Letters: Readers have their say

Spend wisely

Ratepayers fork out hundreds of dollars to a glass school, adult education, the Sarjeant Gallery and lord knows what else.

What is the gain and why hasn't there been more publicity about how this money is spent - cold hard facts in dollars and cents, not someone saying what a difference it has made.

The town is dying a slow death. How many empty shops now - 40-plus?

If we downsize the number of councillors plus some of the over-staffed council offices, look at the extra dollars we will have.

We are an ageing population, and we are not attracting the younger folk here.

We should be supporting something like the ferry idea that is going to create jobs and bring north and south together.

MARGARET HADDON, Castlecliff

Clown at the top

I am conflicted about this clown, Donald Trump, becoming president of the United States.
In my lifetime I have seen scandal in most of the appointments.

Kennedy was not perfect in terms of his marital vows; Clinton was of a similar ilk; Nixon was basically a crook.

Obama was a nice guy who did not want to rock the boat. He did not address the racial issues as African-Americans expected him to.

What will Trump bring?

The courts are going to hold him to account at every turn - he cites the Constitution but the courts will cite case law and decisions that have qualified the intent of the American Constitution.

The US Supreme Court is split. Eight members - four Democratic appointees, three Republican and one independent.

The one to be appointed will be Republican, and Trump has a problem until this guy gets appointed.

Trump is, on the face of it, not a nice man and a babe in the woods when it comes to politics.

The good people who voted for Trump are likely to be let down. He is a rich man who has never been poor. He has no concept of what it takes to make ends meet.

How can he address the needs of the Americans who voted for him hoping for decent jobs and decent care for their children and old people?

I hope I am proved wrong and the US starts to look after the "Rust Belt" under Trump. He may be another Roosevelt, who knows?

ROB RATTENBURY, Bastia Hill

Get history right

Dame Susan Devoy, Race Relations Commissioner, would achieve a less racist society if she encouraged every person under the age of 40 to research, read and digest Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Littlewood final draft, hand-written by Busby from Hobson's constructed notes.

Those two documents convey the true intent between Maori and European on signing the Treaty on February 6, 1840.

Not many people younger than 40 know our nation's historical document Te Tiriti o Waitangi in its true form because they have been educated to believe that the Treaty incorporates partnerships, protocols, fisheries and forestry etc - and it does not.

Good or bad, fair or unfair, history is history. Dame Susan and tribal agitators are creating a more divided nation than has been seen before.

MAUREEN ANDERSON, Pyes Pa

Fix the ditch

I would like to thank the two gentlemen who came to my aid when I ended up in a ditch while driving along Bushy Park Road.

All I remember is a logging truck coming towards me and my horse truck and I in the ditch while the truck driver continued on his way.

The local farmer called the towing company which was on a callout to the River Road but he came to my rescue first and had me and my truck out of the ditch in a flash.

Please council, fix this ditch. The farmers are busy and do not need to be regularly pulling people out which, at present, they are doing constantly.

JANETTE McGREGOR, Brunswick