In a few words

Luckily for Reg Fowles, today is Waitangi Day. He’ll be able to brush up on his knowledge of Treaty partnership – two sides co-operating equally. Ma¯ ori on one side and the Crown, and everyone else they let in, on the other. Hohepa O’Donnell, Foxton

The entitlements given in the Treaty of Waitangi do not apply exclusively to Ma¯ ori. The Ma¯ ori version of this document is clear that the provisions apply to ... all the people of New Zealand. Care must be taken to ensure that Ma¯ ori rights do not infringe on the rights of everybody else.

Kenneth Ward, Woburn

The strangest pet insurance claims (Feb 4) reporting that a vet discovered an intersex cat for the first time, reminded me of my mother’s friend. She had a cat she named Grace. When Grace did not oblige her ‘‘mother’’ she was taken to the vet to find out why she couldn’t have kittens. The vet laughed and said that she would need a name change, she was in fact a tom. The necessary surgery was performed and she became His Grace. Some time later when he was quite old His Grace produced a kitten. The next and final name change was Amazing Grace.

Margaret McKay, Harbourview

Once again the beautiful northern bush-clad ‘‘surplus Mt Crawford land’’ is under threat of development, with the Minister of Housing giving his support to plonking 300 ‘‘affordable’’ homes on it. I would like to know why there is such an obsession with the development of the northern end? The southern end, at Palmer Head, which is mainly covered with scrub and gorse, offers so much more land for the development of many hundreds of houses. Please leave the regenerating fauna and wildlife at the northern end to further develop for all to enjoy into the future.

Denis Healey, Paparangi

Ian Frater (Letters, Feb 4) applauds me for defending free speech but then attacks me, alleging bias because I pointed out that the Left frequently attacks the person, not the argument. In the US and elsewhere, it is the Left, not the Right, that seek to shut down speakers whose views they deem unacceptable. In New Zealand, the vice-chancellor of Massey University successfully ‘‘deplatformed’’ Don Brash because his views were said to be incompatible with the Treaty of Waitangi. Pointing out this practice by the political Left is not a matter of bias, rather it is a matter of accuracy.

John Bishop, Karori

John Whitty (Letters, Feb 5) wants to know if street cleaning happens more often in streets other than where he lives in Holloway Rd. The answer is yes. I have worked on a construction site on Hay St/Telford Tce, Oriental Bay, for more than two years now. It never ceases to amaze me how often the street cleaners visit. Perhaps the regularity of visits is linked to the rateable value of the property in that locality. Duncan McKee, Hataitai