Letters: Excellent service at Rotorua Hospital

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On Monday afternoon February 13 I went into Rotorua Hospital to have a melanoma removed from my arm. The two trainee doctors, Isaac and Chelsea assisted by Olive were on hand. Isaac's anaesthetics were painless and the rest of the procedure passed very comfortably as we chatted, listened and I toe tapped to 50s and 60s music.

At the end of it all, I felt very "cheerful" and wondered if a little extra something goes into anaesthetics these days! Or maybe it was just the excellent rapport I experienced!

S HUNT
Rotorua

In response to Tracey McLeod (Letters February 13), again, it is highly commendable that Tracey was able to dedicate 70% of her waking hours to work in order to save the 10% deposit required to purchase a home. Having worked similar hours in multiple part-time/casual jobs in the past I can appreciate the personal sacrifice one can give in order to get what you're after. But this is besides the point.

I took Tracey's advice and jumped on Trademe to find one of the "20 properties listed for under $150,000". I found eight homes for sale, one listing was a three bedroom house in Owhata, which had holes in the walls, boarded up windows, rubbish strewn on the lawn and an emaciated horse tied up out back.

The other listings were directly targeted to property investors by listing the rate of yield. A property investor with hundreds of thousands of dollars in equity made from tax-free gains will always be able to outbid a first home buyer with a limited cash budget.

I agree with Tracey's comment that the government shouldn't subsidise people's living expenses, the people who do need need subsidised living expenses are property investors who pay less tax by claiming losses on their bad property investments while watching their equity skyrocket. The government makes this possible via negative gearing. As I said in my original letter, if people were encouraged to make good investments via sensible government taxation and policy settings, then maybe I could spend $150,000 on a house fit to live in, instead of competing with Auckland investors for the horse tied up out back.

RYAN GRAY
Rotorua