Letters: National leadership, recycling and TECT

New National Party leader Simon Bridges at Parliament. Photo/ Mark Mitchell

Loyal supporters ambushed

With the benefit of insight gained from week's National Parliamentary Party Leadership vote results, can the voting public get a "handle" of what that Party stands for in 2018?

They strategically (and disastrously) "bombed" in the 2017 Parliamentary elections - by having no reliable, worthwhile associations with secondary parties to gain sufficient MMP numbers to support it's otherwise overwhelming singular electorate favourability.

They appear to have alienated themselves from Maori, by riding with the Maori Party and thereby adopting the "wrong horse" to associate with Maori into the future.

They have post elections lost their steadfast, experienced leader - Bill English. Does that start an avalanche of other senior Parliamentary Members, now that the leadership issue has been settled?

Now by electing Simon Bridges as their new Leader, they have deemed that generational politics is more important setting philosophical consistent policy expected from the moderate "right" of politics. Perhaps the production of an overall New Zealand "Plan" for the next 10 - 20 years for everyone to get to know what it is that they really stand for now, published expeditiously, can be their only hope to save them from more than one term occupying the Opposition's Parliamentary seats.

Their leadership resolution, as made today, has ambushed many of its loyal supporters. They now must be smarter and more allied with it electorate than ever before, or remain in the political wilderness for a long time.

Alan Trotter
Tauranga

Good news for Labour
What a great day for the Labour Party with Simon Bridges being elected as the new National Party leader. Go on Jacinda, put him in his place, as John Campbell did.

Andrew Lattimore
Mt Maunganui

Bigger picture
I was appalled to see that so many people, including MPs, were saying that the selection of Simon Bridges as leader of the National Party means that the Tauranga area will benefit.

He is now representing the country, not a small part of it. I certainly hope that people don't think that Jacinda Ardern is just thinking of Mt. Albert in her decision making.

Joy Rising
Welcome Bay

Clarity needed
Would the TECT Trustees or Noel Pope or Jan Beange or Mary Dillon please inform us as to how by simply transferring the TECT assets to a charitable trust they (the assets) will thereby be protected from the various threats and dangers they (Mr Pope, Ms Beange, Mrs Dillon and the Trustees) have identified.

Michael Batchelor
Tauranga

Recycling
With what appears to be a heavy-handed, non-consultative, decision to abruptly cease kerbside glass collection, Waste Management, in my opinion, appear to be making a mockery of their name. And why do our elected local bodies seem powerless, or unwilling to intervene?
So much for sustainability in practice in the Bay of Plenty.

Paul White
Greerton