Lack of response
I am concerned because for more than 35 years I have written letters to parliamentarians, on all sides of the house, expressing my views and often supporting decisions that they have made or for that matter expressing an opposite view but I believe that I have always done it in a realistic way and in the past, correspondence has always been answered.
However, since election 2017, I have found that things have changed.
In my experience, this coalition government - the self-proclaimed most honest, open and transparent government of all times - besides not answering my questions generally does not even acknowledge letters, which I personally find disappointing.
Even letters addressed to the prime minister's office are not, in my experience, acknowledged, which I believe is unacceptable.
(Abridged)
Mike Baker
Tauranga
Planning issues
It's apparent when the original plans for the construction of the Bayfair Complex were approved, little, if any, recognition was then given to the needs of pedestrian or cycle traffic along Maunganui Road passing Bayfair.
This is despite it being a major route to and from intermediate and the secondary schools, and downtown Mount Maunganui.
After a major struggle, the soon-to-be closed underpass was built, providing well used and safe East/West access. The subsequent planning approvals for extensions to the Bayfair and SH2 flyover continued to ignore these safety issues leading to the planned closure of this underpass.
Now safety problems with alternative north/south access passed Bayfair, has been further compounded by placing the bus interchange on Farm Street combined with increased
vehicle and service trucks now using this street.
What's happened illustrates how initial theoretical planning errors are continually compounded when future stresses occur.
(Abridged)
Hugh Hughes
Tauranga
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