Buddy Mikaere sparked debate after suggesting "entitled mothers'' with prams were ruining Mount walks. Photo / File
An off-the-cuff suggestion that prams should be banned from the Mauao base track has sparked an online backlash, with some people referring to the notion as a "bad joke".
Buddy Mikaere, well-known in Tauranga as a cultural advocate and environmentalist, sparked the debate following a post on the "You know
your from the Mount when ... "(sic) Facebook page by saying the walk was being ruined by "entitled mothers ... forcing people off the track and expecting everyone else to make way for them and their equally entitled precious cargo".
Following a story in the Bay of Plenty Times yesterday, Mr Mikaere said he was dumbfounded but encouraged by the amount of online feedback since.
"I think it should have its run. Everybody just needs to be a bit more considerate about everyone else, and if that's the outcome then I'm happy with that," he said. Mr Mikaere said he was given some good suggestions such as signs in Australia's Gold Coast stating at the beginning of some walks "road rules apply".
"That basically means keep to the left. I thought that's fairly sensible, maybe the council could do something with that."
