It seems that the carrion crows of conspiracy and calumny have, as expected, descended on City Hall once again in an interesting re-run of the way that the vultures of vested interest brought about the destruction of the ideally located visitor information office building on The Strand in December 1996.
On 1 December 1996 the Tauranga District Council bowed meekly to coachline interests in league with Tourism BOP which forced the amalgamation of the Visitor Information centre with the coachlines in the Bayline bus depot over a kilometre out of the CBD in Dive Crescent by the Harbour bridge.
This resulted in the secretive demolition under cover of darkness of a building which was largely due to voluntary effort. In its next Annual Report Tourism BOP wrote that the building had to go 'to prevent competition”
This time it is the Mount I-Site building which was also the result of much voluntary input which Tourism BOP and Tauranga City Council have conspired to scrap without public consultation.
No wonder that vultures of selfish vested interest are gathering for the final farewell feast on the body of a building which has been an important part of welcoming visitors to Mount Maunganui for thirty years or more.
It would indeed be interesting to know exactly who pushed the idea that a campground office without knowledgeable trained staff is the best and only alternative for visitors who need information that they can rely on.

Samuel Smith, Otumoetai.