Today I checked my new council rates for the coming year online. As expected they have gone up, but by a little more than the much-quoted 5.7 per cent.
Our rates went up by a whopping 13.5 per cent! How much did your rates increase I wonder?
I moved to Rotorua from Auckland in 2016 in search of a better lifestyle and have certainly enjoyed living here since then.
Unlike what others proclaim, I really don't see what is so broken in this town that needs fixing so urgently.
This shock increase is nothing short of theft.
The rates will go up further in stages in the years to come and you can be certain that they will never come down again! In my view, the only thing that needs urgent fixing is this spending-happy council.
Maurice van Liempd
Rotorua
Why are we talking about "the cost of Pike River recovery?" It cost 29 men their lives, does it matter what it costs to give them a decent burial? How bloody mercenary can we get?
Jim Adams
Rotorua
Apparently, Rotorua Lakes Council is looking at "outsourcing" our pensioner housing.
Yes, our pensioner housing. We have 152 of them and the waiting list is always full. These units were obtained through our rates and local fundraising. They fulfil a huge need in our social structure.
The deal was that they were as affordable as possible for the residents. The council would rent them to those who qualified for just enough to cover running costs and maintenance.
If the council no longer has the money to maintain them, the question must be asked, "why"?
I have visited these units over the years and they house a wonderful community of people who do not deserve to be sold down the road.
The council should not be able to sell these, our assets, or make other significant decisions regarding our assets, without first going to the people for a mandate. Election time is the right time for this.
[Abridged]
Paddi Hodgkiss
Rotorua
On reading Stephen Hawking's seminal book A Brief History of Time, one finds him claiming his Big Bang idea fits all the observed evidence (page 121).
A couple of sentences further on, however, Hawking admits that his system doesn't explain stars or galaxies.
Now, I'm not a scientist, nor am I particularly well-studied in maths or physics, but I'm sure even trained and educated scientists would agree that a concept of "origins" which fails to explain stars and galaxies, must fail to explain the observed evidence?
GJ Philip
Taupō