Don't fence me in

Further to the previous post (yes, that is a deliberate pun) on the request to the Marlborough District Council for funding to support research into the growth of eucalyptus for fence posts, the attached letter appeared(click on it to enlarge) in the Marlborough Express on the 10th of September and it raised some pertinent questions.

Questions along the lines of;

If the wine industry isn't supporting the effort why should the ratepayers of Marlborough?

If this is the development of a commercial product (it's project spokesman / developer is the owner of at least two timber companies), is the Council right to fund it?

Have the Councillors involved in the grape industry recused themselves from the debate?

All good questions. The MDC declined to comment. Luckily a rate payer thought it was a good idea to comment.