GUYS. I NEED TO ADDRESS THE MAYOR'S DVD SITUATION
Constable Dave Pearce sits down in front of the ring light to talk about accountability and $47.80 in library fines that quietly disappeared.
Guys. Guys. I never thought I'd have to make this video. deep breath But my community deserves the truth. The Stoke library amnesty last Tuesday wiped the mayor's overdue DVDs, and I have been sitting with that. I have been doing the work.
So here's what we know. The Stoke branch ran a fine amnesty. Everyone's slate got cleared. Including, allegedly, seven DVDs the mayor has had out since the second Obama administration. We're talking Marley & Me. We're talking the special features disc of The Bucket List. I'm not here to name titles — okay, I just did — but transparency matters. My therapist says I'm allowed to have boundaries around other people's late fees.
And look. To my community, to the ratepayers, to the woman with the nose ring who emailed me — I see you, I do — I am so sorry. I should have caught this sooner. As a police correspondent. As a content creator. As a man with a mate at the station named Baz. That's on me. That's a Dave Pearce failure and I own it.
A Nelson City Council spokesperson told The Daily Yarn the amnesty was "applied consistently across all cardholders". That's corporate-speak for we're not doing anything about it, Dave, stop ringing. The mayor said he "wasn't aware" of any outstanding items. Every muppet in local government has been trained to say that since 2011.
long pause I've been journaling. I've been sitting with my privilege as a man with a working library card. This isn't cancel culture. This is consequence culture. And the consequence is $47.80 in ratepayer fines has evaporated while my mate Baz still can't get his speed camera appeal heard.
Anyway. I love you guys. Links below for my new course on accountability.
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Reader Letters
Trevor_
This is a bloody piss-take!
LibraryLou
You don't know the whole story, Trevor.
alicetinapouri
Mate, who even rents DVDs anymore?
Garry (Halswell)
Ah, the good old days when we queued up for new releases at the video store. What a different world it was, full of anticipation and a bit of elbow nudging. You'd hope the person ahead of you hadn't snagged the last copy of Die Hard. It's a bit nostalgic, to be honest. These library fines wouldn't be a thing if we still had screeching modems and VHS tapes!
couchgremlin
Lol, the Mayor's a library outlaw now.
wayward_wayne
This is genuinely what our rates are going towards? Wiping fines from seven-year-old DVD rentals? Our council is beyond rooted if this is what they're prioritising! They need to focus on real issues for once.
ropeable_dave
They prioritise the small stuff while big issues get ignored.
Sandra McKenzie
And the ratepayers suffer again. We need to demand more transparency from our council, not get caught up in trivial nonsense like DVDs.
kiwi_kev
@Sandra no one cares if DVDs are wiped or not, it's about principle. It's about time Auckland got their shit together.