It is no surprise, therefore, that an alcohol company has just released a "Maori King" beer, an insult to the mana of the Maori king, Tuheitia.
Maori suffer a disproportionate amount of alcohol-related harm in this country, so to have a label with a stylised moko and reference to a leader, without a warning about cancer, violence and injury is the ultimate disservice.
It seems that our politicians are unaware of just how influenced they are by the vested interests of the powerful alcohol lobby, who will be very pleased about the mere tinkering this Government has done with a valuable opportunity to make New Zealand a safer place to drink alcohol.
Tony Farrell, Mount Maunganui
Ignore speeders
NZ is fast becoming a police state on normal law-abiding people.
If the police put as much time and effort into getting rid of drugs the place would be far better off.
The speed cameras are only wanted for increasing revenue.
Our freedom is being taken away from us.
I am against the idea.
Next you're going to see CCTV everywhere as well. Why don't they put a camera in every household, too?
Robert Clark, Papamoa
Heartfelt thanks
I'd like to say a heartfelt "thank you" to the Bay of Plenty Times for the tickets to the "Wearable Creations Awards" and night at the Rotorua Millennium Hotel.
My daughter and I had a great night, the evening was awesome, the meal enjoyable and hotel lovely and cosy.
A real treat for us.
It was great to see the talent, ideas and work done by all who had entries in the Wearable Creations Awards, especially the young people.
What a great way to bring out their artistic abilities. May the Awards continue for many years to come. Thank you once again.
Mary Parish, Tauranga
First to complain
Powerco ... Good guys or corporate bullies?
For goodness sake.
Are these people complaining about a scheduled power outage, real Kiwis? When maintenance is required, what on earth is Powerco supposed to do?
These people would be the first and very same people to complain if there were unscheduled outages due to lack of maintenance and failing equipment.
What has happened to good old Kiwi ingenuity and get on with it attitude?
After living in Northland, power cuts are a way of life up there and businesses overcome difficulties by sharing resources. Has that concept been lost on these people?
Spare a thought for those Cantabrians that lost their livelihoods and spent weeks without power, not knowing when it would be restored.
Get a grip.
Powerco is a great organisation that does its bit to service and support our community. I hope this takes the wind out of your sails, complainers.
Carol Andrews, Mount Maunganui Yacht Club
Election changes
On September 13, Council's Strategy & Policy Committee will consider changes to the city's Local Elections Policy. These changes include prohibiting signs on public land, a move supporters say will protect the rights of residents to enjoy uncluttered public space.
But discussion around prohibiting election signs on public land completely misses the point. The committee could better spend its time considering the more important issue of plummeting rates of voter participation, a very real threat to our participatory democracy.
During last year's election, only 44 per cent of eligible voters bothered voting. It begs the question: How long before the legitimacy of our election results are questioned?
Instead of debating the issue of election signs - signs that are displayed for six weeks once every three years - council should get real, actually enforce the existing controls it has at its disposal, and start thinking about ways to encourage more people to vote.
One thing is for sure, the only rates set to increase if election signs are banned from public land are rates of incumbency or more of the same old, same old, getting elected.
Rob Davies, Gate Pa
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