Letters: Dumping in the dunes not on

Dumping garden waste in the dunes at Castleliff is a no-no.

THERE'S a geezer in our street who seems to believe the sand dunes were created for him to dispose of his garden rubbish. He chugs into the track at the North end of Seafront Rd in his beach buggy, tray piled high with green stuff.

The first time I saw them I couldn't believe my eyes, such a fine, upstanding citizen breaking the law and acting in such an unethical manner. They returned 20 minutes later, tray empty. Next time, about a week later, I posted it on Facebook, and did they scurry home only 10 minutes later, but tray empty once again. The same thing occurred a week or so later. Back on FB I went, and he returned in a veritable rush once more. I believe a family member is on my FB page.

We all know the rubbish disposal rates are horrendous, which is what happens when corporates take control, no matter their race or creed. These rates are not conducive to encouraging folks to dispose legally and responsibly and, if this guy was on the bones of his backside, I would be sympathetic. However, he owns the beach buggy, a very decent ute that gets updated every couple of years or so, and a more-than-acceptable boat, which he takes out regularly.

I wonder what makes him such a skinflint when he seems to be so comfortably off. Perhaps he should consider that as well.

DENISE LOCKETT
Whanganui

Same rights unavailable

In response to the racist diatribe from Don Brash's article (Chronicle, January 7), I quote the report from the Waitangi Tribunal on the Taranaki claims.

Part of this report, titled "Injurious affection", states that: "It appears that compensation should reflect a combination of factors: Land loss, social and economic destabilisation, affronts to the integrity of the culture and the people over time, and the consequential prejudice to social and economic outcomes".

The great irony is that it is blatantly obvious that Māori have never had those "same political rights" that all other New Zealanders have enjoyed. I only have to drive through my former tribal territory and count the number of Māori or their descendants living on, and gaining sustenance from, their ancestral lands to see the truth. Bugger all!

And very few of us consider or even think about such an option. My dad used to talk about this. He went to the Māori Land Court and was informed that all of his lands had been sold, sound familiar?

The very sad result of all of the above is the aforementioned affronts to the culture. Early 1950s, I am walking down Victoria Ave in Whanganui, doing a bit of Christmas shopping. I am carrying a kete harakeke (flax kit). I see a cousin and wish him a Merry Christmas. His response is to point to my kete and tell me to get rid of it. This is only the tip of the iceberg, people.The deliberate destruction of a great culture by a colonial power, the descendants of whom still wield that pen which is mightier than the sword.

Where do we go from here? See you all in court ...

POTONGA NEILSON
Castlecliff

People are a myth

Ian Brougham (January 11) claims patupaiarehe resided in Aotearoa before Māori displaced them, even though standard archaeology has found no trace of their existence.
Taking this historical argument at face value, here's a question.

If the patupaiarehe had been the occupiers of the Whanganui land in May 1840, could Edward Jerningham Wakefield have purchased his 40,000 acres from them in the same concrete manner as he, in fact, did from Māori iwi? I suspect not. What use would the so-called "faery people" have for muskets and umbrellas?

Even Ian Brougham himself describes his original inhabitants as "beings" rather than flesh-and-blood humanity. This suggests they belong more to myth than to history.

W. SHAW
Marton

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