Letters to the editor: Don’t force te reo Māori on me

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency switched to NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi in December to give effect to a new Government policy that public service organisations should have their primary name in English.

OPINION

I thought Rob Rattenbury’s column about te reo was excellent (Opinion, January 8).

Rattenbury shows a good perception and understanding of why there is strong resistance to te reo in New Zealand, particularly among the older generation.

As a youngster, I was much more amenable to accepting things Māori. I even thought at one stage that it would be cool to change the name of our country to Aotearoa. Now, as Rattenbury so astutely discerns, I am resistant to such change.

I do welcome the integration of Māori culture - including the language - as part of the fabric of our society. It is something to be proud of and lends a unique flavour to be sampled by the rest of the world.

What I strenuously object to is having such changes foisted upon us and being denied a choice.

By all means, let’s embrace Māori culture. Let’s learn the language and enjoy doing so. But let us do it at our leisure and our own pace. Give us a choice. Let us love it. But don’t make me learn it.

Try and shove it down my throat and I will resist. Use it to overturn and abolish what I am used to and I will become resentful.

Ian Young

Pāpāmoa Beach

Walkway a winner

Congratulations to the Tauranga City Council on the new Mount Maunganui Marine Parade walkway.

The design and construction of the new walkway along Marine Parade has been one of the great successes of this past year.

The thought and planning that went in are obvious. The path that has resulted is a real asset being enjoyed by many, both young and old.

Graham Brighting

Pāpāmoa

Busting the poverty myth

Your feature “Stressed and Struggling” [December 25] highlighted the problems being faced in our community and the good work of Community Foodbank, BayFinancial Mentors and Ngāi Te Rangi.

I hope the myth that poverty is caused by poor money management is now discarded.

We do face special difficulties here in Tauranga/Western Bay of Plenty. We have fewer social housing facilities than the New Zealand average, house prices are very high, house rents are only higher in Auckland and Wellington and electricity energy costs here are the highest in New Zealand.

Child Poverty Action Group has published a series of policy briefs dealing with issues affecting all New Zealand children. The policy briefs are detailed and specific and have been prepared using evidence-based research and deserve to form the basis of good governance.

Policy briefs include: Access to Healthcare, Benefit Adequacy, Disability Support, Early Childhood Care and Education, Food Security, Māori Child Health, Pacific Child Health, Relationship Rules, School Funding, Social Housing and Working for Families.

David Riley

Mount Maunganui