Letters, Aug 11
Our environmental assets
The depressing statistics in your Taking Stock feature omit one key thing - what we can do. Just one example: yes, 90% of the ocean’s edible species may be gone in 40 years but that’s only if we keep going the way we are. What we need is to change direction. In this case resources like Forest and Bird’s handy “best fish” guide are useful for people who want to make better choices about the fish they buy, and consumer demand can help nudge us towards sustainable fishing.
Joanna Morton, Te Aro
Rugby World Cup statue?
Should the council be spending $350,000 on a sculpture for the Rugby World Cup? With a little over a year left to the World Cup, as a semi professional caricaturist this is what I could do with the $350,000 they are going to spend on a sculpture. In those 52 or so weeks I could produce 100, A3 full colour caricatures of rugby legends.
My salary for this year or so would be $60,000 plus say a generous printing and advertising budget of $10,000. The remaining $280,000 could go to community projects. There could then be an exhibition of these caricatures launched to coincide with the World Cup, where prints of the caricatures could be sold. The profits from the caricatures could be split between other community and myself. As Hot Chocolate once sang, “Everyone’s a winner baby!”
Is anybody in Wellington, NZ or beyond willing to pay me to do this?
Andrew Dunn, Wellington
Poor road work
“Wise spending will lead to less spending”. It is a philosophy that repeats in my mind as I cycle around Miramar Peninsula. If money to reseal the coastal road had been spent wisely then the recently applied chip seal job would not be coming apart. Stretches, hundreds of metres long, have lost the gravel “chip” creating a rubbish surface after five months of use. The areas that are still performing well are the Asphaltic Concrete stretches of sealing. Certainly three times more expensive but for a road that should host tourists, recreational and competitive cyclists and Wellingtonians enjoying our amazing harbour it is a horrid jarring surface. The contractor will probably be asked to reseal the surface; this is just a waste of money and a non renewable resource. “Wise spending will lead to less spending”.
Simon “Swampy” Marsh, Miramar
Miramar Peninsula name change
We note the move to change the name of the Miramar Peninsula to Miramar Peninsula/Te Motu Kairangi by the New Zealand Geographic Board. Wellingtonians and especially those on the Peninsula may not be aware of the historical background of this move or why the defence land forms part of the Port Nicholson claim. Te Motu Kairangi was the original name of the island that became the peninsula during earthquakes in the 15th century. Early Maori pas were built above Worser bay and above Tarakena Bay and others were recorded on Maupuia as well as on the rest of the island. There was a consistent record of occupation over a long period by various hapu including invasion and occupation of the peninsula by tribes including Te Atiawa around 1830, with established villages in Worser bay, Karaka Bay, Maupuia and other areas such as Lyall Bay. Information about this period is available from a number of sources and we believe that the proposed name change recognises the historical and cultural contributions made by the Peninsula’s early Maori inhabitants. We welcome and support this proposal and believe that it will be important for the Miramar Peninsula as it grows and develops.
Allan Probert, Chair Enterprise Miramar Peninsula
Not punny
We immensely enjoy your delightful newspaper, however we are concerned that you are losing readers and integrity with your flagrant use of puns. Although the calibre of your articles is meritorious the ridiculous headlines constantly discourage us to delve deeper. We initially chortled at the light-hearted headlines and abundant puns. However our chortles soon turned to disgruntled groans and grimaces as we noted no less than 12 unnecessary puns in your last 20 page publication. This is a rude amount of puns. We strongly support this community newspaper and enjoy the coverage of local bands and artists. As avid film lovers we also particularly enjoy Dan Slevin’s refreshing reviews. However we encourage you to not shy away from serious reporting. Constant “funny” headlines only serve to patronise your readers and degrades the integrity of your reporter’s work.
J. Carpenter and L. MacLeod, Wellington
We are interested in your comments and are glad you enjoy our paper – Ed.
Bikes v cars
[RE: Bums on bikes, Write On, August 4] The biggest bums are the ones sitting in cars blocking up the roads. Cyclists are well served if they can get away from the choking fumes of accelerating vehicles. Cyclists are frightened into the danger zone where parked car doors open and traffic sweeps all the broken glass and nails that puncture bike tyres. Most of our roads were originally designed for pedestrians, cyclists and horses, not cars, so Jenny Mathes can re-think who are the “real people”.
RicMcBroom, Berhampore
The depressing statistics in your Taking Stock feature omit one key thing - what we can do. Just one example: yes, 90% of the ocean’s edible species may be gone in 40 years but that’s only if we keep going the way we are. What we need is to change direction. In this case resources like Forest and Bird’s handy “best fish” guide are useful for people who want to make better choices about the fish they buy, and consumer demand can help nudge us towards sustainable fishing.
Joanna Morton, Te Aro
Rugby World Cup statue?
Should the council be spending $350,000 on a sculpture for the Rugby World Cup? With a little over a year left to the World Cup, as a semi professional caricaturist this is what I could do with the $350,000 they are going to spend on a sculpture. In those 52 or so weeks I could produce 100, A3 full colour caricatures of rugby legends.
My salary for this year or so would be $60,000 plus say a generous printing and advertising budget of $10,000. The remaining $280,000 could go to community projects. There could then be an exhibition of these caricatures launched to coincide with the World Cup, where prints of the caricatures could be sold. The profits from the caricatures could be split between other community and myself. As Hot Chocolate once sang, “Everyone’s a winner baby!”
Is anybody in Wellington, NZ or beyond willing to pay me to do this?
Andrew Dunn, Wellington
Poor road work
“Wise spending will lead to less spending”. It is a philosophy that repeats in my mind as I cycle around Miramar Peninsula. If money to reseal the coastal road had been spent wisely then the recently applied chip seal job would not be coming apart. Stretches, hundreds of metres long, have lost the gravel “chip” creating a rubbish surface after five months of use. The areas that are still performing well are the Asphaltic Concrete stretches of sealing. Certainly three times more expensive but for a road that should host tourists, recreational and competitive cyclists and Wellingtonians enjoying our amazing harbour it is a horrid jarring surface. The contractor will probably be asked to reseal the surface; this is just a waste of money and a non renewable resource. “Wise spending will lead to less spending”.
Simon “Swampy” Marsh, Miramar
Miramar Peninsula name change
We note the move to change the name of the Miramar Peninsula to Miramar Peninsula/Te Motu Kairangi by the New Zealand Geographic Board. Wellingtonians and especially those on the Peninsula may not be aware of the historical background of this move or why the defence land forms part of the Port Nicholson claim. Te Motu Kairangi was the original name of the island that became the peninsula during earthquakes in the 15th century. Early Maori pas were built above Worser bay and above Tarakena Bay and others were recorded on Maupuia as well as on the rest of the island. There was a consistent record of occupation over a long period by various hapu including invasion and occupation of the peninsula by tribes including Te Atiawa around 1830, with established villages in Worser bay, Karaka Bay, Maupuia and other areas such as Lyall Bay. Information about this period is available from a number of sources and we believe that the proposed name change recognises the historical and cultural contributions made by the Peninsula’s early Maori inhabitants. We welcome and support this proposal and believe that it will be important for the Miramar Peninsula as it grows and develops.
Allan Probert, Chair Enterprise Miramar Peninsula
Not punny
We immensely enjoy your delightful newspaper, however we are concerned that you are losing readers and integrity with your flagrant use of puns. Although the calibre of your articles is meritorious the ridiculous headlines constantly discourage us to delve deeper. We initially chortled at the light-hearted headlines and abundant puns. However our chortles soon turned to disgruntled groans and grimaces as we noted no less than 12 unnecessary puns in your last 20 page publication. This is a rude amount of puns. We strongly support this community newspaper and enjoy the coverage of local bands and artists. As avid film lovers we also particularly enjoy Dan Slevin’s refreshing reviews. However we encourage you to not shy away from serious reporting. Constant “funny” headlines only serve to patronise your readers and degrades the integrity of your reporter’s work.
J. Carpenter and L. MacLeod, Wellington
We are interested in your comments and are glad you enjoy our paper – Ed.
Bikes v cars
[RE: Bums on bikes, Write On, August 4] The biggest bums are the ones sitting in cars blocking up the roads. Cyclists are well served if they can get away from the choking fumes of accelerating vehicles. Cyclists are frightened into the danger zone where parked car doors open and traffic sweeps all the broken glass and nails that puncture bike tyres. Most of our roads were originally designed for pedestrians, cyclists and horses, not cars, so Jenny Mathes can re-think who are the “real people”.
RicMcBroom, Berhampore
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