Nothing to hide: Letters, 3 February

The Bay of Plenty Times welcomes letters and comments from readers. Here you can read the letters we have published in your newspaper today.

Nothing to hide for nudists

As a church-going Christian, I cannot see anything wrong with nude bathing.

The human body is not of itself indecent and children are not upset by the sight of it.

Some people behave quite indecently when fully dressed and we are all well aware of the effect of clothing that is skimpy or deliberately revealing, so that there is an emphasis on sexuality. With complete nudity, this emphasis is eliminated and the person is seen as a whole.

One of my colleagues visited a naturist club to collect something and remarked afterwards that he was impressed by the air of openness and innocence. What is noticeable in a nudist club is the natural progression of the body from infancy to old age, and the way people of all ages accept people of all ages.

It seems perfectly natural to want to experience the freedom of feeling the sea around one's body without the encumbrance of a wet bathing suit. Clothes-free recreation has to be experienced to be appreciated; likewise the sense of being accepted as one is by decent, natural, mature people.

Peter Baran, Auckland

Stop the train

I don't understand why it isn't the train that stops and gives way? Seems simple enough.

If the train stopped and waited for the road traffic to stop, it could then proceed at low speed.

The train is the one who is driving too fast.

Simon Wathen, Maungatapu

Council decisions

The council needs to be accountable for some decisions, especially about Baypark. All this was done behind closed doors and there was public outcry at the time, as we all remember.

The council has been gambling with ratepayers' money. Two councillors, namely Stuart Crosby and Murray Guy, at the time were the big decision-makers. It was always going to be a big white elephant. Ratepayers are not going to put up with all this carry-on any longer and we need to ask the Government to change the way councils work.

Joan Dugmore, Te Puke

Parking in CBD

Now is a good time for the council to bring in free three-hour monitored parking to allow the CBD to compete with the areas with free parking, thus giving it a level playing field.

This will entice those who don't want to pay for the privilege of shopping back to see what we have to offer.

With the increase in custom comes the increase need for parking thus making it important to keep the waterfront parking as it is. This will then make the area more attractive to business people looking for premises, therefore increasing the demand for the landlords who are also finding things tough at the moment and maybe give them a chance to recover some of their losses.

The council appears to be anti-business as has been proven by the lack of support for the free cruise ship shuttle and the removal of important parking. It must be noted real estate agents always paint a rosy picture but are normally a long way from reality.

Large successful companies don't just up and leave because of a cycle, the truth is, they cannot survive in a city where there is a shortage of customers, not helped by the council's attitude to them and their clients in the CBD.

Devon Campbell,Tauranga

One law for all

Re "City backs verge-parking officers" (News, January 31). If I, as an innocent ratepayer, had chosen to ignore bollards and yellow lines I would have no doubt been ticketed with no right of appeal.

Please explain why two officers' cars, at my and every other ratepayers' expense, parked on a lawn mowed by another ratepayer, not by the council who can make a law for one and a law for another.

Mayor Crosby please do the decent thing and stand down and take your colleagues with you.

Allen Wright, Otumoetai

Good incentive

The article "Workers cheat drug tests" (News, January 31) is to be applauded.

Highlighting the cause and effects of being under the influence of any drug, including alcohol, can only be good for employer and employee. If it makes the difference between getting a job and missing out then, hopefully, it will motivate the sobriety that our society desperately needs.

Hopefully we will then start addressing the real killer drug and start making non-smokers a priority when employing workers.

If I was an employer, it would be the first question I asked of a potential employee, as the average smoker spends five hours a week or 200 hours a year of the boss' paid time to poison themselves.

A great incentive to give up and an even better reason for keeping our loved ones alive.

T Kapai, Te Puna