Whanganui letters: Aviary must be retained

Whanganui District Council is considering the future of the aviary at Rotokawau Virginia Lake. Photo / Bevan Conley

Virginia Lake aviary (News, March 29): The suggestion that this unique facility is doomed because of an academic’s report seeking “gold standard perfection” is absolutely crazy.

When bureaucratic records become more important than personal, hands-on practical knowledge and dedication, our priorities have become very distorted.

Sure, after 50 years, an upgrade is long overdue. Realistically, council savings by rejecting demolition could contribute towards improvements but the quoted cost of $500,000 is premature, unspecified and pure speculation.

As a well-established attraction, for visitors and locals, young and old, this feature must remain as part of the Virginia Lake experience.

JOHN TARRANT

Brunswick

National’s Education Plan misses complexities

The teaching of reading, language and mathematics is much more complex than nailing it down to one hour a day mandatory lessons for each.

These core subjects are also taught as part of social studies, science, health, art, technology and Māori lessons.

Key skills can be taught in the core subjects and then applied to other curriculum areas, without a mandatory one-hour daily session every day of the week, which is a great overdo and, as one correspondent said, it would be like torture for some pupils.

As the head of NZEI said, New Zealand already has an excellent curriculum. What is needed is more resources and teachers to implement it. National’s plan to rewrite the whole curriculum is totally unnecessary and is just going to add to the burden of principals and teachers.

Testing twice a year on standardised tests, based on a one-year prescription, will just tell many pupils they have failed, further telling them why bother going to school. Better evaluation defines where a pupil was at to where they have progressed to.

National’s plan takes us back many years. In today’s world, we need young people with a view that embodies and appreciates the arts, cultures and physical wellbeing, as well as a fundamental grasp of the basic core subjects, which can be further extended in the trade or profession they pursue.

KEN CARVELL

Whanganui

Revaluation messages confused

I have read recently an explanation (News, March 3) from the council’s chief financial officer Mike Fermor that some people think the council collects more rates when property values go up but that is not the case.

In the next breath, he says revaluations help the council to work out everyone’s share of the rates. He then goes on to say that a large portion of rates are determined by a property’s value and revaluations can change your “piece of the pie”. What is this mythical pie?

Mayor Andrew Tripe chips in and states some people won’t be particularly affected by the QV revaluation but for others it will exacerbate an already stressful situation, obviously meaning an increase in rates due to revaluations.

As ratepayers we understand the need for the council to calculate the cost of providing services and facilities and that there are inevitable increases but come clean on your financial resourcing. Does the council think ratepayers are mushrooms?

KEVIN SMITH

Springvale