Letters to the editor: A lot of talking but where's the solutions

Morning traffic in Tauranga. Photo / File

I refer to your article sub-titled "Joint transport initiative to identifying which modes of transport should be prioritised on roads" (News, August 24).

Your print version had the article above an advert saying "blah, blah, blah", which in my opinion is a nice juxtaposition given the amount of talking I believe will be generated by all the organisations mentioned.

There was an enormous amount of work mentioned but no actual detailed proposals, or silver bullets.

In my view, the misguided actual workers, who insist on driving actual single-occupancy vehicles to their actual workplace, at an actual fixed time are being blamed.

Poor devils, in order to pay the mortgage they are forced to sit in cars for up to 25 per cent of their actual woke hours that are not given up for work.

One wonders why they do not choose to make a detour and pick up a workmate.

Oh that's right, they're stuck in traffic.

(Abridged)

Graham Crooks
Tauranga

Arrogance

I thought that the current council would more than likely decide to consider the establishment of a Māori Ward, as reported on August 26, but never did I think that it would actually be, in my view, arrogant enough to introduce it without permitting the residents of Tauranga to have an actual say.

In my opinion, one councillor, Bill Grainger, voted the way he did because he believed 5 per cent of the residents will demand a referendum which would then take the pressure off the council.

Grainger spoke against giving tangata whenua committee representatives voting rights and then voted in favour of the ward.

One councillor, Dawn Kiddie, took what, in my opinion, could only be called the disappointing way out by abstaining.

Another councillor took it as an opportunity to express his view that, other than the mayor, the other 11 councillors should all be elected in ward seats, which I personally believe is a undemocratic way of electing a council.

Under this scenario it means that we would only be permitted to vote for council candidates residing in our ward whereas the best people to represent us may well reside in another ward whom we cannot vote for.

(Abridged)

Mike Baker
Tauranga

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