Letters: Introduce skipper licences for boats

The search for a missing boatie on Lake Rotoiti this week. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER

Sadly yet another life is lost on the waters of this country.

In "Street view" (Rotorua Daily Post, January 5) the public were asked, "What can be done to encourage safe boating?" In my opinion only one person got it right. "Licence."

The NZ Coastguard should petition the Government to introduce skipper licences for all operators of waterborne craft propelled by any form of combustion-type motor. All too often people with no or little waterborne knowledge are in control of vessels and the Coastguard is left to deal with the result of tragic boating incidents.

We have to introduce skipper licences.

STEVE ROBB
Rotorua

Hello and happy 2017.

I am a new home owner of property in Rotorua...what a beautiful city to live in!

Recently, an article in the Rotorua Daily Post mentioned a shortage of land for building. Few sections are available in the inner city. Auckland is going through the Unitary Plan where sections are permitted for subdivision down to 350m2.

There are many sections in Rotorua under 900m2 (which is the local requirement for subdivision + allowance for access) but over 800m2. I am wondering why the council doesn't follow the initiative of Auckland and now Tauranga, and "give young couples the opportunity to purchase a section and build a new home".

Rotorua deserves to grow!

TONI LENDL
Rotorua

Thank you Ruth Ferreira (Letters, January 02) for bringing attention to the issue of rubbish within our beautiful district.

It is not a good look for Te Ngae Rd - a gateway to our city that relies on tourism - to be littered with rubbish.

Equally disappointing is that over the holiday period I had been made aware of two locations used as dump sites for fly tipping within our district. I applaud the Rotorua Lakes Council who responded immediately to return these locations back to their original states. However, if we continue to allow those responsible to get away with this sort of behaviour then this activity will only continue.

What irks me is the cost associated with cleaning up someone else's rubbish that in the end is funded by the ratepayer. We should look at ways to recover these costs and I for one would support a local bylaw that would result in the issuing of fines to recover the costs from those culprits responsible.

We need to send a strong message that this sort of behaviour is not acceptable, these culprits need to clean up their act so we can all "Keep Rotorua Beautiful".

MICHAEL STAITE
Rotorua

Congratulations to the Mitai Maori Village on their new palisading. Absolutely stunning.

ROD OGLE
Rotorua

I once had the good fortune to work alongside a talented engineer who was tasked with producing equipment for the manufacturing of tapware.

When he had completed a design we harvested the "negative energy" (so derided by our mayor, Letters January 6) which was required to look for any flaws.

When we were both satisfied that there could be no further improvements then the machine was produced which provided almost perfect results.

If social engineers, into which category politicians fall, adopted the same principles then maybe we just wouldn't have to be constantly "revisiting" ideas that just don't work!

AJ MacKENZIE
Rotorua