Letters to the editor: Supermarkets obliged to fix stolen trolley problem

Dumped supermarket trolley in Rotorua. Photo / File

The time is long overdue for supermarkets to solve the problem of stolen supermarket trolleys.

They litter the streets, berms and ditches of inner city Rotorua suburbs.

The one time I rang the number on the handle of a dumped trolley the process was so complicated I vowed never again. Overseas, often a customer has to pay a deposit to access a locked trolley. This is refunded on return.

Why don't we do this in NZ?

Which supermarket is going to be the first to introduce this and put themselves at a competitive disadvantage?

In this day of hi-tech solutions it would seem there is a lack of will.

Who do you think absorbs the cost of retrieval and damage? We, the customer of course.
Supermarkets have an obligation to fix this problem.

(Abridged)
Lesley Haddon
Rotorua

On the cusp

Cannabis is the first stage of a nightmare. New Zealand is already badly affected by alcohol, tobacco, poverty, depression, suicide, domestic violence, unlawfulness, and a savage road toll.

We don't need to add cannabis and its side effects to that list.

Rational, financially sound Kiwis might function normally under the influence of cannabis, others cannot. Cannabis is a gateway drug. I'll wager that every meth user's pathway into drugs began with cannabis. I've seen it firsthand.

Don't tell me the police will be able to put resourcing into more serious matters when some of them are caused, albeit indirectly, by cannabis.

Don't for a moment think that cannabis will only be available through legitimate outlets and that users will be afforded some level of protection through this. The gangs aren't about to just give up hard-earned business that easily.

The proposed age limit of 20 is a joke. Teenagers have little trouble accessing alcohol now, we don't need them on cannabis. Neither do we need the income from cannabis.

You can't put a price tag on the health of a community.

New Zealanders could be on the cusp of the worst decision the country has ever collectively made. Let's not go there.

Mark Sherburn
Western Heights

Legal structure has gone awry

In today's headline story (News, July 17) the subject of the new courthouse is mentioned.

Good, have a new courthouse by all means. But it is not the building that needs renovating, it is the whole legal structure that has gone awry.

Sentences in New Zealand such as home detention and paltry fines - many of which are never paid - allow repeat offending and do little to make the streets any safer.

We often watch the police programmes on the TV and I frequently wonder why the police bother. They spend hours chasing villains, often endangering their own lives, only to have the offender let off with a caution.

Perhaps a more sensible approach along American lines would help.

(Abridged)
Jim Adams
Rotorua

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