Feisty grandmother Robyn Bishop drew herself up to her full five foot nothing this week and delivered a short emphatic message to Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby: 'No”.

That's ‘no' to the plastic waka.

A defiant Robyn Bishop sends Mayor Stuart Crosby a clear message.

'Some things are made to go together – jelly and ice cream, toast and honey,” says Robyn of Pyes Pa.

But says Robyn, this arch-opponent of the tupper-waka, some things aren't meant to share the same space.

'Like several storeys of glaring white plastic and a fantastic harbour view.”

And just when the contentious proposal seemed to be slipping off the public agenda, Robyn has fired it up again. And her's is not a lone voice from the suburbs.

'When the waka proposal was floated, there was an outpouring of opposition. There were dozens of complaints to SunLive and The Weekend Sun and other media.”

'So why isn't the Mayor and the waka think-tank listening?” asks Robyn.

'Are they in a bunker somewhere, insulated from the outrage going on around them? Do they feel they have immunity from the wishes of those paying them to represent us?”

But Mayor Stuart Crosby say he's listening. And what he's hearing is a lot of support 'and a lot of heated comment with no knowledge or fact”.

'We are waiting for a full report and then we will engage. People are being premature.”

So the waka is not a 'goer” yet – however there's a vision it could become a cultural, technological and innovation showcase for the city.

But it's 'a vision of major tackiness,” according to Robyn. She wants Tauranga to rise up and scupper the proposal now. And this week on a glorious sunny afternoon stood defiantly in The Strand to send the Mayor and the Waka project team a word of advice.

'Do not touch our waterfront. What part of ‘do not touch' do you not understand?”

But the Mayor remains unflustered. 'We may say no, we may need more information, we may say yes subject to conditions. But it could come down to resource consent .”

Robyn may present as sweet, smiling and demure. But under provocation she can muster some bite. 'I have strong opinions but I don't get too controversial because I don't want my windows broken.”

And this week she stood proudly on her soapbox and wouldn't climb down.