Letters: Christmas goodwill has come early

A reader says the loss of services such as Plunket has contributed to the deaths of children like Moko Rangitoheriri. Photo/file

Customers well-served

Christmas goodwill has come early for me - thanks to the great customer service and generosity of these three local businesses'.
Number One Shoes - for replacing a rather noisy pair of strappy sandals; it was not as if I had just purchased them!
Speedy Signs Embroidery – for allowing me to change the font - on a special gift - for no extra charge.
I'm sure the recipient, a 90-year-old yachtie will wear the embroidered cap with pride.
Pak'nSave – for all the yummy tastings and, very generous gift baskets you hand-out on "Christmas Club" night; how lucky am I to be a recipient of one of those large baskets - full of goodies.
Great, customer service is the experience we all want; so a huge - thank you.
Pauleen Wilkinson.
Rotorua

Reason for Plunket

The coroner suggests preventing violence to children of the kind dished out to poor little Moko and the many others like him, that children should be checked up on until they are 5.
A good idea, but since the likes of Plunket was almost put out of business by the New Right user-pays philosophy, it currently is unable to provide the services it once did. The reality is it could not now keep an eye on any children without adequate funding.
In my view, this is a case of the natural law which say, "For every action, there is a reaction" coming into play. In a social sense, the reaction which inevitably sets in sometimes takes a long time to manifest itself.
The reaction showed itself in violence to harmless children with young lives lost. All because of a previous Government's ill-considered cost-cutting exercise. As often happens, ill-considered reforms motivated by political philosophy rather than reality or need, cost lives and in this case, it was those little ones not having a voice, who had to pay the price.
When you look at it, Plunket originally came into being because of these same concerns by a much earlier generation, but latter-day politicians never bothered to consider the reasons for its existence before their cost-cutting mania saw them cut back on what had once proved to be a vital service to society.
It's food for thought for our new Government.
AJ MacKenzie
Rotorua

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