Letters, November 7: Not a dull moment

It was both disappointing and surprising to read of R A B Wiberg's experience visiting Never a Dull Moment: Hamilton Stories at Waikato Museum (Waikato Times letters, October 29).

This exhibition has been hugely popular since it opened in August.

While it is unfortunate the writer had a bad experience, their criticism does not reflect the fact scores of visitors have thoroughly enjoyed Never a Dull Moment.

The exhibition captures Hamilton's interesting past – and brings history to a new audience.

Yes, many school groups have visited, but the exhibition has been designed for, and enjoyed by, people of all ages.

It has been rewarding for curators to read customer feedback forms on how much they liked the exhibition.

Never a Dull Moment is a semi-permanent exhibition and new objects, stories and themes will be introduced all the time.

I encourage all Hamiltonians to come to Never a Dull Moment, to see how the city has arrived at where it is today.

It is informative and reflective of the city's past – with a little quirk and the odd surprise in there too.

KATE VUSONIWAILALA

Director

Waikato Museum

Parenting skills

I feel sad the Waikato Times printed the "More vigilance needed" letter from Bill Hay (Waikato Times, October 24).

Anybody who has ever cared for young children will know just how quickly they can be there one minute and gone in a flash. No-one can watch a child every second, no matter how good their parenting skills are. Instead of being so critical, I feel we should all think: there but for the grace of God go I.

Perhaps Mr Hay will make himself available as "babysitter supreme" and help young parents in his area learn parenting skills from his perfect example.

He could also check his area to make sure there is absolutely no danger to young children there, or maybe he would find removing every danger as unrealistic as watching a child every second of the day. This was a tragic accident. Unless you have made no mistakes in your life, be careful of stones that you throw.

GWEN QUARRIE

Te Awamutu

Variation 21

Here are a few more points to follow my previous letter on Variation 21 (Waikato Times, November 5):

The Hamilton City Council has been consulting with the community and recognised the validity of various arguments on the basis that the intent of strategic planning is to provide optimum use of the community's resources for the improved welfare of all its citizens. The council would only be "short-sighted and simplistic" if it had not made variation 21.

Tainui's existing proposal will "gut" the Hamilton ratepayers'/community's central business district investment instead of joining these investors/developers and a lot of its own beneficiaries in invigorating it. Tainui has the unique business opportunity, now, of diverting part of its proposed $100 million future investment to the land it owns in the central city.

This is a change of business opportunity, not the elimination of one for Tainui and a change in land use is a commercial risk/benefit that is common to us all. The ratepayers/community (city council) have allowed Tainui to obtain the resource consents and the benefits it now has, which it should never have expanded to its present form, totalling 75,000 square metres with only 25,000sqm affected under Variation 21. (Abridged)

MALCOLM BARRETT

Hamilton

SPCA transparency

Regarding the letters about the Waikato SPCA I would like, in the interest of transparency, to state that my wife is one of the present committee members. This colours my perspective. However, I believe that many of the people who have written negative pieces about the SPCA are relatives and friends of people associated with the prior committee or management.

They should also be up front about saying so.

Many correspondents say that they are concerned about animal welfare but appear to prefer to attack chief executive Liz Hunter.

Ms Hunter's work experience makes her, in my opinion, a more effective employee for the SPCA.

Mention is also made of the SPCA losing $100,000 in the last year. This period was predominantly under the control of the previous committee and operations manager, so I am unsure as to why the shortcomings of the previous committee are the current committee's fault.

We are currently fostering 10 cats for the SPCA. Many volunteers do this invisible work. Animal welfare would be better served by action rather than letter-writing. (Abridged)

ANDREW WILDE

Hamilton

Blatantly dishonest

The refusal of both the National Government and the Labour Opposition to consider making the changes to superannuation entitlements, as recommended by the Treasury, is blatantly dishonest. They know Treasury is correct but neither party has the guts to admit it.

Treasury is telling us the way it is: unless changes are made now, then future generations are doomed to a financial crisis of unprecedented proportions leading inevitably as it will to a significant reduction in our standard of living.

To continue with 25 per cent of government spending on just 12 per cent of the population is not only grossly unfair to the other 88 per cent but will inevitably result in a serious run-down in the quality and quantity of government funded health, education and welfare services.

Unless our politicians face up to the truth now, any talk of raising our living standards to those of Australia is just political hogwash.

New Zealanders deserve better.

VINCE ASHWORTH

Morrinsville

Hoax of century

Gina Whyte's letter on climate change (Waikato Times, October 26) uses the common ploy of labelling those who don't share one's views as sceptics.

Before making such statements, Gina needs to do a lot more research.

Those of us who have done some serious study around global warming can hardly be called sceptics.

We know that:

Temperatures have not increased in the past decade;

Thousands of scientists are denying An Inconvenient Truth (or should I say lie) espoused by Al Gore's film;

Weather patterns show that though ice may be melting at one pole, it is freezing up more than ever at the other;

Graphs show that increases in carbon dioxide have nothing to do with global warming.

And we ask why the British Meteorological Office has wiped weather data from recent years at this critical time in history, saying it has run out of data space?

I suggest Gina watches a four-minute video on Youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMe5dOgbu40.

If anything, we need to be world leaders in opposing and even boycotting the Copenhagen meeting. It could well turn out to be that climate change is the hoax of the century.

PAT GREGORY

Hamilton

Michael Laws

May I suggest some benevolent souls scrape together $10,000 and donate it to Michael Laws so he can have his tongue and fingers severed.

That would make New Zealand a much better and safer place as we, the innocent citizens, would not be subject to his brainless, bigoted, publicity-seeking ramblings either verbally or in writing.

I suppose I live in a fool's paradise and it won't happen.

DES JOHNSTON

Hamilton

In reply

Brian John Evans, Auckland: No poetry. J Perry, Hamilton: Too long. Jean Woodridge, Hamilton; Mano Manoharan, Hamilton; James Heath-Caldwell, Hamilton; David Florance, Gisborne (2); Jeremy Watt, Auckland; Frank Macskasy, Upper Hutt; Brian Reiersen, North Shore City; Mike Grigg, Wainuiomata: Points noted. Dana Currie, Hamilton: Unable to publish before event. Ken Weldon, Matangi; Robyn Jackson, Hamilton: Too soon after last letter.

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