Letters to the editor: Answers sought over tree felling

A reader is concerned about the removal of a tree in Mount Maunganui. Photo / File

Tree felled

Can somebody from the council tell me why the beautiful tree opposite Cutter's Cove, on Marine Parade, has been felled? Please let it not be just for the views. The stump looks very, very healthy. Answers, please.
Andrew Lattimore
Mount Maunganui

No vote no surprise

It came as no surprise Tauranga City Council (again) voted down supporting a museum. So much mischievous propaganda was only one of a number of reasons for this latest failure to bring respectability to New Zealand's fifth largest and fastest-growing city. There's a solid block of elderly newcomers to Tauranga who don't give a monkey's about showcasing our history, or don't think we have a history that's of value. And that's not to blame the elderly, many of whom understand that art galleries, libraries, museums and performing arts centres make up a part of a mature city's culture. Our Kiwi fascination with sport, in particular, rugby, has been satisfied with many facilities supported by council funds, but culture is once again the poor relation. I recall in the recent past, howls of outrage that our fine art gallery wasn't financially self-supporting while sports are subsidised, as they should, by council funding. The byelection signs that misleadingly told people that a museum would cost $55 million from the public purse were a disgrace. But objectively, the timing which would have been okay two years ago, is no longer, with massive financial pressure squeezing our rates base. Financial planning for such a fast-growing city is not for the faint-hearted.
Murray Maunder
Otumoetai

Representing Māori voters

In my view, Don Brash (Letters, May 26) seems to be hugely ignorant about Māori representation in government. Don says people of Māori ancestry already get elected to government, so Māori do not need race-based election systems. But he is wrongly referring to parliamentary, not local, elections where Māori do not get elected. Also, Don does not seem to understand that somebody who has Māori ancestry but has nothing to do with Māori activities does not represent Māori voters at all. Local Māori who support activities such as marae, culture groups, sports clubs, the Māori university and schools make up about 10 per cent of the population. The Treaty of Waitangi entitles them to be represented in local government. Eighty per cent of voters in the recent poll opposed a Māori ward, but they do not have to worry about good race relations. Politicians do. They cannot be racist, and they get no secret ballot. So they now have the challenge of changing the law to provide for better Māori representation in local government. There will be people who will object, but it is politicians who have to deal with the international embarrassment of racially unfair law.
Peter Dey
Welcome Bay

Pro-life not Neanderthal

I want to register my disgust at the Hubbard cartoon (Opinion, May 31) which portrayed pro-life supporters as Neanderthal cavemen opposing the enlightened majority who, in my opinion, readily want to abort unwanted children and cover their actions with legal immunity. In fact, Mr Hubbard, you have your characterisations exactly the wrong way around. In my view, it is the duty of an enlightened civilisation to protect those defenceless members of the community who cannot speak for, or defend, themselves. You choose to malign religious and conservative people who oppose abortion but I would think that the designation concerned citizen covers all the bases.
Christopher J Archer
Maungatapu