Letters: Eco-villages and climate change; Kohimarama Conference

Buddy Mikaere at the western boundry of the wetlands which a developer is planning to make into an eco-friendly village with 139 homes. Photo / John Borren

More eco-villages and houses should be built in Tauranga. With climate change happening at a faster rate than predicted, we all need to use every means possible to help make our environment clean and green.

The Government and councils in New Zealand should be encouraging builders to build eco-friendly homes by installing solar energy, solar hot water.

People need to put in native plants and flowering plants, they should grow their own vegetables organically and fruit trees, this would improve their health, all of these would improve pollution levels and help bees.

After the Government's insulation of homes and rentals have been done, the Government should give grants for people to install solar energy in homes and in government buildings where possible council buildings and libraries should all have solar energy and solar hot water installed.

The Government needs to keep the North Island's main trunk line electric trains operating to move freight and tourists to reduce transport generated carbon emissions powered by clean renewable sustainable energy for a healthy environment and people.

Hilary Burrows
Papamoa

Kohimarama Conference

The 1860 Kohimarama Conference of chiefs from across New Zealand, including some from the Waikato, was one of the most significant meetings in our history. The consensus was to send a strong and critical message for peace, with the first resolution being a unanimous pledge of loyalty to the government.

Peter Day (Letters, October 17) is quite mistaken, in my view, when he says the motion critical of the king movement was supported by only half the chiefs present. Almost all supported the motion. Only a few chiefs who were related to the Waikato people remained still, and neither approved nor disapproved of this resolution.

Similarly, only three chiefs expressed some dissent over a condemnation of Wiremu Kingi at Waitara, as recorded in writing: "We agree to these Resolutions with the exception of one, which is not clear, and of which we therefore disapprove."

Condemnation of attacks on settlers was unanimous: "That this Conference deprecates in the strongest manner the murders of unarmed Europeans committed by the Natives now fighting at Taranaki."

A group of Māori, led by Tiera, had demanded the protection of the Government and the right to sell their land. Wiremu Kingi, later joined by the king movement, had raised arms against the law, in rebellion against the Crown, to the dismay of most Māori.

John Robinson
Waikanae