JACKIE EVANS
Rotorua
Taking stock
Hey Jim [Adams], great letter (Rotorua Daily Post February 14), you are absolutely right but you forgot to mention our feeble Animal Welfare Act.
Fields and fields of dairy cows all day under the hot summer sun and we have no rules which insist farmers provide their stock with shade and shelter.
Rules around rodeos require urgent attention in my view so that some events like the calf roping are stopped and guess what, we are still docking dogs' tails because someone in the Kennel Club 100 years ago decided some breeds shouldn't have tails, even though they were born with tails, and tails give us a huge insight into our dogs' state of mind.
New Zealanders need to grow a back bone and stop accepting things that are just not right!
M & J MARTESS
Rotorua
Holiday rentals
What is Reynold Macpherson talking about? (Rotorua Daily Post "Council eye on rise in holiday rentals", February 15).
I helped manage a collection of holiday homes in the Coromandel and let me tell you, you are more likely to have drama and damage from long-term renters than short term, so I am not sure his "fears" are founded in any sort of reality.
I think in the two years I worked for the company we had maybe one case of negligent care from holiday renters.
Home owners have the right to choose how they use their property - whether it be for holiday rental or long term. If you want them to convert to long term you need to change a few rules around tenant versus home owner rights.
I have met far too many people who have had their homes damaged significantly by the negligent few who ruin it for the rest of the excellent long-term renters.
KYLIE BRONLUND
Rotorua
Not the Rotorua way
The Rotorua Lakes Council's review of Vision 2030 - The Rotorua Way - issued an invitation: "We want to know what you think - have we accurately captured what is special about the Rotorua district."
It is explained that: "Elected members and key stakeholders have come up with what they consider that makes Rotorua special and have identified key strengths and opportunities which relate to those."
There are three main problems with this approach to community strategic planning, in my view.
First, the invitation is limited to endorsement. "The Rotorua Way" has been predefined to the point where citizens are only allowed to ratify what has already been decided. That's not democracy.
Second, the Rotorua District Residents and Ratepayers, whose endorsed candidates attracted more than 42,000 votes at the recent election, are still not regarded as key stakeholders. The "key stakeholders" consulted were in my view a biased sample chosen by the current political elite.
Third, the council's self-justifying fixation on "positivity" led to only half of SWOT analysis being used. It is more normal for an organisation to critically evaluate its internal Strengths and Weaknesses, and its external Opportunities and Threats. Council is apparently blind and deaf to its internal weaknesses and external threats.
This "quick and dirty" policy endorsement process is disconnected from the reality of people's lives and council's performance.
It is crucial, in my view, that councillors and officials please take a less authoritarian, more inclusive and far more strategic and systematic evaluation of how the council could better serve our people.
REYNOLD MACPHERSON
Rotorua
