Treaty not takeover
Margaret Murray-Benge (Letters, March 29) says Maori were given equal rights with British subjects under the Treaty.
No - Maori were given "the rights and privileges of British subjects". There is no mention of equal rights since the preamble to the Treaty specifically says Queen Victoria was also "anxious to protect their just Rights and Property" of Maori.
True, the word partnership is not specifically mentioned. But that is the interpretation given by the Court of Appeal and I assume as a councillor, she subscribes to the rule of law. And partnership is not mentioned anywhere in the marriage contract but is she suggesting marriage is not a partnership?
She would do well to remember that the Americans, French, Russians and Dutch were also interested in New Zealand. So the Treaty was no takeover by a global power. It was an agreement. That's what makes it so unique.
But since she is so concerned with equality, perhaps she could tell us how she consults with and represents Maori, since the large majority of her council feel that what is currently happening is inadequate.
Geoff Wane
Bellevue
Travel distraction
I am sure most readers enjoy Hubbard's cartoons. Upon reflection I have realised that he mostly deals with national and international politics. Why does he not present material devoted to our locally elected officials?
These people take our rates and stagger from one crisis to the next. Many would be unable to organise a riot in Belfast.
Could the Bay of Plenty Times organise a billboard on Turret Rd where his cartoons could be displayed? After all, they would have a captive audience of all those waiting in their cars. Okay, I admit that my trip into town today took only 45 minutes.
Maurice Mckeown
Welcome Bay
Cyclist danger
It is often said that bike lanes around Tauranga are inadequate and/or unsafe. The truth is they are perfectly adequate and safe, but lazy and inconsiderate motorists make them unsafe.
I refer here to the number of drivers who use the bike lane as a de facto parking space, if only for a short period.
On a recent bike ride along Cameron Rd from Greerton to 5th Ave, I encountered no less than two cars and one delivery vehicle parked in the bike lane.
The natural inclination of any bike rider in such circumstances is to swerve around these obstacles. However, this has the obvious danger of the cyclist then being clobbered by a vehicle from behind. And even a momentary turn of the head to check on following traffic can result in an inadvertent swerve to the right, with the same potentially fatal consequence.
It is only a matter of time before a cyclist is seriously injured or killed as a result of the actions of a thoughtless driver who was too lazy to move a further 50m down the road to find a vacant parking space.
In the meantime, I suggest the police need to do everything they can to deter such lax and dangerous practices.
Bruce Malpas
Tauranga
Mining past and future
In regards to extending the mine further in Waihi - Brilliant plan! From the start Waihi and surrounding have always been mining areas/towns. Hence housing and jobs for the increasing population, correct?
So this will continue to be true – especially as all areas are increasing in growth (but not increased roading to help support it, sorry that's another matter) by the volume of out-of-towners moving here.
And yet people complain about the mining – why? When tradition carries on they don't like it. Why move here then. Once mining, always mining - that's our heritage and our future.
V Wooding
Katikati
Shifting the focus
As a student studying inequalities, I found Tommy Wilson's column (Opinion, April 2) on prison stats in New Zealand right on point.
Tommy's analogy of unwrapping the disturbing issue of the number of Maori incarcerated in our prisons as we would unwrap our Easter eggs was a timely reminder of something very wrong in New Zealand, and not acknowledged enough by those in power.
Tommy compares the actual figures of Maori in prison with the demographically equal figures they should be. The difference is hugely significant between the two, and the sad reality is, my studies have taught me these figures are nothing new, which identifies to me how much there is still to be done to reduce inequality in New Zealand.
Reconnecting young Maori back to whanau, Tommy points out, is a good starting point in reducing these figures.
I absolutely agree with him that our true heroes are found behind the scenes supporting the marae and whanau these young people belong to. Therefore, shifting the focus from front page headlines of crime to supporting these types of true heroes, is absolutely a lesson for Easter as Tommy suggests, and I can only imagine how empowering it would be for New Zealand on so many levels, if we could turn these alarming figures around.
Christine Rose
Pyes Pa
Thanks do-gooders
Not everyone who accesses SH2 at the Wairoa Bridge is jumping the queue as Garrick Rawson suggests (Letters, April 2).
Quite a lot of us are coming from the hundreds of properties up Wairoa Rd and beyond, and most of these residents go under the Wairoa Bridge to Station Rd. Every side road on SH2 up to Katikati would have seen huge numbers of properties added in the past 30-odd years we have lived out here, so obviously a lot more residents want to get into Tauranga.
The councils have allowed subdivisions galore but have not kept pace with traffic volume by improving the road, so here we are today with the resultant chaos. There are huge subdivisions going on at Omokoroa and elsewhere still, so much worse is to come.
Rawson might like to think that the people at Station Rd are solely responsible for the traffic jams nearing Bethlehem but he is wrong and I would like to personally thank all those kind "do-gooders" who allow us out in the morning.
Maybe Rawson should direct his attention at council planners who have allowed this mess to happen. Roundabouts and median barriers will make the road safer but won't speed up the crawl.
Gael Smart
Lower Kaimai
