I hope we can look forward to reading more comments from you on the performance of TCC.
It's easy I guess to complain and lay blame against the combined council for the various issues that annoy us. Surely the individual councillors are conscious that whatever reason they are not performing to the standards that they were elected on.
It appears evidently obvious that Tauranga City Council lacks leadership. The individual councillors need to take a look in the mirror and ask themselves: "Am I providing my city with the service that I was elected for?" And if not, why not?
It's time for you all to stand up, ignore the weak leadership and start operating as a team.
Robert Ricketts Welcome Bay
Landlords being punished
This Government has got it wrong again. You can not make the lives of tenants easier by making the lives of landlords harder.
The only way to fix tenants' - and landlords' - troubles is to fix the housing market. That will take two things: Cutting the red tape which stifles development, and levelling the investment tax playing field. Tough, but not complicated.
Unfortunately, Labour shows no more political will to do this than National did. It seems we will have to wait for the other type of housing crisis - where interest rates rise, house prices collapse, and many homeowners lose their equity.
Let's hope that doesn't come in the next year or two. But maybe then someone will get the policy settings right before another crazy cycle begins.
Or we could all ensure that the next coalition includes some economically smart minor party/ies with enough seats that they can demand this is put right urgently.
