Far from irrelevant: Letters, 19 November 2011

The Bay of Plenty Times welcomes letters and comments from readers. Here you can read the letters we have published in your newspaper today.

Te reo Maori in a resurgence

I am a 66-year-old European/Pakeha immigrant hailing from a country where division on grounds of ethnicity and language was a fact of life.

Seventeen years ago our family settled in Tauranga. We have always been warmly received by Maori and have a number of special friends who, through their open hearts, have opened our eyes and minds to a different world and in doing so have enriched our lives enormously.

T Kapai in his recent letter wrote that far from being irrelevant, the Maori language has a growing and resurgent relevance. This is true and I fervently hope nothing stops it.

I agree that we should celebrate this, for as the language grows again so too will lost dignity and identity return to those whose mother tongue it once was.

A letter in response, titled "History lesson", was written a day later.

I was saddened by the condescending and demeaning tone towards Maori and the Maori language contained in the response.

There is a saying that "an eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind".

Perhaps a "tongue for a tongue makes the whole world dumb".

Jon Price, Maungatapu

Voting choices

After listening to all politicians for the last couple of weeks, I have come to the following conclusion: If you want to be on a benefit, be a non-achiever and get everything for nothing then vote Labour, Greens, Maori Party or Mana.

But if you want to work and achieve something for yourself and our country, you are then termed by the former mentioned parties to be wealthy, so will be taxed accordingly.

So vote National, Act or New Zealand First.

Keith Brown, Papamoa

First-class care

I recently had a five-day stay in Tauranga Hospital in a surgical ward. I am writing to praise the treatment I received from everyone, from the surgeon down to the tea lady.

The care I received was top-class and the food was good.

I am an 80-year-old retired nurse and know only too well how nursing and hospital care has changed out of sight since my student nurse days.

Tauranga people, you are fortunate to have such a first-class public hospital.

Joyce Keys, Katikati

Empty promises

There is no doubt, as many residents of Tauranga must remember, that during the 1950s,'60s and'70s government funding in this area was almost non-existent.

Being considered a certain safe seat, requests for improvements to our infrastructure fell on deaf ears.

Mind you, our blossoming kiwifruit industry created some interest, but only for how much tax it could produce. And then - surprise, surprise - New Zealand First won the day and nobody can deny that things started to look up, comparatively speaking - the area boomed and is now one of our busiest cities and the largest export port in New Zealand.

However, National had other ideas and brought back the Tauranga electorate, returning us to the good old days.

Tonnes of promises but what have they really done in the past three years, apart from waffling? Apparently nothing of any real significance. The Epsom Tea Party is a prime example of how manipulation of the electorate and the lust for power by any means is totally against the best principles of political management, and is most certainly not a fair go.

Time for a change, people?

G. Dennison, Maungatapu

Life in prison

Before the last election, John Key stated that a person convicted of murder would spend their whole life in prison. No parole.

To my knowledge, no one has received it.

In fact, one person only got 11 years for murdering his wife (cheaper than a divorce) so how can we believe anything politicians say?

God only knows how many murderers have been convicted over the last three years and sentenced by sympathetic judges and not given a whole life sentence.

(Abridged)

D. WarnerPapamoa

Irked by flyer

I am always a little concerned when I find a flyer in my mailbox asking for my support to complain against something when the person behind the flyer doesn't even put their name on it.

The flyer asked me to register a complaint about the noise that reversing buzzers from the Port of Tauranga make, which are supposed to be keeping me and others awake at night.

So, to the person responsible for the flyer, firstly step up and identify yourself so I can complain about you putting unwanted rubbish like this in my mailbox.

I am sure you are one of those people that would buy a house next to an airport and then complain about noise the planes make.

I took your advice and called the number (Port of Tauranga) and told them they could make as much noise as they wanted to.

I also told them not to pander to dropkicks like yourself who obviously have nothing better to do.

I have lived near the port for 12 years and the noise doesn't bother me at all, but people like you do.

If you don't like the productivity noise drifting from the port then move.

(Abridged)

Peter Morris, Mount Maunganui

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