Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Letters to editor: Let's have one rule for all Kiwis

Bay of Plenty Times
21 May, 2018 04:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Last week Finance Minister Grant Robertson found about $700m of extra taxpayers' money, but did he give it back?, asks a reader. Photo / File

Last week Finance Minister Grant Robertson found about $700m of extra taxpayers' money, but did he give it back?, asks a reader. Photo / File

One rule for all
Congratulations people for a clear result on Māori wards in the Western Bay of Plenty District Council. I am very pleased that so many of you and I share the same view.

We as Kiwis have moved on in the world of decision-making and do not want one person to be worth more than another when getting to, or while at the decision-making table.

There is a saying that two wrongs don't make a right and any reference to representation in "The Treaty" would now be wrong.

While I support Māori on many issues, including their land, I believe we all have the same rights when being elected to local and central government.

We are relatively free of discrimination in who can stand for these positions and who can vote other than Māori and Māori seats.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The European and Māori should compete for the same seats, as should any other Kiwi. If you are a Kiwi, then we all have the same privileges and responsibilities.

Those that choose to live here no matter what race or creed should all enjoy our "all are one" way of life.

Allan Sole.
Athenree

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.


Underfunding
After any change of Government, there is always a universal cry of "we are underfunded".

The incoming Government has also joined in this chorus, and they would have us believe that just about everything from the past 10 years has been underfunded.

Let's not forget that the funds available to a government come mainly from the New Zealand taxpayer, and therefore Government expenditure becomes a challenging balance taking into account the needs of all New Zealanders and all sectors.

Give more to one sector, and there is less for another. The chorus of underfunding has not gone away following the latest Budget. This Budget has failed to satisfy those sectors who feel they are underfunded and doesn't seem to have done much to help the overall economy.

Discover more

Letters: Land costs, petrol prices, PM, future leader

23 May 04:22 PM

Perhaps the Government can learn a lesson from this, and at least withdraw from the chorus of 10 years of underfunding. Hopefully the next Budget, whether Labour or National, will once again be a more balanced one for all New Zealanders.

Vaughan Chetwynd
Tauranga

Where's the refund?

A good moral compass dictates that if you find money belonging to someone else, you give it back.

Last week Finance Minister Grant Robertson found some $700 million of extra taxpayers' money, but did he give it back? No, he and his mates are spending it on various pet projects it in the hope that we'll thank them and vote for them again next time.

To paraphrase Kerry Packer, they haven't exactly done such a fantastic job with the other $100 billion of our money, that we should want to give them more.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Stuart Pedersen
Mt Maunganui

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Bay home crowd rallies behind netball's Magic

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

Tearful hunter admits shooting and killing friend

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Serious injuries': Crash closes highway

11 Jul 05:30 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay home crowd rallies behind netball's Magic

Bay home crowd rallies behind netball's Magic

11 Jul 05:00 PM

The Magic play the Pulse in the ANZ Premiership at Baypark Arena on Saturday.

Tearful hunter admits shooting and killing friend

Tearful hunter admits shooting and killing friend

11 Jul 05:00 PM
'Serious injuries': Crash closes highway

'Serious injuries': Crash closes highway

11 Jul 05:30 AM
Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

11 Jul 05:00 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP