Your views: Readers' letters

Thank you, WDC

I would like to thank council for the recent and significant upgrades to the Otamatea Reserve. This includes all-weather, safe carparking on the Virginia Rd dog exercise yard side; a dual human/canine drinking fountain and now, the picnic bench nearby.

I and a small group of supporters gathered in excess of 200 petitioners to support the upgrade for all Whanganui and visitor users. In the end, presenting the petition to council was not needed, thanks to the support of former councillor Martin Visser and a budget available in support.

Lodging petitions is one way to respectfully engage council in a non-adversarial manner. The process is nicely outlined on the council website.

However, sometimes simply sharing your matters or a petition with the relevant councillor may mean an appearance and possible nervous presentation to the council chamber may not be needed.

ROSS FALLEN
Aramoho

Data concern

Once again you have published an article about statistics for Whanganui (February 17, page 2) that is misleading to say the least, and this time I can't let it go unchallenged.

Your latest article quotes Whanganui Chamber of Commerce president Raewyn Overton-Stuart as saying that "unemployment in Whanganui has decreased in the past year". But how can she know that? Perhaps Ms Overton-Stuart is privy to information not shared with readers in your article.

The unemployment figures you cite are for Manawatu-Whanganui. But Whanganui is not the same thing as Manawatu-Whanganui at all. And therein lies the problem.

It could very well be that the entire (0.2 per cent) decrease in unemployment numbers has occurred in Palmerston North alone. Who can tell?

We are part of South Taranaki for politics, part of Manawatu for many things, and even part of Wellington at times. Perhaps now is a good time to start agitating for agencies such as Statistics New Zealand to give us our own region back so that the data they collect is both accurate and useful for those of us who live here.

KAREN WRIGGLESWORTH
Whanganui

Writers praised

I like the Chronicle because of the sense of independent thought provided by its local columnists.

I particularly like Kate Stewart, because her thinking is not based upon any fashionable or prescribed philosophy. She has written some of the most incisive commentaries. Without these columnists, apart from local news, the Chronicle would just be recycled establishment media commentary. We get it every night on TV at 6pm. I am not a Trump fan, but then I am certainly not a Clinton fan. The election of either means that I lose out.

I have no doubt at all that if Bernie had been elected, the same smug and self-satisfied establishment media would also be attacking him.

ROD SACH
Castlecliff