The Bay of Plenty Times welcomes letters and comments from readers. Here you can read the letters we have published in your newspaper today.
Time for national rugby song
We all hope the All Blacks win the Rugby World Cup. Much planning has gone into this, and the excitement is building.
The Auckland transport failure and Party Central squash hangover will have passed by, but have we planned meticulously for the All Blacks when they are fighting in the quarter-final, semifinal and final (assuming they get that far)?
Where is our national song that fans can sing to energise their team when the going gets tough? Do we have one?
The English will have Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, the Welsh Bread of Heaven, the Australians Waltzing Matilda, and New Zealand ... just worried looks on their faces, shouting "Go All Blacks".
Premier English soccer teams can rally their teams with amazing songs - Liverpool's You'll Never Walk Alone.
So Martin Snedden ... where is the song? And please not Loyal. So here is my idea for the first line from the famous NZ group Split Enz: "I see Black ... I see Black ... I see Black."
Now you complete it and send it to Martin Snedden, the master planner for the World Cup. There is still time. (Abridged)
Cliff Osborne, Matua
Futures at risk
Re Labour's proposed NCEA change
Employers, here and elsewhere, need to have before them an educational report that is both standard and recognised when looking to employ a school leaver.
Labour, clearly at the behest their union supporters, are currently proposing to put students' futures at risk by swapping NCEA for teacher/school assessments.
There may be doubts in some circles regarding the make up of NCEA, Baccalaureates etc, but they do offer a standard.
And that surely is what employers and students are entitled to.Geoffrey FowlerPyes PaPriorities wrongD R Jennings (Letters, September 5) has got it partly right.
While Tauranga City Council does not look favourably on projects that 80 per cent of the public require, it will however spend squillions of dollars to satisfy the 20 per ecent that gripe the most by building monuments that are rarely used by our average citizens and cost a fortune to staff and run. The huge loss deficit is then flung back on to ratepayers to pick up the tab by way of increased rates, around 35 per cent in the past three years.
Now TCC has reached the $400 million overdraft limit, councillors suddenly look at ways to slash, hitting infrastructure and true community projects while the white elephants remain untouched.
You just have to wonder when the people of Tauranga will see the light and call a halt to the likes of the Mount Hot Pools redevelopment, Mount Greens, stadiums, museums, art galleries, etc. etc?
R Paterson, Matapihi
Website and Facebook comments
Tauranga has no gathering hub to watch RWC games:
* it seems like the RWC is happening in every town/city in NZ except Tauranga the council have a lot to answer for, not securing games as there is no decent stadium to hold them and then no effort made to create any sort of buzz, so we are left to watch games at home or go to the pub! all from the 5th biggest city in NZ.
* Wasn't there some big screens put up on the waterside down the strand when the tennis was on, last year??? and there wasn't even a New Zealander playing, come on Tauranga get it together and support our boys in Black
* I agree! Where is the community spirit and the support for the country? Utilize that amazing water front and create a RWC hub. TCC have shown they don't care about the needs of the community yet again and that they are unorganized and lack the ability to host events.
* Tauranga council is always too busy fighting over things that don't matter and thinking up ways to make people pay more money into their own pockets
500m shelter belt spoils views in Matua
* I think the cranes at the port are an eyesore, but there is plenty of harbour to look at if you are lucky enough to live that side of town ...
* I bet it was a lot more pleasant for those on the island before the residential area of Matua arose. Matua would have altered the landscape significantly for those looking over from Rangiwaea Island. Stop complaining - nobody owns the view.
Texts
* it wuld b orsum 2 hav a fanzone im tga. At da mo it looks dreary & y wuld tourists wnt 2 visit hea? Thea r no atractns & no atmosphere. Sad tcc peple
* the tga cbd looks about as xciting as woching a cow eat gras. No celebratory atmosfea, or hapy spirits suportng rwc. I wuz in twn las fri nyt - pitiful vibe
* I would say that the Tauranga City Council has done an appaling job in getting into the Rugby World Cup spirit. No fan zone & no enthusiasm whatsoever
* tga sux, no rwc games and we biga then some who got games? Somthing wrong wit this town
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