Letters to the editor: Let's make Rotorua a 'wellbeing town'

One reader says we should change our attitude towards the homeless. Photo / File

Regarding last Saturday's front-page story on the homeless, surely this is 2020 and we should not think like "old" New Zealand.

The major global setback of Covid-19 could be our chance for a major reset; a time to change and reset our thinking. What if Rotorua can be more than a mere tourist town? What if it can be a "Wellbeing Town", a town that cares for all - young/old, rich/poor?

What if Rotorua became known as a place of universal healing? We have natural resources, beautiful lakes, hot pools, and great people: we don't separate, we integrate. Businesses should not merely think Rotorua is just a playground for the rich.

Old-world thinking is reflected in the empty CBD buildings and the old and outdated block motel buildings. Get rid of the awful Rotorvegas image!

We need diversification and we should start by caring for "all" people, exactly as we all would like to be treated, with respect and feeling of welcome home. Call the homeless "The Home Well", a treasure and an opportunity we shouldn't miss.

They need hand-ups, not handouts. We should make it so people move here to stay, not just to work in order to get out of here. I think people's perspectives are old and outdated.

Angela Keepa
Koutu

Come on Rotorua!

Regarding, the city becoming a quarantine hub after, I say come on Rotorua! Get behind this thing. Here we have a great opportunity to pull ourselves up by our shoe laces.

Two big hotels that were absolutely empty, and are now full and bouncing. Think of the money, the jobs and think of the staff who are now getting paid.

Here we have 500 people as a captive audience for two weeks. Let's put on a show for them that they can watch from their rooms. Let's show what a happy thriving community we are.

Organise entertainment on the lake front to give them something to watch to relieve the boredom. Each sports club in the town could give an afternoon or display of their sport, even if it is only practice.

Give a display of trout casting. Make them want to come and try it. Organise a box of books; set up a "Buddy" system for anyone who has no one in Rotorua to go down and wave and offer mental support even if not physical.

They could become a personal shopper.

Make them really love Rotorua, and want to come back for a holiday when they are released, not a smelly hole they hope to never ever have to revisit.

(Abridged)

Marie Booth
Rotorua

Cannabis

Regarding the article titled Cannabis Control (News, June 8), in my view, in the 1970s it was the university-aged youth that tended to try cannabis but today it is the early teens that tend to experiment with drugs.

There are two major problems today. Firstly the brain is not fully developed in the early teen years and has been shown to be susceptible to mind-changing drugs

Secondly the potency of cannabis in the 1970s was considerably less than that used today so the effects are worse on any brain.

We currently have a major problem with depression and other mental health issues. Why would New Zealanders want to increase these problems and further burden the health system by legalising recreational cannabis?

D Mcpherson
Rotorua

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