Letters, February 26: What caused toxic bloom?

It was with some consternation that I read in the Waikato Times (February 19), that Hamilton icon Lake Rotoroa was beset by a toxic blue-green algae bloom.

I was inclined to point the finger at the farming community once again but I can't find any farms bounding the lake – only urban housing.

I'm also loath to point the finger at the ducks and wildlife as they are most certainly not potty trained and that responsibility perhaps lies with Fish & Game.

Perhaps the medical officer of health for the Waikato District Health Board or the National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (Niwa) can enlighten me by supplying details of the tests they have carried out and details of what they believe caused this latest toxic scare.

JIM COTMAN

Te Kauwhata

 

Labour's GST bus

How timely that the Labour Party are arriving in town on Sunday (February 28) with Phil Goff to lead the groundswell of objections to the proposed increase in GST.

I welcome the opportunity to show my support for the campaign. How lucky Hamilton is to be the first overnight stop for the campaign bus so Hamiltonians can tell John Key we don't like it.

We are told most New Zealanders oppose the increase and they don't believe they will be compensated by a cut in personal tax.

Tax cuts should make it easier for more Kiwis to get ahead but National's tax plan gives most of the tax cuts to those already far ahead. Bread, milk, shoes, school books and petrol will cost more, but hard-working New Zealanders and Kiwi families can't afford it right now. I'm not going to sit around and wait till May for the details. I want to tell Mr Key now that it is not good.

A tax shuffle is not a policy to grow the economy and create jobs. That's what we really need in Hamilton; that's what this Government needs to be focusing on.

MAXINE VAN OOSTEN

Hamilton

 

Dog control

In reply to John Neave (Waikato Times, February 17): there is no casual response to reviewing the dog control laws, in fact I too would welcome them reviewed earlier as ever since Carolina Anderson was attacked, I and other dog owners have been restricted by punitive, draconian laws.

As my dogs, like most dogs, have not done anything wrong, why should we pay the price for those that do?

The problem with the dog control laws is that councils have put their own bylaws in place so different towns and cities have different rules.

A comprehensive emotionless policy needs to come from central government and should not be a kneejerk reaction to recent events. The policy could then be administered by local government. We need sensible, fair laws that encourage responsible dog ownership.

The point I was making was that as long as there are people in society who are allowed to flout the laws as they stand now or in the future – the common thread of these attacks is unregistered, unsocialised dogs – and with no strong punishment to act as a deterrent, these awful attacks will continue to happen. (Abridged)

SUE O'NEILL

Hamilton

 

Crumbling fast

Mairi Jay (Waikato Times, January 16) castigates sceptics of climate science but climate scientists' credibility is crumbling fast.

They've been caught red-handed (climategate emails) discussing "tricks" they could use to hide worldwide "temperature decline", and stacking their peer review process to distort information.

The fact the world was much warmer 1000 years ago showed in their 1990 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, but was "got rid of" in their 2007 report, as it didn't suit their claim that this is the first time the world has warmed.

They've had more recalls than Toyota – recalling a claim that 50 per cent of North African crop production will be gone by 2050; incorrect claims about sea level rises in Holland; and then there's the Himalayan glacier melt debacle, where a little known Indian scientist's article ("purely speculating, no evidence at all"), obviously not peer reviewed or checked, but put into the 2007 IPCC report that sent 15,000 highly paid people and 140 private jets rushing to Copenhagen.

Has the world gone completely mad? (Abridged)

FRED BARRETT

Tirau

 

Train now please

With the recently announced delay of the Hamilton bypass until 2025, can Hamilton East MP David Bennett now provide the small amount of funding required to run highly sought-after Hamilton to Auckland commuter trains?

Compared with the tens of millions the bypass needed, the rail services need less than $1 million to run from the Government per year and will provide employment in the region for catering providers, cleaners and the necessary support staff.

It will also provide a needed alternative to driving between the Waikato and Auckland, and provide another reason for tourists to visit Hamilton. So Mr Bennett, time to do something the region actually wants?

JON REEVES

Mangere

 

Orbiter buses

Hamilton's Orbiter buses do a good job but the city council should cut inlets into the berms so traffic can pass the buses easier.

KEITH JONES

Te Kowhai

 

Pure and simple

We are told circumcision using the ShangRing could prevent Aids in Africa (Waikato Times, February 18).

We are told Waikato's binge drinking culture could be a contributing factor in rising rates of gonorrhoea and chlamydia and young people are not getting the message about safe sex (February 20).

When will we learn that there is only one way, one message, to bring such statistics down?

One man and one woman in a marriage covenant relationship until they die – no adultery, no fornication, no unfaithfulness, no selfishness that says "if I feel like it, I will do it, regardless of the consequences". When these old-fashioned values become fashionable again, millions of lives and millions of dollars will be saved every year.

There will be a dramatic downturn in abortions and a number of other stats. Purity works. It's that simple.

S J ROWE

Hamilton

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