Kiwi ingenuity - Letters, 1 December

The Bay of Plenty Times welcomes letters and comments from readers. Here you can read the letters we have published in your newspaper today.

Bullies look likely to fail as parents

A mother has appeared before the court in Auckland accused of assaulting a teenaged bully who had reportedly been making the life of the woman's daughter a misery.

Parents whose children have come home from school in tears after being subjected to verbal and physical abuse from teenaged thugs will have nothing but sympathy for this woman, who had been stretched to breaking point.

Whilst it is only conjecture to visualise what school bullies will eventually grow up to become, I venture to suggest that they are hardly likely to be role models as parents.

ROLY HAMMOND, Matua

No cars, no people

Re: Waterfront plans

Here we go again, once again the council has totally lost touch with the reality of situations.

So let me make it quite unequivocally clear to them.

No parking means no cars and no cars means no people.

People will not walk miles because some bureaucrat thinks it's good for them, unless there is some huge benefit and there is no major benefit here.

I cannot believe that only three councillors can see that a pig with lipstick is still just a pig.

CHUDLEIGH HAGGETT, Tauranga

It's not the truck

Ever since I have been in New Zealand I keep hearing about Kiwi ingenuity.

Well I have found it.

It's called Route K, you can't get on it and you can't get off it.

Now the talk is it's not making money, so whack the fare up.

Reminds me of the man on the side of the road selling watermelons.

He was buying them for $1 and selling them for $1 and not making any money, so bought a bigger truck.

J WALLACE, Te Puna

Lights bad moveI read with great surprise that the council is considering putting traffic lights at the Chadwick Rd/Cameron Rd corner at Greerton. What on Earth for?

I live at lower Pyes Pa and travel through that roundabout every few days. There is so little delay, today I counted my wait there as 21 seconds, which is hardly cause to stick traffic-clogging lights there to "aid" us.

A camel is a horse designed by a committee - we do not need the council committee to design a traffic-light system where none is needed. Take the money off our rates instead.

The roundabout is fine as it is.

ROBIN BISHOP, Pyes Pa

Boozing ignored

National and Labour have failed to rectify the supply and abuse of alcohol in New Zealand. They have avoided the most serious problem facing this country, in allowing young people to access booze anywhere at any time.

This should have been a major election issue as we are seeing so many lives lost and the cost billions to pick up the pieces.

R HARVEY, Tauranga