I don't know what the answer is, but we need to ask the questions.
Good on you, Chronicle, keep it coming.
ROSS GREENBANK, Whanganui East
Ratepayers' wish list
The headline in Whanganui Chronicle: "What iwi want." How about another one: "What ratepayers would like."
From councillor Josh Chandulal-Mackay: "We, as a local government, can play a vital part in the healing process." Get real, councillor, this so-called grievance occurred 154 years ago and payback is today's money. Why?
Wasn't $15,000 handed over to a marae in Whanganui lately, and the council building is costing for a do-it-up project.
We must be running on empty now or is it on top of the $133 million we already are in debt? Gifts of thousands to every Tom, Dick and Harry, and nothing to show for it.
I'm sure the ratepayers would like a say in the protection of Virginia Lake and all the other lakes, not just one group of people. If we all work together we might get something done but not just with our hands out.
Ratepayers also have a wish list. We never have a vote on, for example, $34,000 for the glass school; $15,000 for a marae; the council building project. We never have a say in how our money is spent.
How about selling off the council land in Peat St where the bowling club was and now used by another group. Were the ratepayers consulted? No.
With any land there is also the responsibility of upkeep. What has been done to improve the river since the big handout; who will pay for the upkeep of Moutoa Gardens and all the other things on the iwi list?
M HADDON, Castlecliff
Later pension age
The pension age is getting a lot of press at the moment. We can't afford to pay at 65, it's got to get to 70.
It appears to be led by those who work in our cities, in air-conditioned offices. They are not troubled by the weather and have way-above-average wages.
What about those who labour in all sorts of weather to build these cushy workplaces, put food in their supermarkets, keep the city tidy so they are proud and build the roads to their holiday homes.
The real workers who don't have a computer at their fingertips, they are too busy labouring in all weather with dirt under their fingernails.
These people's situation barely surfaces in the conversation about pension age, because the opinions are formulated in air-conditioned offices.
My call is that the real workers get the pension at 65 years and the bureaucratic employees not till 70 years. And if there is still a shortfall, according to them, then those with an income over $100,000 - individuals or couples - don't qualify.
John Key did not see why we could not afford to pay the pension at 65 years. He understood the books, so I'll go with his opinion.
G R SCOWN, Whanganui
Dog poo piles up
Come on people walking dogs on Otamatea reserve - keep an eye on your dogs, be responsible, and pick up their poo.
Some piles are so big that if the dog walker had the dog "under control"- as is supposed to be by law - the act of pooing could not possibly have been missed. Watch your dog.
This is a public area and families come here to play and enjoy the area. They shouldn't have to put up with the irresponsibility of quite a lot of dog owners.
SUZANNE BEARDSLEE, Aramoho
Cohen's moral compass
The article about Michael Cohen, former personal lawyer of US President Donald Trump, being "choked-up" as he claimed he violated his own "moral compass" to "cover up" the president's "dirty deeds", is actually quite funny.
Mr Cohen is a well-known bad actor, bully, and definitely a lawyer with no "moral compass", and it reflects quite badly on President Trump that he engaged such a man as his personal lawyer.
Mr Cohen is under pressure from two investigations frantically trying to find dirt on the president, and it seems he has changed his story to suit their needs in the hopes of alleviating some of the criminal problems he is facing.
K BENFELL, Gonville
