Letters: Rotorua needs a homeless shelter now

Tiny Deane should be hired by the council to run a proper homeless shelter, says a reader. Photo/Stephen Parker

What an amazing man! (Our People, Saturday July 7)

Thanks, Jill Nicholas, for bringing us the man behind Rotorua's night shelter.

Where the rest of us felt sorry, Tiny Deane did something about it, providing a warm bed and a hot meal for desperate people in the depths of winter.

I could hardly believe what I read next – that the council has ordered the shelter to stop providing accommodation for sleeping.

Where do they think these desperate people are going to sleep - in a bus shelter or down at Kuirau Park?

Even the poorhouses in Victorian England provided a bed.

The council should stop quoting regulation this and sub-section.

Finance a proper shelter, put Tiny in to run it and employ some staff to help him. That's jobs and accommodation – exactly what Rotorua needs.

Catherine Watson
Australia

Honesty first

If our council doesn't want Reynold McPherson or anyone else questioning their every decision I would suggest they start being honest and up front about what we pay them to do.

How dare they spend like they do.

Mess up like they do and expect the ratepayers to stand by and let it happen week after week.

I agree heads should roll and it should start from the top. Fresh blood and common sense is what we need in council.

I believe a term of four years and you're out should apply instead of some doing stuff-all and raking in a good salary year after year.

And as for our regional council please show me how they have fixed the streams from flooding again - and be honest.

Have you stop banked the streams? Have you dug them out? Have you cleaned them up?Have you straightened them? Have engineers rectified the problem with the back flow from the storm water drain to the river that was brought to your attention years ago?

In my view, you haven't. Do the job you're hired to do or get out.

We're over excuses, insurance companies should sue individuals that are incompetent and don't do their job. (Abridged)

Raelene Brake
Ngongotaha