Helicopter noise at Franz Josef called 'elder abuse' as spotlight thrown on enforcement

Read the article. Shes been there since 1971, i.e. 47 years. And your claim that no genuine west coaster would complain about constant noise is nuts.

If you read the article you would have seen this....Anje Kremer, 75, has lived in Franz Josef since 1971 â“ long before a helicopter operation moved in next door.

It is not elder abuse. The helicopter companies dont care whether youre 25 or 75. They would fly anyway and youre just as affected by this when youre 25. I find it frustrating when people try to shoehorn other emotive issues in to bolster their argument against something they dont like.

The council wrote a letter to the company in March 2017 and discussed the need for compliance, he said.At this stage we are assuming that the owner has taken on board the concerns expressed in our letter and that compliance is being achieved, he said. Get off your backside and follow it up! Dont make assumptions, do your job!

My family stayed in a Franz j motel , the only thing we did not enjoy was the noise from the helicopters .very annoying all day from so early in the morning till late in afternoon . beautiful place environmentally polluted !

How uncaring of you. I bet youd be complaining if you were living there.

If you contact the Christchurch City Council about aircraft noise they refer you to Civil Aviation. When you contact Civil Aviation they tell you they have nothing to do with nuisance factors. How do you stop these flying clowns?

Elder abuse seems a bit of an odd way to put it.But I find that where I live as well, tourism seems much more important than ensuring that people who live there, and pay rates, can enjoy their lives in peace.As long as the tourists keep coming back, screw the locals.

Are there any kickbacks to the members of the council from the helicopter companies??

Gus Gordons comment sums up the situation. We employ a lot of people (are making a lot of money) so stuff everybody else.

Noise pollution is totally ignored in New Zealand. From this example above, to the revved up cars of boy racers and other idiots, to the noise created by speeding trucks, to excessive jet skis in tourist areas. The govt should look into it. It is obsessed about all other forms of pollution. This is a very real thing.

Heres an idea... how about restrict helicopter flights to the hours of 10am to 2pm and allow tourists to fly their (comparatively very quiet and safe) drones from sunrise to 10am and from 2pm till dusk. This would also eliminate the alleged problem of drones flying too close to helicopters in the area. Time to think outside the box people!

its not elder abuse... sugesting that it is is trivializing actual cases of elder abuse .

Exactly, this is an issue that needs to be dealt with, but by going over the top like this you take away from genuine elder abuse that is going on in our country.

Claiming someone has no empathy because they disagree this is elder abuse, pot meet the kettle. And yes this is taking away from genuine elder abuse.

I came to live on the West Coast in 1990. After being there for about a month or three I was called to a residents meeting at the local pub.At this meeting a vote was held to make the wife and myself âHonorary West Coastersâ. After the shouting of many jugs etc we were accepted and voted âin for lifeâ. We were next told if any one kicks a West Coaster up the backside the whole Coast limps,In other words we all look after each other and thats the way it is,it is here and thats the way we like it!

I lived in Franz for 6 months in the mid 70s. Most if the aerial sightseeing was by fixed wing planes. Two or three flights a day. Helicopters less so and certainly not â˜incessant. I spent many afternoons near or on the glacier access road without hearing anything other than the boulders rolling in the river and the chatter of the keas.

I doubt they fly over peoples house just to annoy them. Its not personal. Its about making money. End of story.

Easy solution - move the helipads away from residential areas. I am sure when I was younger the Franz Josef ones operated from an airstip across the bridage from the town.

Elder abuse comes in many forms. Too many people dismiss the opinions and feelings of people who are older, but we forget they remember a time when New Zealand was a more pleasant place to live. Im a Gen Xer and I already miss old New Zealand. Noise and tourist pollution is a genuine problem and were selling out what made the nation great.