Letters to the editor: Follow Singapore's lead in dealing with drug crime

New Zealand's drug trade is flourishing, a reader says. Photo/Getty Images

Follow Singapore's lead

The fact that Gary Read was being considered for parole (News, July 10) after five years of an already pathetic sentence is, in my opinion, a definitive explanation why the drug trade is flourishing in New Zealand.
This person was convicted of cooking up millions of dollars worth of methamphetamine, an activity that damaged or destroyed hundreds of people and hundreds of families.
The Singaporean authorities have a much more effective way of dealing with it.
Graham Steenson
Whakatane

Cycle lane worries

Why is Tauranga City Council hell-bent on restricting main roads like Cameron Rd at Greerton into cycle lanes? No transport can get through, with refuge islands in concrete with plastic pipes that may stop a push bike hitting you in the middle of the road, instead of widening them with express lanes either way, allowing morning or afternoon to get traffic in and out of town.
Peter Kirkwood
Tauranga

Red herrings

Western Bay District Council's release about its Long Term Plan states average rates for 2018/19 will increase by 3.6 per cent "of which inflation accounts for 2.0 per cent". Average rates will increase by 2.7 per cent over the 10 years "of which inflation accounts for 2.3 per cent".
Inflation, as measured by the consumers price index, is currently 1.1 per cent.
The council spent a large amount of money publicising "four key proposals": walkways and cycleways, Western Bay Museum, arts and culture, and debt management. It increased funding for these proposals by $235,000 next year.
The council budgeted $6.9 million on a boat ramp at Ōmokoroa and $5.1m on another ramp. Were the key proposals just red herrings?
Before he became mayor, Garry Webber wrote: "... with some of the highest rates in New Zealand, we can't just put our hand out to ratepayers for more."That is exactly what he has done.
Webber continued "We need to be more efficient, listen to the community and adopt best practice from others, not reinvent the wheel." That is exactly what he has not done.
Keith Hay
Waihi Beach