In any case, we chalk this one up as a victory.