Letters to the editor: Growth has ruined Tauranga

Growth is a bad thing and will lower the standards of living for our city's residents, says a reader. Photo / File

Recent prominent articles in the Bay of Plenty Times have lauded the regional growth as a good thing.

There appears to be no logical understanding that all the problems in our community have been caused by growth and continued encouragement of growth will only lower standards of living and make living in greater Tauranga worse.

The prediction Tauranga will be home to 400,000 people by 2070 (News, July 1) simply means Tauranga in 50 years will be like Auckland today.

Encouraging and facilitating growth has ruined a lovely city and will cause it to become even worse.

We can manage better with some creative thinking and by looking at international solutions.

Maurice O'Reilly
Tauranga

Replace council

If I needed any further confirmation, of my recent call that an independent commissioner should be appointed to replace the current council, it appeared on Wednesday, in the newspaper (News, July 15) under the heading "Panel to sort councillor complaints".

Only relatively recently we elected 11 people to represent us and they do not, in my view, even have the ability to be able to resolve issues amongst themselves let alone resolve the massive issues that this council already faces in a variety of areas.

What will the cost be of appointing three independent people to a code of conduct committee?

And with the suggestion being probably retired judges or QCs I can image the expense, per complaint, to cost long-suffering ratepayers many thousands of dollars.

Every step forward by this council seems to result in two steps backwards and I for one have lost faith with this council in being able to effectively govern this city.

Mike Baker
Tauranga

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