Move on: Letters, 16 January

The Bay of Plenty Times welcomes letters and comments from readers. Here you can read the letters we have published in your newspaper today.

Union needs to move on

It is interesting to read the ongoing spat between the Maritime Union and the Port of Auckland and in my opinion the Maritime Union appear to be going down the same track the Mt Maunganui Waterfront Union went in 1989.

In 1989-1990 the Waterfront Industry Commission that employed the watersiders at this time was disbanded by the Government via restructuring to create efficiency in the Port of Tauranga.

The result of this was that all workers had to apply for their jobs again if they did not take up the redundancy option.

Port of Tauranga has moved on to be the most productive port in New Zealand and this has come about by restructuring the port at a volatile time, efficient staff have then produced incredible turn around times for ships using the Port of Tauranga which has now attracted other major shipping lines to use the port.

My advice to the Maritime Union of Auckland is to move on or you are going to be left in the past, move on from the 1980/1990s and yes conditions will be lost through negotiations but is it not better to a have job with some conditions than to have no job and no conditions.

(Abridged)

Denny Enright, Papamoa

Selfish curiosity

The Rena is not some romantic historical ship that was beaten by a storm and sank with all hands, carrying a cargo of gold into Davey Jones' Locker.

Rena is a huge aged floating warehouse that was defeated only by the negligence of her crew. Rena doesn't represent a window into the past, has nothing to teach except how to turn a relatively pristine environment into a tip in a matter of a few minutes.

The sooner every trace of her is removed the sooner the Bay will return to being a clean and beautiful environment. The Rena is not a piece of history that should be remembered.

Divers and fishermen who want to keep bits of the rotting, decomposing and corroding carcase of Rena to further pollute Astrolabe Reef and leach all manner of contaminates into the food web for the foreseeable future don't seem to have any other interests at heart but their own selfish curiosity.

There are beautiful natural reefs in the Bay of Plenty so I would suggest that dive club members protect and dive these.

I sincerely hope that the Government is true to its word and gets rid of this massive mess off the sea bed as soon as practical.

Whatever it costs it's a small price to pay for returning the bay to a natural and beautiful state.

(Abridged)

Graeme Butler, Butler's Swim With Dolphins, Tauranga

Bus travel blues

Buses, buses, buses they blithely cruise along

without a soul upon them neither sad or with a song

The council well they inform you that it's a change of route

2 buses an hour on valley

10 on Tweed - now ain't that cute

I heard it on the radio and they zoom just past my door

informed me loud and clear that more buses were in store

It goes to show - who shouts the loudest gets action, that's a fact

And our opposition not listened to - how slack.

Why two an hour on Valley Rd and 8 to us on Tweed

Surely 5 of each would be fair and meet the traveller's need.

Buses empty time after time why all that money spent

On a survey by some dudes who came and saw and went

Why didn't they ask the drivers who everyday watch the flow

Of people in this city who come and stop and go.

Money would have been saved to spend in other ways

And smaller buses could be used, less wear and tear most days

Wisdom - where is wisdome

Many people have great ideas

But sadly it would seem with the council they fall on death ears.

Jeni Skerrett, Mount Maunganui