In case you didn't see it tonight TV3 had an article on 3 News about poverty outside of Auckland. \
If you haven't seen it then it's available to view online Rural neglect will lead to ghost towns.
Now here's my response to TV3 News which I have posted on their facebook page.
***************************************************************************
Dear TV3 News
What seemed like it could have been a great opportunity to showcase small town New Zealand and how we support and care for each other was completely wasted tonight.
As a resident of Kaiwaka I would just like to refute your assumption that our small town is a ghost town. Your article on the news tonight had many shots of empty shops. To a viewer who is not familiar with our town they could be mistaken in thinking that was here in Kaiwaka. In case your reporter didn't notice when they were here, there are no empty shops in Kaiwaka.
The term ghost town suggests that a community is shrinking and going backwards. Well that is definitely not a way to describe Kaiwaka. We are growing and we are doing well. Yes some of our community are struggling, but isn't that true throughout New Zealand including in the bigger towns and even in the cities.
In fact in Kaiwaka our businesses are growing and changing as our community grows. We are doing everything we can to support and care for those in our community, which is part of what makes Kaiwaka so special. Maria Paikea and her team, who you showcased providing help via the food bank, are only some of the very caring people we have here.
Life is not easy for alot of people. Yes there is unemployment here. Yes there is poverty here. Hasn't that been something your own Campbell Live have been showcasing is happening in Auckland too. But in Auckland do they care for each other as well as we care for our people.
Next time you want to make political grandstanding points perhaps you should take your cameras elsewhere and show some respect for communities like ours who are doing everything we can to care for our people.
Kaiwaka is a community that cares, please respect that about us.
Well done. News teams want to sensationalize the story to capture the audience attention so they leave out the details that don't support their story line. I doubt that TV 3 would publish your comments. Maybe they will come back one day and offer a more balanced view.
ReplyDelete