Letters to Editor: No respect for young achiever

No respect for young achiever
We were at a corporate function tonight, re Hawke's Bay playing Southland.
There was a speaker called Brad Weber who spoke beautifully for a young man, who made the New Zealand under-20 side and certainly showed humility and humbleness on his achievement.
His grandfather and father both represented Hawke's Bay, which is a great family achievement in itself. Three generations of men who through discipline and dedication got to play at one of the highest echelons of provincial rugby and beyond.
Here is a young man that may one day represent New Zealand as a future All Black, after all he is just a kid at the moment with obviously a huge amount of talent.
To all you people who were under invitation by a particular corporate; that probably have lack of breeding and show no respect for such an up-and-coming young rugby player, you did not deserve to be part of such a great evening.
There were 520 people there last night and 200 of them were dickheads but I must say nothing annoys me more than the lack of manners. It was quite embarrassing considering we had family from Southland with us who could not get over the ill-mannered dickheads that were conversing in possible trivia; when a young successful man was sharing his overseas experiences.
To Brad Weber, my greatest apologies to you for a whole lot of wannabes that, though they may be perceived as valuable to a corporate, will not stand the test of time, when it comes to fiscal policy.
I must commend Wagman from More FM in giving those inconsiderate people a burst. He is obviously a man of great integrity. Like my old man used to say "you can make a dollar but if you lose your integrity you are screwed". (abridged)J
amie Lawson, Hawke's Bay
Overpaid ex-PM
I was astounded to see on the television news last night, July 19, that an ex-New Zealand Prime Minister, Jenny Shipley, who is already receiving a more than adequate salary overseas is, along with others, going to be paid by the Government an extra $1000 a day in regard to restructuring stricken Christchurch.
Yet, after our country's recent mine disaster, we are told there is only one mine inspector to cover many mining establishments because there are not sufficient funds to cover adequate mine inspectors.
What price do the present Governments and previous Governments put on the safety of our New Zealand miners? It would appear the attitude is: " tough bikkies" to the families who go down in these mines should a disaster occur. Twenty-nine miners have recently perished and we cannot afford to put adequate procedures in place to make sure these disasters do not reoccur. The fat cats have had enough cream from the top of the milk. None of our politicians appear to be lacking in nourishment. Let's start looking after those workers who are the ones who really generate our nation's wealth. Let's get real and put money where it really counts. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know where.
E. W. Duffill, Member of Grey Power, Hastings and Districts Assn.
Cycle safety
How exciting are the new cycle lanes all over our town?
It's great to see that since they've been developed there are more and more people biking.
In a society where healthy lifestyles are so important, its great to see our Council and Government taking this forward step to promote alternative forms of transport for our future.
I'd be the first to admit that as a car driver it takes a lot to get used to, but as a cyclist as well, the existence of these cycle lanes encourages me to get on to my bike instead of the car.
I'd much prefer a slight inconvenience when I'm driving to have the safety of a cycle lane when I'm biking.
Murray Orr, Hastings