Letters to the editor: Treaty discussion and museum options

A reader asks: Why not take the museum back to the historic village? Photo / File

Special partnership

The view of Bruce Moon (Letters, December 13) that the Treaty of Waitangi does not grant Maori a special relationship with the Crown is not shared by our Parliament.

Bruce claims that when the Treaty refers to "nga tangata katoa o Nu Tirani" this means "all the people of New Zealand", Maori and non-Maori. On the other hand, our Parliament has taken the words to mean more naturally "all the Maori citizens of New Zealand".

This fits better with the words of the English version which apply the Treaty to "the chiefs and tribes of New Zealand and the respective families and individuals thereof". For the past 40 years, our Parliament has accepted that there is a special partnership relationship between the Crown and Maori. They have heard Bruce's argument before but have not found it not credible.
Peter Dey Welcome Bay

City priorities

Museum representative survey: 403 residents. Recommendation decision: eight councillors. 131,000 residents ignored. This decision-making process is arrogant, irresponsible and unacceptable.

Only necessary expenditure should be considered by the council when we require major infrastructural investments for transport and roading improvement, freshwater management, residential intensification, industrial and business expansion, coastal resources, improved liveability and climate change resilience.

These should be our city's priorities. The council's focus should not be about displaying our past in a museum - that can be done immediately and effectively reach more people by creating a first for New Zealand through an outstanding website. The council's job must surely be about ensuring we function well in the present while securing a sustainable future for our city.
DM Wilson Bellevue

Village museum

Regarding the correspondence on the museum and regarding my previous letter (Letters, December 7). I went to 17th Avenue the other day after a long absence. Why are you thinking of a museum when we have a perfectly good one there?

It is an open museum with wide streets, room to expand, lots of little old worldly shops, wedding dresses of the day, a theatre, historic church, community radio, restaurant, cafe etc.

Within walking distance or bus, we have a supermarket, shops for whatever you want. Further on we have a historic church at Gate Pa. This church has important connections to the Maori battle with the British, in which they won, quite strategically. It has huge potential for children to learn about Maori culture. I also was a solo parent, it taught me the value of money of which I passed on to my children. They loved going there and it was free.

As stated before, many people gave articles of interest to the museum. For those who did, may I know where these articles went to, are they together? I would especially like to know where Jack Randell's precious and semi-precious stones went to, they would be worth a fortune.
Patricia Roper Mount Maunganui