GUNG HO IN THE SUBURBS

Why is it okay to use the eastern suburbs of Christchurch for militaristic police exercises?

Just how many indignities are the eastern suburbs of Christchurch supposed to put up with?

The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery   Authority (CERA) has seen fit to allow the police to conduct 'realistic' armed exercises in the Eastside.  This will include the use of explosives.

Remember - CERA is the same organisation that ran a series of 'pop up' picnics and movie screenings in the Eastside earlier  this year, in an attempt to encourage some 'community spirit'.

CERA  chief Roger Sutton said at the time: "We want it to be sort of informal, a bit of fun in the local park with a picnic, tug-of-war contests and face painting.'

Now the police will be shooting their big  guns sand blowing things up  as from today and right through the weekend .  It's difficult to see 'community spirit' being engendered by this gung-ho madness.  It's hardly going to be 'a bit of fun' either.

Laughingly Tactical Commander Steve Mather says the police will only be using 'light explosives' - as if that makes everything alright.

The exercises  are being held in quake damaged house that have been abandoned and are now owned by CERA.

But there are still people living in the area but they supposed to be happy by Maher's assurance that the noise generated  by the exercises will be 'relatively low level'.  And they've all received notices in their letterboxes so its all just peachy.

As usual the local community was not consulted abut the police exercises and, again, we've heard nothing from the city's over-paid councillors who have apparently forgotten that their job is to represent the interests  and concerns of the people who voted them into office in the first place.

Perhaps if the exercises were going to happen in Roger Sutton or Sideshow Bob's neighbourhood we might see some protest. But its just the Eastside so who cares...