As I promised to do, hereunder I am publishing (as a sequel to
this utter shame) the latest "correspondence" (for what it is
worth, which is NOTHING, as far as that which has come) from Masterton District Council.
In a further article I'll follow up with shortly, I will dissect the exchange in a more granular fashion, to demonstrate to readers how Council management is well-versed in using the "5Ds" against its ratepayers, and Councillors, against their constituents.
The below correspondence is, of course, an email trail - so please read it from the bottom of the page upwards, for correct chronological order of the exchanges.
Despite the Masterton District Council's "CEO" pulling the classic line e.g.
We've already responded and no further correspondence will be entered into, he obviously worked out from my response back to that standard blocking stunt, that I wasn't going to be ignored . . . one way or the other.
So he deflected (one of the 5Ds) to this Infrastructure & Asset Manager, to repeat a similarly cut-and-paste style version of what some minion further down the line had previously tried to get rid of me with.
Again, reading from the bottom of the trail upwards, here's my response - and the reason my response didn't include a salutation, was that, neither had his or hers, or they's, or whatever.
Here we go:
(NOTE: The fact that all the Councillors of Masterton District Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council are cc'd into the correspondence would appear to be a moot point, since I await any indication of concern from any over the conduct and attitude that is demonstrated in technicolour in the below correspondence.)
________________
I am writing to you, Mr / Ms Koneferenisi, to point out the obvious elements of – and overall disingenuousness within – your email, which does not in any way answer any of the core questions that have now been asked multiple times (and continue to be vigorously evaded).
These questions include but are not limited to (I hereby repeat yet again):
- Why did you advise that
you (Masterton District Council) would be letterboxing the correspondence that GWRC provided to you for the purpose (i.e. you had your Customer Service Manager assure me in multiple emails across several months of your supposed plans to do so)? You clearly had no intention at all of conducting the letterboxing exercise yourselves.
- You claim that your staff did not lie to elected representatives / a meeting of Councillors. Yet your staff advised Councillors that a Corin Hayes had made contact with me and was waiting for me to respond. No Corin Hayes had ever made any contact with me and thus was certainly not waiting for me to respond. Thus, you lied in the most direct manner possible to your Councillors. (You also told them “the matter had been dealt with”. You had not dealt with anything.)
- You write:
“You were contacted by Terri Mulligan, MDC Environmental Services Manager, on 15 August regarding the matter you raised.”
Mr Mulligan’s pointlessly insulting, website-cut-and-paste ilk email was sent to me ONLY after I had emailed all councillors of MDC and GWRC about the issue. Mr Mulligan’s brief, nil-value email evaded all my questions. Further, you would have continued to ignore me or gaslight me via your Customer Services Manager, had the Councillors not been alerted to the matter.
- This statement is a disingenuous deflection:
“The presence of other heating appliances on a property does not preclude approval of additional compliant installations.”
As you well know, this was
not my point. My point was that there was a toxic smoke issue related to the same address that you were meant to be investigating and addressing, but instead were ignoring (although were claiming to have been addressing by way of a letterbox drop you did not intend to do) while, in fact, consenting a substantially larger, closer smoke outlet on the same property.
- It should be noted that my attempts to have Council communicate (usefully and honestly) with me on this matter started back at the very beginning of 2025. I even offered, several times, to bring in some of the smoke-spoiled clothing in question, so that you could clearly discern for yourselves that the smoke with which it was all irretrievably permeated appeared distinctly that emanating from the burning of household rubbish and/or other toxic materials. Your staff would not accept my suggestion / offer.
- You write:
“If you experience a
smoke nuisance, please contact Masterton District Council on
06 370 6300 to log a service request. Our Environmental Services Team will investigate. Response times are available on our website. If you have a complaint about
air quality, please contact Greater Wellington Regional Council on
0800 496 734.”
So, Mr / Ms Koneferenisi, let us deal with the fact that
you are disingenuously trying to disconnect the issue of smoke nuisance from air quality, when – in the scenario in question – clearly
both are directly inter-linked. If my clothes and linen etc are impregnated with smoke, and I have to discard them and constantly purchase replacements, this is clearly a “nuisance”. Meanwhile, if the toxic smoke / smell carried by the affected clothes and linen etc then transfers to the inside of my home when the clothes are brought indoors, and then to my skin, and then to my lungs, then this is clearly a health issue.
- On the above note and regarding your attempts to transfer the responsibility for the issue to GWRC, the
Health Act Section 29 states: “Nuisances defined for purposes of this Act: Part (m) – where any chimney . . . of a private dwelling house, sends out smoke in such quantity, or of such nature, or in such manner, as to be offensive or
likely to be injurious to health . . .
”
I await a more useful and honest, and far less evasive and disingenuous, response, please.
Jordan Kelly
_______________
From: Maseina Koneferenisi <maseina.koneferenisi@mstn.govt.nz>
Sent: Monday, 8 September 2025 8:38 am
To:
editor@consumeraffairswriter.com
Cc: 'Daran Ponter' <Daran.Ponter@gw.govt.nz>; Adrienne Staples <adrienne.staples@gw.govt.nz>;
david.bassett@gw.govt.nz;
ros.connelly@gw.govt.nz;
quentin.duthie@gw.govt.nz; Penny Gaylor <penny.gaylor@gw.govt.nz>;
chris.kb@gw.govt.nz;
ken.laban@gw.govt.nz;
david.lee@gw.govt.nz;
thomas.nash@gw.govt.nz;
hikitia.ropata@gw.govt.nz;
yadana.saw@gw.govt.nz;
simon.woolf@gw.govt.nz; Gary Caffell <garyc@mstn.govt.nz>; Rebecca Johnson <bexj@mstn.govt.nz>; Marama Tuuta <maramat@mstn.govt.nz>; Craig Bowyer <craigb@mstn.govt.nz>; Tim Nelson <timn@mstn.govt.nz>; Tom Hullena <tomh@mstn.govt.nz>; Stella Lennox <stellal@mstn.govt.nz>; David Holmes <davidholmes@mstn.govt.nz>; Brent Goodwin <brentgoodwin@mstn.govt.nz>
Subject: Fw: Request for Response from CE, Kym Fell
I am writing in response to your email of 3 September 2025 on behalf of Chief Executive Kym Fell, who is currently on leave.
To address your specific points:
Masterton District Council (MDC) processes building consents for compliant woodburner installations under the Building Act and in accordance with the Ministry for the Environment’s list of approved appliances. Each application is assessed against the Building Code and relevant standards. The presence of other heating appliances on a property does not preclude approval of additional compliant installations.
You were contacted by Terri Mulligan, MDC Environmental Services Manager, on 15 August regarding the matter you raised. On the same date, Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) completed a letter drop to affected residents.
Information provided by council officers to elected members accurately reflected the status of actions taken within each agency’s respective responsibilities. Your statement that MDC staff lied to elected members is incorrect.
For absolute clarity, I reiterate the advice you have already received:
- If you experience a
smoke nuisance, please contact Masterton District Council on
06 370 6300 to log a service request. Our Environmental Services Team will investigate. Response times are available on our website.
- If you have a complaint about
air quality, please contact Greater Wellington Regional Council on
0800 496 734.
To clarify: air quality refers to the overall cleanliness of the air and is monitored by GWRC. A smoke nuisance is a specific, localized issue that may unreasonably affect individuals and is managed by MDC. While smoke nuisance can contribute to poor air quality, the two are not interchangeable.
If you have not already done so, it may be helpful to discuss the matter directly with those you believe are responsible.
Regards
MASEINA KONEFERENISI
Group Manager - Infrastructure & Assets
@MastertonDC
www.mstn.govt.nz
___________________
From: Kym Fell <kym.fell@mstn.govt.nz>
Sent: Tuesday, September 2, 2025 9:43 PM
To: ELT Group <eltgroup@mstn.govt.nz>
Subject: Fw: Request for Response from CE, Kym Fell
FYI
Get
Outlook for iOS
____________________
From: editor@consumeraffairswriter.com <editor@consumeraffairswriter.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 2, 2025 9:29 PM
To: Kym Fell <kym.fell@mstn.govt.nz>
Cc: 'Daran Ponter' <Daran.Ponter@gw.govt.nz>; 'Adrienne Staples' <Adrienne.Staples@gw.govt.nz>;
david.bassett@gw.govt.nz <david.bassett@gw.govt.nz>;
ros.connelly@gw.govt.nz <ros.connelly@gw.govt.nz>;
quentin.duthie@gw.govt.nz <quentin.duthie@gw.govt.nz>;
penny.gaylor@gw.govt.nz <penny.gaylor@gw.govt.nz>;
chris.kb@gw.govt.nz <chris.kb@gw.govt.nz>;
ken.laban@gw.govt.nz <ken.laban@gw.govt.nz>;
david.lee@gw.govt.nz <david.lee@gw.govt.nz>;
thomas.nash@gw.govt.nz <thomas.nash@gw.govt.nz>;
hikitia.ropata@gw.govt.nz <hikitia.ropata@gw.govt.nz>;
yadana.saw@gw.govt.nz <yadana.saw@gw.govt.nz>;
simon.woolf@gw.govt.nz <simon.woolf@gw.govt.nz>; Gary Caffell <garyc@mstn.govt.nz>; Rebecca Johnson <bexj@mstn.govt.nz>; Marama Tuuta <maramat@mstn.govt.nz>; Craig Bowyer <craigb@mstn.govt.nz>; Tim Nelson <timn@mstn.govt.nz>; Tom Hullena <tomh@mstn.govt.nz>; Stella Lennox <stellal@mstn.govt.nz>; David Holmes <davidholmes@mstn.govt.nz>; Brent Goodwin <brentgoodwin@mstn.govt.nz>
Subject: RE: Request for Response from CE, Kym Fell
Mr Fell:
Why have you consented another (even closer and larger) woodburner / chimney when there are outstanding issues related to the existing woodburner / chimney / emissions on the same property?
And why did you advise that you would be letterboxing the correspondence that GWRC provided to you for the purpose (and allow the continuation of email exchanges with me via your Customer Service Manager regarding your supposed plans to do so), when you had no intention at all of conducting the letterboxing exercise?
I also require to know why you consider it acceptable for your managerial staff to lie to your elected representatives e.g. about having made contact with me and awaiting my contacting them in return, when no such contact had been made; and also advising a full meeting of councillors that “the matter had been dealt with”, when nothing at all had been dealt with.
Telling me you “will not be engaging further on this issue” is spinelessly evasive, and is a continuation of the existing degree of contempt and inflammation of the core issue i.e. refusing to be transparent or accountable.
As a ratepayer, I deserve honest and transparent answers, and accountability – starting with who and why the very close proximity second woodburner and chimney were consented while you had advised (dishonestly) that you were addressing the existing emissions issue.
I await your answers, and will publish this correspondence trail on
The Customer & The Constituent in the interim, for all to see.
Jordan Kelly
______________________
From: Kym Fell <kym.fell@mstn.govt.nz>
Sent: Tuesday, 2 September 2025 9:18 pm
To: editor@consumeraffairswriter.com
Cc: 'Daran Ponter' <Daran.Ponter@gw.govt.nz>; 'Adrienne Staples' <Adrienne.Staples@gw.govt.nz>;
david.bassett@gw.govt.nz;
ros.connelly@gw.govt.nz;
quentin.duthie@gw.govt.nz;
penny.gaylor@gw.govt.nz;
chris.kb@gw.govt.nz;
ken.laban@gw.govt.nz;
david.lee@gw.govt.nz;
thomas.nash@gw.govt.nz;
hikitia.ropata@gw.govt.nz;
yadana.saw@gw.govt.nz;
simon.woolf@gw.govt.nz; Gary Caffell <garyc@mstn.govt.nz>; Rebecca Johnson <bexj@mstn.govt.nz>; Marama Tuuta <maramat@mstn.govt.nz>; Craig Bowyer <craigb@mstn.govt.nz>; Tim Nelson <timn@mstn.govt.nz>; Tom Hullena <tomh@mstn.govt.nz>; Stella Lennox <stellal@mstn.govt.nz>; David Holmes <davidholmes@mstn.govt.nz>; Brent Goodwin <brentgoodwin@mstn.govt.nz>
Subject: RE: Request for Response from CE, Kym Fell
Kia ora Jordan,
We acknowledge the concerns you have raised regarding smoke emissions from domestic fireplaces. For clarity, responsibility for regulating air quality, including emissions from woodburners, sits with Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) under the Resource Management Act. Masterton District Council’s role is limited to processing building consents for the installation of approved woodburners in line with national standards.
As previously advised, if you wish to lodge a complaint about smoke emissions, the correct process is to contact GWRC directly on 0800 496 734. They are the agency with statutory authority to investigate and enforce in this area.
We have provided you with all relevant information, and our position on this matter is now clear. Accordingly, Masterton District Council will not be engaging further on this issue.
Ngā mihi nui
KYM FELL
Chief Executive
@MastertonDC
www.mstn.govt.nz
_____________________
From:
editor@consumeraffairswriter.com <editor@consumeraffairswriter.com>
Sent: Tuesday, 2 September 2025 6:01 pm
To: Kym Fell <kym.fell@mstn.govt.nz>
Cc: 'Daran Ponter' <Daran.Ponter@gw.govt.nz>; 'Adrienne Staples' <Adrienne.Staples@gw.govt.nz>;
david.bassett@gw.govt.nz;
ros.connelly@gw.govt.nz;
quentin.duthie@gw.govt.nz;
penny.gaylor@gw.govt.nz;
chris.kb@gw.govt.nz;
ken.laban@gw.govt.nz;
david.lee@gw.govt.nz;
thomas.nash@gw.govt.nz;
hikitia.ropata@gw.govt.nz;
yadana.saw@gw.govt.nz;
simon.woolf@gw.govt.nz; Gary Caffell <garyc@mstn.govt.nz>; Rebecca Johnson <bexj@mstn.govt.nz>; Marama Tuuta <maramat@mstn.govt.nz>; Craig Bowyer <craigb@mstn.govt.nz>; Tim Nelson <timn@mstn.govt.nz>; Tom Hullena <tomh@mstn.govt.nz>; Stella Lennox <stellal@mstn.govt.nz>; David Holmes <davidholmes@mstn.govt.nz>; Brent Goodwin <brentgoodwin@mstn.govt.nz>
Subject: Request for Response from CE, Kym Fells
Mr Fell:
As a ratepayer of the Council district of which you are currently Chief Executive, I would appreciate receiving your
(a) acknowledgement, and
(b) comprehensive, transparent background explanation as to each of the component issues I raise in my article surrounding the dishonest, contemptuous and highly questionable conduct of your Council staff:
https://www.thecustomer.co.nz/dubious-deceitful-masterton-dc-smelling-very-very-dodgy-so-which-councillors-care
Sincerely
Jordan Kelly
Ratepayer
Masterton
