YOUR VIEW Letters to the Editor

Only positive contributions will make partnership
To all those people who aspired to be civic leaders at these elections I extend my personal thanks for your efforts and willingness to contribute to the development of the city and congratulate all who were successful. My thanks also go to the outgoing councillors for their contributions.
I firmly believe that the quality of any organisation - family, business, community or city - depends upon the quality of its citizens and their involvement and willingness to contribute and participate positively.
If those in leadership roles, through evaluating past experiences and activities and considering future challenges, explore new ways to better tap this latent strength, the resulting growth in enthusiasm, achievements and sense of participation and ownership will unlock hidden strengths associated with ownership and belonging.
The partnership of leaders and people has unlimited potential if those in power foster its development.
The new city council has the unique opportunity of establishing such objectives as they decide their governance requirements, prior to selecting their new chief executive officer to implement and manage it.
HUGH HUGHES Mount Maunganui
Become a friend
I struggle to follow Roger Bailey's reasoning (Gallery woes, Your View, Ocotber 2). Getting to see great art for a voluntary gold coin donation is excellent value for money, at least from the visitor's point of view. Are his concerns really about value for money for those who don't visit the gallery? Surely the solution is in their own hands.
Come on, Roger: encourage people to go and look. It's as easy as a walk in the park and, per-capita for ratepayers, way cheaper than maintenance costs for sports fields, reserves, and public gardens. The more people go, the better.
And - just for the record - supporters of the arts are generous. Friends of the Gallery provided over $15,000 during the last 18 months. The Artbus gets hundreds of children to the gallery every year; exhibitions such as Karl Maughan's garden paintings and Elizabeth Thomson's sculptures, on show over the Garden Art Fest; even a fridge to help the gallery's (money-making) functions - were all donated by the Friends. They all bring people to the gallery. If an entry fee were imposed, they would not come as often - or, maybe, at all.
Becoming a Friend of the Gallery is the best way to get over feeling shy (and, even, 'tight') about enjoying a public art gallery. We'd love to see Roger at our functions - he may see a side of life that makes for wonder, not woe.
BETH BOWDEN Chair, Friends of the Gallery

Crime not soaring
Your headline Bay crime rate soars (News, October 5) is inaccurate and unnecessarily alarmist. Inspector Mike Clement is correct in explaining the recent crime statistics reflect increased police operations against drug offenders. The 34.4 per cent increase is not an increase in drug offending - it is an increase in Police detection and prosecution of drug offences which would previously have gone undetected.
Similarly, the increase in family violence statistics is indicative of Police putting extra resourcing into family violence, something we have not targeted in the past.
The previous police administration in the Bay of Plenty failed to deal with the methamphetamine-organised crime issue.
Your editorial (Our View, October 4) shows you also are not aware that methamphetamine and organised crime have been a significant problem in the Western Bay of Plenty for more than a decade. We currently have a Police Commander who recognises these problems and has been confronting them, albeit with limited resources. More Police numbers are needed in the Western Bay of Plenty to continue the progress being made against organised crime.
MEL RIDLEY Director, New Zealand Police Association Waikato/Bay of Plenty Region
Hope for fiscal restraint
I would like to publicly congratulate my opponents Cr David Stewart and Cr Wayne Moultrie for their victory in the Mount-Papamoa ward this time. I would also like to acknowledge the many volunteers who helped me during my campaign and give a big thank you to the 5000 people who voted for me in this close race.
On behalf of them I encourage all our councillors and mayor to exercise the same financial restraint at council that our residents and ratepayers themselves are doing in these tough economic times. I look forward to challenging hard again on the issues in 2013.
STEVE MORRIS Papamoa Beach
Crying for years
Hayden Hohepa Wilson was Dante, Kaydo, Maia and Tia's dad.
We will miss him to bits. He was nearly 2m tall (6ft6). That is big. The last time I saw him alive was a Wednesday morning. He was strong as, he could even lift me up and I am a little bit heavy.
He was the man at doing anything and everything. He did hard work on Monday, Tuesday Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and even Saturday.
He used to be angry sometimes after work because it was pretty hard repairing green houses and shelter belts. He worked really hard for his family. When we go to spiritual church our dad talks to a lady then she replies back to us.
His motor bike costed $10,000, it was a 955cc sports bike. He used to take us eeling most of the nights with a mean as spear he made. He was always taking me and my cousins cool as places that were really fun.
Our mum misses our dad and says we might be crying for years but we know he is always with us.
At the tangi my dad got the haka only chiefs get on their tangis. Heaps of my dads mates at the tangi were part of the Headhunters, Greasy Doggs and Filthy Few.
Me and my little brother Kaydo got to ride on our dad's mate's Harley Davidson and we rode up to the urupa. Our dad has survived lots of accidents, especially motorbike ones. We got some cool T-shirts that said "live hard, ride hard forever". My dad used to tell me "when time's up, it's up" but I never thought it would be him.
DANTE WIRIHANA Te Puna