Letters: Black swans ruining harbour

Black swans are ruining Tauranga Harbour, a reader says.

Swans a concern

I am pleased to see the Bay of Plenty Times has once again aired the black swan
issue.

I am a relatively new resident in Pahoia although I have lived in the
Western Bay of Plenty for 10 years. In February of this year, I counted in excess of 1000 swans, at one single time, floating together off the shore between Pahoia beach and Pahoia point.

I walk on the beach with my grandson. Even though it is winter and the swan count appears to be much lower the swans' large droppings are amazingly copious, on the sand or being washed through the shallows.

It would be interesting to know the E. coli count in the water. Needless
to say we have to avoid areas liberally polluted by the swan droppings.

There is no such issue with the herons or even the ducks and certainly
not with other seabirds - none of which numbers appear anywhere near as
many as the black swans.

Sometime last year the Bay of Plenty Times published a letter or column
discussing the pollution caused by swans (and dog droppings) and giving
E. coli counts

At that time, I had not had the dubious experience of
encountering such pollution but I now appreciate that writer's words.

V. O'Leary
Pahoia

Evidence on swans is clear

The admission by Fish and Game that it does not know much about black swans and the impacts they have had on Tauranga Harbour comes as no surprise.

There are mountains of data already available on every aspect of swan movements, diet and impacts on ecosystems and aquatic life forms. (all of it negative).

So now we have Fish and Game, the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Waikato University and the Department of Conservation all monitoring and researching the obvious. There is no need to reinvent the wheel.

Unfortunately, it is probably too late, seagrass meadows in Tauranga Harbour are now in a perilous state and cannot possibly recover without immediate relief from black swan and Canada goose grazing and destruction.

The loss takes with it a vast number of aquatic life essential to the food chain, the alarming decline in whitebait being one easily identifiable case.

Black swans and Canada geese are easily the most serious direct threat facing Tauranga Harbour and also one of the easiest to remedy. So why not start the process now and then monitor the results.

it won't happen of course but wouldn't it be nice for these authorities to actually do something meaningful with their time and our money?

Kevin Molloy
Omokoroa

Look after Kiwis first

The Bay of Plenty Times (News, June 20) states the increased quotas of refugees coming into New Zealand that the different political parties will put into place under the title Greens want more refugees.

To enlarge on their brilliant proposal to create capacity for larger refugee intake, it will build a new centre paid for with a cut of the money invested in New Zealand by wealthy migrants.

That is not what that money was brought into this country for. Also, it's just not as easy as saying ..."the Greens Party want to adopt a programme which allows community organisations to take on responsibility for resettling refugees for a year after their arrival".
As it is the community organisations are working like Trojans trying to house and feed homeless New Zealanders.

So tell me how on earth this country is going to cope with feeding, homing and educating additional refugees when our own people cannot find homes, jobs or even manage to feed themselves.

We need to look after our own underprivileged people before we throw open the doors to other countries' refugees, who are mostly unskilled, do not speak English, and are of various religious denominations, and will, in my view, be an immediate drain on our already limited resources.

What really gets me is the statement from Bill English of the National Party..."The hard work has to go into ensuring that the churches...can have in place sustained capacity to work with refugees..." Funny how all of a sudden the churches are important in this country where most churches are battling with dwindling numbers.

It makes me wonder about those people in Government and in leading political parties - they certainly do not see what is happening to the real people of New Zealand.
(Abridged)
Isabel Ashmore
Tauranga

Car parking plan will not solve problem

The announcement by Tauranga City Council that it will spend $20 million to build a 550 car parking building in Harington St is a disaster for solving traffic congestion in Tauranga.

Increasing city parking spaces by almost 30 per cent invites workers and shoppers to continue to drive into town thereby enabling our addiction to travel by car.

We use our cars too much, our only solution to congestion is for each of us is to add buses, cycling, car sharing and walking into our transport mix.

Imagine if that $20m is spent on separate cycle lanes to allow commuters to cycle safely into town each day?

This would reduce car congestion and open up new and interesting ways to get around the city.

Councillors say they envisage an internationally competitive city, building car parks does not achieve that.

Sue McArthur
Maungatapu