Mayor Stuart Crosby is very quiet about the waka pavillion on our waterfront.

Mr Crosby – the people have spoken very clearly – We do not want this marine equivalent of Mr Blobby anywhere near our waterfront!

I cannot get into the mindset of someone who could look out over the sparkling waters of our harbour – and illogically declare: 'Let's remove 100 carparks, and bring in a massive plastic graffiti-magnet to hide that annoying view of the water”.

A colleague of mine now chooses to not patronise the waterfront cafe scene due to lack of parking.

She's the very demographic that downtown retailers need, but with parking spaces under threat, she now goes elsewhere! On seeing Niagara Falls, the composer Gustav Mahler exclaimed: 'Fortissimo - at last!”.

In a less ostentatious way our harbour is our Niagara, rather more of an adagio, but we are also adamant that nothing should stand in the way of the wonderful water view.
So Auckland doesn't have any further use for the waka - I doubt Zimbabwe has any further use for Robert Mugabe, why don't we take him as well?

In the words of the pensioner from the Westpac ad – ‘What part of Do Not Touch do you not understand?'

R Bishop, Pyes Pa.