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As a Maori man here's the simple answer and solution to Maori problems and social issues.
First of all 28 years ago as a young family man with a partner and two infant daughters my life was in a mess. I had personal issues, I couldn't hold down a fulltime job, my relationship with my partner was insecure, we were always broke, always fighting, we lived to party, our family was dysfunctional and the future for us at the time wasn't looking bright.
The simple answer and solution was Jesus. He turned our despair into hope, our poverty into prosperity, he calmed our fears and gave us power to live a victorious life. If there are social problems today Jesus shows us the way to a better tomorrow, if there are prison problems today Jesus can set the captives free.
Now 28 years on my life has changed for the better, I'm in a better space now, I've held down a fulltime job for 18 years, I have a happy and stable marriage to my wife of 28 years, we own our own house, we've raised a family who are educated and career-minded and all this thanks to Jesus, now my world is filled with dreams, hopes and aspirations.
The simple answer to Maori problems and social issues is Jesus, just call him now free phone he's waiting to pick up at the other end.
DARREN BROWN
Rotorua
Please council, cancel the expensive double-page adverts promoting the draft Annual Plan. They repeat the content of the booklet that came through the mail. In the view of many who have contacted me, the PR overkill is yet another waste of rates.
The saturation advertising is doubly offensive to me because it is a poor substitute for genuine consultations. There are no programme plans, budgets or comparisons to previous years' expenditure in the Annual Plan. Hence, the barrage of adverts is in my view little more than crude political advocacy seen last year in the CEO's Pre-Election Report.
Finally, the draft Annual Plan makes no sense out of context. Residents and ratepayers have waited three years in vain for a district spatial plan.
On March 27, for example, a council press release promised "consultation on future growth and development" in order to integrate "population changes and global and national trends" with local preferences on the "allocation of resources, land use and development of infrastructure and public facilities".
The promise for consultations included an "online hub, public events" and "engaging with groups within geographical areas of interest". But no promise to consult directly and respectfully with legitimate stakeholders, such as residents and ratepayers.
Just repetitious adverts that, in my view, market the decisions already made.
REYNOLD MACPHERSON
Rotorua