Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 8, Number 6, 1 June 1991 — No vision and foresight [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

No vision and foresight

by Moanikeala Akaka Trustee, Hawai'i

You may have seen the Honolulu Star-Bulle - tin headline on April 30, "Tourism May Suffer 'til 95." This headline story goes on to quote Joseph Toy, a forecaster for the Honolulu office of Pamel Kerr Foster, a national accounting

firm, stating that with so many luxury resorts being built, high-priced hotels will be hardest hit." With the cost to build new hotels running as high as $700,000 a room, some developers may have a hard time getting enough ineome to cover their expenses, according to these experts. As for the luxury resort hotels, in 1980 Hawai'i had 10 of them, totalling 4,000 rooms, and they averaged 76 percent full. In 1990, there were 19 hotels in the class totaling more than 10,000 luxury rooms, and occupancy slipped to 72 percent. However, by 1995, 15 new hotels will have opened, raising the luxury rooms, and a fall in occupancy is inevitable. This is insane, showing no vision and laek of foresight on the part of developers and the tourist industry as well as the government officials and appointed land use and planning commissioners who rubber stamp and allow this exploitation of our precious 'aina and aloha spirit. Yet on the Kona coast, we await a land use commission vote on zoning for up to three luxury hotels in addition to condos, houses and a400-slip boat marina for the proposed Hawaiian Riviera resort, whieh will destroy Miloli'i, the last rural Hawaiian fishing village in the whole world. And, Japanese development firm Nansay still plans for another marina and resort development up the Kona coast above Kailua at Kohanaiki (also known as Pine Trees), right next door to our sacred grounds at Kaloko whieh is said to be Kamehameha's resting plaee and now a national park. These Japanese developers have been subsidizing a Hawaiian group that wants to do the planning for that Kaloko area.

These are only two of the pending resort marina developments. There is also the still proposed Mauna Lani Marina further up the coast and others that will destroy the coastal waters with pollutants at a time when ciguatera cases are proliferating throughout Hawaiian coastal waters. The poisoning of our sea is greatly impacted, if not caused by marina dredging and coast resort development. Last September, the Hawaii Visitors Bureau took a public position on the need to protect our environment. After all, who better than the visitor industry would benefit from preservation of our "mueh touted" paradise? But that stance seems to be shibai, for since then the Visitors Bureau has not appeared publicly nor at any hearing since to protect specific areas, although they have set up an environmental committee. However, the Hawaii Visitors Bureau did not hesitate to go before the Legislature this past session for a $6 million welfare eheek to "sell" our islands to the tourists. Our legislators gave them the bucks while many mueh needed community human services programs went wanting and were slashed with horrendous cutbacks. The tourist industry overbuilt and exploited our precious resources. Let them keep it up and the quality tourist will go elsewhere. In the past, I've mentioned to you Prince Philip's warning when he eame to Hawai'i several years ago "to protect the goose that laid the golden egg," by preserving 'aina that is unique and special. Well, that phrase has now been given a "new twist" and meaning by attorney Wallaee Fujiyama,

front man for many Japanese developers (according to Honolulu Advertiser articles.) In a speech entitled, "Killing the Golden Goose, Isle Told," given to the Pacific Rim Foundation and Japanese-American Society reported on April 25 in the Honolulu Advertiser he said, "Our policies and bias are driving Japanese away." Fujiyama chastised us locals and stated that "Japanese investors have not been treated as well as they could be, and Hawai'i has to develop more activities for Japanese visitors." He spoke on the TV news about "upgrading the Honolulu Aquarium," not for us who live here, mind you, but for the sake of the Japanese tourist. He called for more diverse entertainment for the Japanese and "not the same hula girl." Thanks, Wally; maybe you feel our Hawaiian culture and dance deserved that slur. You know we are still the host culture of these islands, even though we've been overrun by your Japanese investor friends these past few years. And this is not Japan-bashing! These are eeonomie facts and were these facts different, my remarks would be the same toward any foreign investors (exploiters), be they Arab, haole or Martian!

Fujiyama goes on to say that the democratic right to initiative is hurting chances of Japanese investment here. How dare that "loeal boy" want our lands to become overexploited, like his developer friends have already done to their homeland when CNN, in early May, stated that $100,000 American homes (not in Hawai'i) cost from $800,000 to over $1 milliōn dollars in Japan and they have no yard, with the next house only a few feet away. These Japanese can't buy a house or golf in their own homeland, but they use our Hawai'i as their private (own) playground while we

Hawaiians can't afford a home or to play golf here nowadays! Although Japanese investment here was $2.8 billion last year, Miehael Sklarz, head of Locations, ine., research department stated, "The changing eeonomie conditions in Japan include higher interest rates, less bank lending on overseas real estate purchases, and small eeonomie growth will keep down the amount of Japanese investment here this year." I do, however, have some good news. It seems the bills to get help for the Kalapana Hawaiian lava refugees have been successful this past legislature. They will get the 150 acres of ceded lands. The Department of Land and Natural Resources should pass those lands over to Office of Hawaiian Affairs for these Hawaiians. Two bills for low interest home loans for all past residents of Kalapana totaling $2.7 million will be available as well as funds from FEMA - Federal Emergency Fund. It's aood to see that the intensive lobbyinq

we did in the legislature paid off. Mahalo forcalling our elected officials in support of these Hawaiians. Beware of the endless demand for golf courses usurping traditional farmer's water rights. CNN recently warned of the negative impacts of golf courses, specifically referring to golf courses in Hawai'i, where coastal water pollution as well as pesticides and chemicals seeping into our ground water table occurs. There is an uproar going on in Japan about the polluting effects of golf courses, so these Japanese developers instead eome here to develop their golf courses. And certain parties in "paradise" are numb enough to fall over themselves to accommodate them! Shame! Remember, you no ean eat golfballs! Malama pono! Ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina i ka pono.

. WT» (This eolumn is open to all OHA Trustees as a vehicle for thcm to express their I C|T ^>^> mana'o. Opinions expressed are those of the individual Trustees and do not necessarily represent the official position of the OHA Board of Trustees.)