The Bay of Plenty Times welcomes letters and comments from readers. Below you can read the letters we have published in your newspaper today.
TODAY'S LETTERS:
Tenants' notice overdue
Re Half of housing applicants to be cut from local list (news, July 2).
People who can now afford to pay market rent should move out of the [state housing] system to allow those of us who can't the chance to have a home that we too are entitled to have.
Be fair - these changes are long overdue, given there is a long waiting list and others have had help to get up and going again.
Caroline Dally, Judea
Peters biased
Winston Peters chose to express his opinion on the forthcoming referendum, giving the voters a chance to comment on a change to our electoral system. Any opinion Peters expresses on this subject will be biased, as a return to FPP (first past the post) would substantially reduce small-party influence on the government of the day.
He refers to those who have supported FPP as "bigots". It does not matter whether his opinions are valid or not. I give little import to an individual's intelligence, but have the highest regard for the collective wisdom of the voters.
A dictionary definition of a bigot is "a person who is obstinately and unreasonably wedded to a party".
What Winston did not say was that in the binding referendum creating MMP only 54 per cent voted in favour of MMP - are the rest bigots? By comparison, the NZ Party could not even reach the threshold of 5 per cent in the last election.
Ewen Lowden, Te Puke
Siren sounds key
I have followed the tsunami siren debacle from a distance for a while.
I believe they are important.
But surely we need different sounds. One to say turn on your radio/TV etc to find out about a warning. The other - Get out now.
If that is done then I can see it as a very useful way of passing on a warning quickly as well as an emergency.
Adam Hughes, Matua
Gallery a yawn
I made the time to visit the downtown Tauranga Art Gallery recently. A most interesting building with a huge amount of space and some paintings around some walls. Certainly couldn't get excited by anything, with maybe three pictures by Callum somebody being the exception.
It was nice to see a bunch of schoolchildren "dabbling" in painting in a special room (in the old days we did that in school).
Good on the arties for extracting a large amount of ratepayers' money from Wally Councillors to pursue their passion.
Do I think its a good "investment" of ratepayer money? Mmmmm ... for me, I think that will have to be an outstanding no.
Roy Edwards, Tauranga
NZTA off track
I would like to thank Cr Bill Grainger for his assistance and full support against the NZTA proposal at the Welcome Bay roundabout.
He, like me, is appalled at the proposal and will be supporting myself and the community when NZTA presents a full report to a council meeting in August.
I hope those that [are] against the proposal join me at the meeting.
Again let us see how well our politicians keep to their promise for the four lanes on 15th Ave and underpass to Welcome Bay.
Phillip Rumbal, Ohauiti
Locals bypassed
Your correspondent, Stacey Hikairo (June 23) makes some very good points on the over-development of Mount Maunganui peninsula.
Just look at the likes of Mount Greens, Blake Park redevelopment, hockey/cricket, Baypark Speedway, Bay Rugby and Tauranga Sports & Exhibition Centre, Baywave (non-Olympic pool) and all the downtown Mount high-rise buildings.
Why is all this rubbish dumped on the Mount, causing traffic and parking issues, plus high-rise developments invariably obtain the council consents with a shortage of carparking for tenants?
Now we have the crazy 30km/h speed limit imposed by TCC, apparently to accommodate pedestrians.
The only pedestrian issue is where people are crossing Marine Pde from the Towers to the Mount Surf Club as they straggle across this huge diagonal crossing like Brown's cows.
Move this crossing back along Marine Pde, in the process getting rid of the other one, as this is the favoured option.
In peak times, the Mount is almost inaccessible to residents.
It is generally accepted 40km/h is a reasonable speed and that is what will be adopted by motorists as fair.
While on the 30km/h limit, TCC had better ensure that the everyday cyclists and more particularly those competing in triathlons and ironman events adhere to this speed limit.
S Paterson, Arataki
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