Letters: Hemo Gorge sculpture should be canned

An artist's impression of the sculpture. Photo / Rotorua Lakes Council

I see the "monolith" for the new roundabout is going to use more than the amount of laminate estimated.

So, from that, one would presume that the people making the thing will want to pass on the extra cost involved even if they say the $500,000, in my view, waste of money, will remain the same price. Wait and see.

From the article (Local News, May 26) it sounds like it has not yet been started.

Perhaps it might be a good opportunity to can the whole thing.

Pay the people what costs have been involved and rethink the whole thing, ie, location and the dangers involving motorists gawking at it, as well as the materials used, which should be wood in a town where the mayor cries "wood first".

There is an opportunity to shift the sculpture from a dangerous place to somewhere more suitable, to allow people to visit it and read the plaque telling its significance to the local iwi.

They could also complete the underpasses, fill the thing in and take down barriers that obstruct the visibility of indicators on the majority of vehicles.

Visibility at roundabouts is extremely important but every roundabout these days is fitted with obstructions, some of which look good when first done but grow into vision obstruction devices as time goes by. (Abridged)

Rod Petterson
Rotorua

Rotorua lad does good
Thank you for the great write-up of Wally Haumaha (Local News, May 30).

Congratulations to Wally for a well-deserved appointment to NZ Police Deputy Commissioner.

I liked his comment "not bad for two Rotorua lads" which would have been somewhat enhanced if he had included "three Rotorua lads" given that Vivian Rickard, the current Deputy Commissioner, is also a Rotorua lad from a big extended Marino, Meihana, whanau of Ngati Whakaue, Ngati Whare, Aitanga a Hauiti descent.

Rotorua has a lot to be proud of.

Maureen Jehly
Rotorua

State savagery
I feel obliged to reply to CC McDowall (Letters, May 26).

There is YouTube footage of Israeli defence force personnel targeting and killing unarmed women and children and then whooping with delight as if it were a turkey shoot.

There is no excuse for such state savagery in a civilised world.

That it happens with such little criticism is a sad indictment of our deteriorating morality.

For those interested I would recommend the book Expulsion of the Palestinians by Nur Masalha.

This reveals original documents written by the founding Zionists who spread lies and plotted terrorism to create the state of Israel.

"A country without a people, for a people without a country" became the popular euphemism for Zionism; funny how an entire Palestinian population can become non-existent.

No matter, the population is being dealt to the Israeli way.

Dr Bernard Conlon
Murupara