So-called experts
I was amazed to learn that Rachel Stewart is actually paid to write the garbage she inflicts on us every week. The weather people can't get today's weather right, how are we to believe the so-called experts who tell us we are going to fry very soon?
Neil Harvey
Welcome Bay
Road trial
With regards to the intersection of State Highway 2 with Omokoroa – surely the quick answer would be to put in a temporary roundabout until a permanent solution can be implemented. This would allow the opportunity to see which size and configuration works best and save lives right now.
Rob Rathbone
Welcome Bay
Muzzling unnecessary
The headline in your opinion section in the Times on March 24 reads "Bridges' end-of-life stance disappoints"- in this case, Esther Richards, secretary, "End of Life Choice BOP".
I can remind her that Simon Bridges went to some lengths to gauge the feelings of his constituents with a survey which unfortunately was returned by so few people that the results could not be treated as authentic. It could be argued that his electorate let him down on that one. Subsequently, polls by telephone or social media are purported to have shown 70-plus per cent support for David Seymour's bill, but they don't really have the credibility of the 80 per cent of the written and spoken submissions against the Maryan Street bill on euthanasia – the most recent survey of national opinion on the subject.
Simon Bridges does not deserve to be singled out for stating his opinion – which is what we have all been asked to do re the Seymour bill. I understand there have been more than 26,000 submissions on this occasion, which should produce a meaningful result without efforts to muzzle dissenting opinions.
Don Brebner
Omokoroa
Placating measure
On 21 March we received a letter saying to improve traffic flow on Welcome Bay Rd the council plans to put a bus lane in - only between 166 Welcome Bay Rd and Meadowviews though - and they intend to remove parking spaces from 93-139 Welcome Bay Rd.
No one who lives in Welcome Bay can honestly think this is any kind of solution. It's a tiny part of the road and will not speed anything up. There are many accidents on Welcome Bay Rd and this makes it more dangerous as they plan to remove the median strip and residents will lose parking. Is this not just some kind of placating measure so it looks like Welcome Bay residents have been heard? I'm not sure what the council is hearing but it sure wasn't a request for this!
Michelle Hulbert
Welcome Bay
Easter prayers
I wonder how Trevor Mallard and his Labour cohorts are going to celebrate Easter having deleted Jesus Christ from the Parliamentary prayer? Do they believe that Jesus Christ was executed by his own people – the Jews – per the Roman occupiers, and as he predicted he came back to life two days later? The Jewish leaders didn't recognise his claim to be God's son. Do your other readers believe that happened? There is plenty of evidence, from sources other than the Bible, that this event occurred. We are fortunate in this country that whatever Trevor and anyone else believes, they have the freedom to do so. Not like a Christian lady, Asia Bibi, who has been on death row in Pakistan having been condemned to death under Pakistan's blasphemy laws in 2010. I don't know anything about her alleged blasphemy, but I do know in some Muslim courts the witness evidence of a Muslim takes priority over that of a Christian or any other non-Muslim. Christians are taught not to retaliate, God will do the punishing. A concept that many of us find very difficult. There is a real world out there which most of us choose to ignore, and much of it is not very nice.
Bill Capamagian
Tauranga
