Letters: Roads reseal is of poor quality

Palestinian women attend a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel. Photo/AP

I am surprised that no one has written about the current resealing programme.

The work being done on many local streets is of an abysmal quality, resulting in a very coarse-chipped, noisy and rough surface, and much loose gravel.

Road-rolling machines have been conspicuous by their absence.

Existing bumps have not been levelled and manhole covers are now well below the road surface.

Restricted speed signs have been absent.

Few drivers take note of the "new seal" signs so large amounts of loose gravel have been flung over verges and footpaths into side streets and at passing vehicles.

I complained on several occasions about the gravel on a length of Malfroy Rd and sweeping machines were passed over it but loose gravel remains and the painted lines are but shadows of their original appearance, much of the painted gravel having disappeared.

Maybe our money is instead being spent on concrete cycleways - I note the superb quality of the work being done on a length of Ranolf St, the finish looking like that of a driveway of a very expensive home.

Ronald Mayes
Rotorua

Lacking sympathy

Unlike your correspondent Dr Bernard Conlon (Letters, May 19) I have scant sympathy for the Palestinians.

The Muslim Arabs have the whole of North Africa and most of the Middle East.

The Jews have a tiny state less than one sixth the size of the South Island with a population almost twice that of New Zealand.

More than once the Muslim Arabs have tried to destroy Israel in war and they failed every time.

When open battle failed them they resorted to cowardly terrorist attacks on civilians.

Muslim Arabs use women and even children as suicide bombers then howl to the world when Israel builds a wall to defend themselves.

The Israelis should round up all the Muslim Arabs in Gaza and East Jerusalem and dump the lot in Lebanon. This should have been done in 1948.

CC McDowall
Rotorua

Clear message

The recent results of referendums carried out by five councils throughout the country resulting in the stopping, in effect, of the creation of Maori wards sends a very clear message to those promoting race-based representation.

Given the significant (more than 70 per cent against) majority, the tired old argument about Maori being under-represented on councils must be well and truly redundant.

Combine that with the rejection of the separatist Maori Party at the last election, plus the current trend of Maori switching from the Maori to the General roll, then clearly the mood of the country is changing.

Consequently the question must be asked as to how successful, or otherwise, has the role of the Maori representation on our local Rotorua Lakes Council been to date.

As we know the Te Arawa Standing Committee was promoted by the mayor and implemented via an alternative process which avoided the opportunity for the ratepayers of Rotorua to call for a referendum on this contentious issue.

One of the major objections to having unelected Maori members sitting around the council table was that they would inherently advocate for the interests of Te Arawa and not the Rotorua community at large.

Many would suggest that this in fact has been the case.

Furthermore, this unheralded change in governance of the Rotorua Lakes Council was seen by the majority of ratepayers as totally undemocratic, and this remains the case today.

Wouldn't it be interesting to have such a referendum today?

Mike Mcvicker
Rotorua