Yeah, right: Letters, 30 September

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

Good news as museum edges closer to reality

John Cousin's report (News, September 16) on the Tauranga Moana Museum's Trust meeting with the TCC gave the Tauranga community some good news.

Although a museum for Tauranga is some years away progress is being made and the museum trust is to be congratulated for confirming the Cliff Road site as the location for the museum. At last a firm and hopefully immovable decision.

Good news, too, came from the chairwoman of the museum trust, Vanessa Hamm, who said that both the trust and tangata whenua recognised that they would work together on the museum.

The council's support for the location and agreement to spend $100,000 securing the necessary resource consents for the site is encouraging and will be the means of moving the project forward.

The next major move for the trust could be to marshall support to assist with fund-raising and seek volunteer support which will be needed for the museum project. Further, a design competition could be set up in order to procure an iconic design which would complement the magnificent site and would no doubt be a pre-requisite for resource consent.

Congratulations, Tauranga Moana Museum Trust.

Basil Kings, Ohauiti

Law not wrong

I was quite astonished at Bob Clarkson's comments that when you have a law that big percentage of the population breaks, there is something wrong with the law.

Does this mean that if they get in power we can all drive through stop signs?

Go above all the speed limits? Drink alcohol in no-alcohol zones? Not pay our rates? Drink and drive? Not pay our taxes? Import cannabis into the country?

And if enough of us do this then Bob and his cronies will change the law so we are not breaking it.

Yeah, right.

I always thought that the new Act party consisting of old cronies would die a natural death but it now looks like it will be sooner than later.

Ross Darrall, Papamoa Beach

Hidden cameras

I really wonder what all the fuss is about from opposition politicians and legal academics about the proposal to validate police use of hidden cameras to prove, or otherwise, suspicions of terrorist training and other criminal activities.

How else can we expect the police to obtain evidence in privately-owned forests in the Ureweras? Or in many other circumstances?

What is the real difference between the police filming suspected criminal activities and the use of hidden speed cameras, even to the extent of prosecuting someone who warns other motorists to be law abiding?

Security cameras are everywhere and there are many examples of them assisting in identifying offenders.

Shame on the Labour Party and others for holding up the legislation to validate what may be a breach of the law by the police.

If aspects of the proposed law need tweaking, surely a few hours in the Beehive committee room can fix that.

Indeed, if Labour won the election it could tweak it to their hearts' content at some future time.

It is sad that so many New Zealanders don't know that there is a real world out there.

Bill Capamagian, Tauranga

Lack of vision

Re: Big screen. Council has missed the boat. If they were going to do something about a big screen they should have a long time before now. RWC is more than halfway through. What happened to the big screen party for opening night? How many years have they had to get their act together? Stop this nonsense spending now and let it be a lesson in better planning for any future world event NZ might be lucky enough to host.

Karen Hicks,  Athenree

When writing to us, please note the following:

• 
  Letters should not exceed 200 words
• 
  No noms-de-plume
• 
  Please include your address and phone number (for our records only)
• 
  Letters may be abridged, edited or refused at the editor's discretion
• 
  The editor's decision to publish is final. Rejected letters are usually not acknowledged
• 
  Local letters are given preference
• 
  Email: editor@bayofplentytimes.co.nz
• 
  Text: 021 241 4568 - Please start your message with BOP
• 
  Follow us on Facebook