Letter: Years of pollution, zero action

Dear Editor, The recent headline, “Urgent plea: Protect children from toxic fumes” seems a bit odd to this writer where we have comprehensive environmental protection legislation with the ‘teeth’ to enforce and to bring violators to justice.

The story tells us that those in the neighbourhood have suffered and complained for 3 to 4 years, but nothing has changed.
In the circumstances of apparent gross violation of the law, and having a tough law, why wasn’t the headline along the lines of, “Repeat toxic rubbish burner appears in Court?”

The National Environment Service has been asked, repeatedly since its formation 22 years ago, to give the public a list of the enforcement actions it has filed in our High Court. We are still waiting for that list. The NES website shows a staff of 25. Perhaps that’s just not enough people to take immediate action at BlackRock Potiki Early Childhood Education Centre and actually enforce the law. That could start the list with number one: Blackrock offender taken to Court.(Name and address supplied)