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The Editor
Bayof Plenty Times
Private Bag 12002
TODAY'S LETTERS:
Coastline belongs to all who live here
In your article you ask, Coromandel and Bay of Plenty coastline: who owns it? (News, September 20).
Unless you want us to go back prior to 1860 (which many would have us do) the coastline belongs to all New Zealanders ... the Crown.
The Crown is not some mythical obtuse elitist body of people, it is all New Zealanders.
What can be fairer? It is inconceivable in a fair society that one group of tribal people should be allocated full and special rights to what is a large, valuable area of country.
An area that could turn out to be detrimental to the bigger majority of New Zealanders, the majority that pay the taxes and oil and grease the machinery of our supposedly fair and democratic society.
To even suggest that decisions made in that distant part of our history was wrong is hypocritical.
They were made by the people of the day who held the power, took and made decisions that were seen to be correct and in order.
For Maori to make up some huge distortions in history then not make it known how they come by the information is beguiling, especially when we are talking of a time when no written Maori language was present.
ROY SMITH, TAURANGA
Election crucial for city
I write with a real concern regarding the coming City of Tauranga Elections.
For the past three years we have seen a council that struggled to get a consensus on major issues due to factions in the council.
The mayor, in my opinion, has tried to run this city with a divided team, which must have been very difficult for all concerned, but he has done a good job considering the negative factions and issues that he has had to deal with.
As we consider our votes this year it will pay to give real thought to the box that you tick and make sure that the candidate you vote for will represent and work hard for the good of the City of Tauranga and not just to sit on council and personally attack individual members of council, which has occurred over the past three years, as this is destructive and totally unproductive.
This is a very important election, which will determine the growth of Tauranga over the next three years and in my opinion your vote is a very important, as the people that are duly elected must be able to be part of the team, be able to have robust discussion on issues as they arise and conclude with a decision that is made and supported by the team.
(Abridged)
DENNY ENRIGHT, PAPAMOA
Untrue statements
It is sad that Professor Shaun Holt puts so much energy into making slanderous and untrue statements about homeopaths in Christchurch without researching his facts thoroughly (News, September 13).
He accuses homeopaths of making money from treating earthquake victims when in fact the polar opposite is true. Homeopaths have been offering free treatment to victims and the homeopathic medicines they are dispensing have been generously donated by homeopathic pharmacies in Wellington and Tauranga. At the very least, an apology from Prof Holt to the Christchurch homeopaths would be in order.
Prof Holt's discriminatory comments on homeopathy show an ignorance of current positive research on the subject, some of which has been carried out by Nobel prize-winning scientist Professor Luc Montagnier.
CLIVE STUART, TAURIKO
Keep cats in at night
I see that people are complaining that their cats have been shot (News, September 20).
As a long-suffering householder suffering from the depredations of cats I can see where the problems are coming from.
While I would never harm a cat, I must say I get fed up with cleaning up faeces from my lawn and I am particularly annoyed when they dig up my seedlings or ground where I have just planted carrots.
It seems to me that if people would just keep their cats at home rather than releasing them at night to foul their neighbours' properties, the problem would be solved.
They call themselves cat lovers. In my opinion they don't give a toss for them, they just moan if someone takes drastic action to preserve their own environment.
CHARLES PURCELL, MOUNT MAUNGANUI
Track troubles stack up
Re: Speedway season back on track for now (News, September 18).
Great story but let's remember this is the track that has been used from day one and the problem with it, and any new track, is that it needs to be maintained properly by the operator of Speedway, not just thrashed then given a quick soak and grade then point the finger at TCVL and say fix it.
TONY BAGLEY, Baypark
Road-probe madness
Good on you NZTA. Wow.
I am flabbergasted that it takes that much money to figure out how to fix it, specially if there are already "previously identified options".
Let's do the maths. $1.2 million equals about $19,350 per week or $483 per hour (40 hour week) or about three experts fulltime over 62 weeks (there might even be some dollars left over for the coffee and eclairs).
I now understand why road-user charges keep needing to be increased.
Perhaps it's even more amazing that we just don't seem to care. After all it's only taxpayers' money and there's lots of that to go around, right?
I seem to remember a similar "investigation" for the Omokoroa intersection estimated at $400,000, two years ago.
The actual design and construction costs of course are extra.
No surprises that I haven't seen my new intersection yet though - good luck Bayfair, you might be waiting a while.
SCOTT PARKER, PAHOIA
Texts received and published today:
* Mark Williams, if i were u i'd just say nothing and smirk all the way 2 the bank. U'r on a bldy good wicket
* Central parade upgrade. What idiot got paid thousands for a design that puts 3 CCS Parks at the door of super busy P.O. BOX centre. Check his CV!
* $18,461 per week for 15 months to complete "urgent" upgrade design? Is that for 15 full time staff or a couple of part time consultants.
* No reduction of sentence for home invasion these bl..dy bas ... ds should b shown as much as they showed their victims ... None
* Stop blaming police for no brain idiots who think they are beyond the law . Police were NOT driving the getaway car they were trying to protect the majority. JG
* The fact that Tga City Council can't get the Historic Village up and functioning like it used to in the 70's & 80's when i was a child, is absolutely ridiculous. Such a waste of a great facility. Why can't Des Ferrow (an even greater local asset) be allowed to do what needs to be done? At least he'd get things moving in the right direction.
