Time to step up for the West Coast

I really feel for Coasters who for generations seen extractive products taken out of their region ad infinitum. Here is a genuine example of where Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones can get to work.

Not only will he be backing the people but also protecting the huge infrastructure already in place waiting for generations to come be they Kiwis or immigrants. Paul Castelow Ashburton

Kicking the Coast

Kick them when they are down, don’t dare give them a hand up.

The article in The Press re the rise and fall of Greymouth (Mar 10) doesn’t help the town or region – a region that has supported Christchurch in many ways, in business, in coal trade, through rail and Lyttelton Port, in our fire brigades rushing to help after the earthquake.

Thankfully, it is not the vast majority of people in Canterbury who are kickers. Most realise the Coast has had some raw deals with our own earthquakes, cyclones, lost forestry, cement works, coal mines – the list goes on.

Almost without exception, any opportunity we have gets scuttled by outsiders. New mines, hydro power generation, forestry, are but a few examples.

Bullerites and Coasters will still relate well to our Canterbury neighbours, regardless of the negative press. Pat O’Dea Westport