Letters to Editor: Government ineptness exposed

Government ineptness exposed
The Freedom Camping Bill has been a long time coming and Nick Smith, I am sure, has been encouraged by his parliamentary pals to get something on the books that the general public can believe in and get behind.
Given the appalling mess the Government has made to date, it is little wonder that they should try to rack up as many points as they can prior to the election looming large on the horizon.
I am not, however, convinced that this is the way to achieve it.
Councils are empirically bad at catching dog-owners who allow their dogs to defecate in the streets and parks and totally hopeless at bringing to justice those who litter our streets and parks with rubbish and takeaway cartons, etc.
What makes Nick Smith think that they can up their game on this issue?
Similarly, the Prime Minister was in total denial when it comes to our "clean and green" image abroad when he was interviewed recently on the BBC programme, Hardtalk.
He was made to look like an uninformed fool and I am sure that the interview will not get a lot of airtime in this country.
It is all a matter of too little too late and shows the ineptness of this administration.
Ken R. Taylor, Frimley Park
Climate fears
In his letter on climate doom (HBT 11/5/11), Mike Butler talks about the Paleozoic era.
The comparison is invalid.
The crucial point to understand is the speed of the change in carbon dioxide levels that is now taking place. Fluctuations over hundreds of thousands of years give plants and animals time to adapt. Fifty years does not.
Butler goes on to cite the Oregon Petition as evidence of scientists opposing humanly induced climate change.
This petition is an example of how far climate-change deniers are prepared to go. The petition and the documents included with it were all made to look like official papers from the prestigious US National Academy of Science. This duped many scientists into signing, although very few were actually climate researchers.
The academy has disowned the Oregon Petition and issued a news release stating: "The petition was a deliberate attempt to mislead scientists ... in an attempt to undermine support for the Kyoto Protocol".
I remain deeply concerned about our failure to take steps to reduce greenhouse gases.
I, for one, want to hand on to future generations the beauty we enjoy now - mist over Hawke Bay in the early morning, snow blanketing mountains, cool streams and valleys of native bush.
Margaret Gwynn, Napier
Moore, Moore ...
There have been some outstanding photographs by Barbara Moore featured in Hawke's Bay Today depicting local scenes.
They can only enhance the tourism industry. Keep it up, Barbara. They are a joy to behold.
Elizabeth Powdrell, Napier