Editorial: Community all fired up over a silly stunt

OPINION: What a lot of fuss the burning of a photo has created.

Last November, after a decade in the making, the Foxton Beach sea wall was built. It was a victory for a large portion of the coastal community, and an occasion that was duly marked.

Amid the achievement, Foxton Community Board chairman Basil Vertongen burnt a photo of Christina and George Paton, vocal opponents of the building of the wall.

It was a silly stunt, one that even annoyed strong supporters of the project. Tension and pressure can do funny things to people, but Mr Vertongen pushed the boundaries by burning the photo. Sure, the Patons were diametrically opposed to his way of thinking, but in the end he got what he wanted.

The burning was a bad look, especially for someone of Mr Vertongen's standing in the community.

It's understandable that emotions can boil over, especially after an issue has dragged on for so long.

But, Mr Vertongen's actions, symbolic or otherwise, left a bitter taste in the mouths of many.

He has not apologised since, and a sub-committee has been formed to investigate whether his actions were deemed to have breached his own board's code of conduct.

Horowhenua District Council chief executive David Ward told inquiry members that they had to get a "sure and reasonable outcome for the parties involved".

That could result in Mr Vertongen being forced to apologise to the Patons, even though he steadfastly refused to do so late last year. Aside from that, is an inquiry really needed at all and, above all, what will it prove? At its strongest it will state the obvious and set Mr Vertongen some kind of punishment for his actions.

The man in question is keeping quiet in the meantime, until his day in front of the sub-committee.

Once the inquiry comes to a conclusion, it will be less than six months until the next set of local body elections. It's unclear whether Mr Vertongen will stand for the community board – or council – but the publicity of last November's incident will mean he's more well known within the community than most others, simply as a result of his actions.

ONE MORE THING

I'd like to clarify a bit of confusion around a story that appeared in the Standard this week.

It was about editor Michael Cummings being awarded the 2010 Air New Zealand/British High Commission Print Journalism Fellowship to the United Kingdom.

He will spend about four weeks in the UK later in the year, but will be returning. The position is not a permanent one.

A few people had mentioned to me how sad it was that Michael was going to leave Manawatu.

Well, that certainly came as news to me – and Michael. Rest assured, he's staying put in the job and the region.

- © Fairfax NZ News