Local Opinion

Letter to the Editor – 9 January 2025

It’s great to see more people out on bikes enjoying fresh air and exercise even if at a reduced rate on an e-bike. I don’t even mind sharing the footpath with them. But why should…

Season messages

Rev Jennie Savage Vicar, St Andrew’s Anglican Church, Cambridge Many take a journey over Christmas and the summer, to have a holiday, or to visit family or friends. Sometimes they have been long planned, postponed,…

‘Shovel’ jobs done well

Waikato Regional Council recently closed down its “Shovel Ready Programme” of work, following a successful completion of a number of relatively significant projects that delivered considerable benefit to our region. As background, as part of…

Why we need social sciences

As a scientist who studies the world we live in and how it impacts us, I deeply value the social sciences. It is human involvement that turns a hazard into a disaster. When we have…

The real ‘heart’ of Christmas

Recent wrestling over the Treaty Principles Bill has stirred up some unfortunate engagements around reinterpreting Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Beyond debate is the historical record of painful breaches by government that have dishonoured the Treaty’s…

The year that was

Conscious that this is my last opinion offering for 2024 I have elected to be a little reflective with a wee touch of future thinking. This has been – and continues to be – a…

Seasonal warnings

With the holiday season soon to be in full swing, the message is again one of protecting yourself from opportunistic crime, socialising sensibly and driving safely. This week we have had a few reported burglaries,…

Letters to Editor – 12 December 2024

Parking plans  I have now read several articles on parking recently that all put up an argument from different perspectives. Previously, I served at Heart of Gisborne for six years, including three as City Manager,…

Aotearoa’s night of terror

Early in the morning of 10 June 1886, surveyor John Rochfort in Kihikihi experienced a bizarre show on the horizon beyond Maungatautari. “I was awakened by what sounded like an irregular discharge of artillery… I…

Big lesson from a tiny coin

Among several coins that I have dating from the antiquities is a genuine ‘widow’s mite’. Also known as a lepton, meaning ‘small,’ these coins were made of bronze. Their tiny size matches their value –…

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