Gore mayor backed; time to get on with it
It is pleasing to see that the local Gore councillors did not proceed with that stupid vote against Ben Bell.
These folk have been shown up as the childish people they are. Grow up councillors, remember you may not be voted in at next election. I hope Mr Bell is now able to settle down and do his work unhindered at last. Good luck to you Ben.
Poor Ben Bell. He is surrounded by at least seven councillors who will not disclose their reasons for signing the request for his resignation. One can only assume that those reasons would (if publicly exposed) would not pass the "pub test".
These councillors are happy to white ant him. While they say they are acting for the good of the community they are nevertheless white ants. (chief executive) Mr Parry is an employee of the council and he should be made to listen to and speak to the mayor. If he doesn’t like what he hears then the answer is simple.
The fact that the white ants appear to support Mr Parry’s approach should preclude them from being on any committee dealing with his employment.
Good luck Ben — you are sure as hell going to need it.
Scanner slip-up
In his letter to the editor (4.5.23) Pete Hodgson asserts that currently all PET scanning in the New Zealand public health system is privately provided but publicly funded. This is factually inaccurate. Men in the Southern region with recurrent prostate cancer who require a PET PSMA scan must pay approximately $3800 to access the scan in private as it is not publicly funded in the South Island.
Pete Hodgson replies: "There has been a misunderstanding. Your correspondent is correct that not all PET scanning undertaken in New Zealand is publicly funded. But all publicly funded PET scanning undertaken in New Zealand is privately provided."
Invercargill crime
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster wants to come down and run Invercargill for three months and see the crime here: we have no police here.
Forty percent of the streets have burn-out marks over them. No one obeys the speed limit. Most people riding bikes do not wear helmets.
Ram-raids on shops are getting worse. Gangs are everywhere selling drugs, and the police turn a blind eye to this.
Before a dairy shop worker gets killed please so something about this.
It is time the government acted. Bring on the election.
King and kings
I join with Agnew and Bulman (letters, 13.5.23) that Anna Campbell’s column regarding the coronation was well written.
The real point is simply that the wrong royalty was crowned. Charles will never go the distance that Prince William would had he been crowned.
Young, handsome, beautiful wife and lovely children.
I’ll not be here when William becomes king, other than to observe, it will be a repeat expensive show.
Isn’t wonderful that we have a platform like the Otago Daily Times to exercise the occasional "free speech" in a letter.
One could lose their head for obnoxious royalty comments in days long gone.
If the Highlanders name fits, we should use it
I was disappointed to see that the Highlanders are now being called the "Landers" in the Otago Daily Times.
I’ve been a supporter of the team since they were formed as the Otago Highlanders in 1996.
I can understand why the "Otago" designation was dropped.
But the name "Highlanders" was originally chosen to represent the people who populated the southern part of New Zealand in the 19th century.
In my opinion, that name should be retained in full.
Otago Daily Times sports editor Hayden Meikle replies.
We also generally prefer to use "Highlanders" in full, as you will see from our stories.
However, 'Landers has come to be used commonly and fondly by fans of the team, even during difficult seasons.
It is also a handy substitute when headline space is at a premium.
Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@odt.co.nz
