It is with profound sadness and embarrassment, I read about the behaviour of some people at the Tauranga Ratepayers' Alliance group meeting - and what in my opinion was their rude, bigoted reaction to a few words of te reo.
Two brave people stood up to call out what, in my view, was blatant racist action of objecting to a culturally appropriate introduction to a speech.
The actions of those who objected to te reo being spoken, in my view, speak loudly of older European attitudes and are no way representative of most ratepayers - I hope.
Shame on all of you who reacted so negatively.
Hilary Zapata
Tauranga
Ratepayers members haven't been seeing clearly
It seems to me some attendees at the recent Tauranga Ratepayers' Alliance meeting cannot realise that it is they who have held the power and the city to ransom for decades with their ''don't you dare raise my rates'' stance.
Their reaction to a bit of te reo reveals they also cannot realise they've held the same kind of power over Māori for nearly two centuries.
Bill Murphy
Whakamārama
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