Sir William 3

What an appalling headline you produced in the Waikato Times, November 28 (‘‘Gallagher’s views ‘privileged and sad’ ’’). The Gallagher family must be the greatest benefactors in our great city. They have also provided employment for thousands of people and kept their head office and production plant in our city when they could have been relocated to almost anywhere in the world.

It is the Times that is sad using its privileged position as the local major newspaper to expose a jealousy that is unwarranted. I do not think anyone in Hamilton would believe that Sir William is privileged as the Gallagher family have worked hard to create an international empire and have at all times remained true to the city. We are all privileged to have them as part of our community.

There are many people in the community who feel the Treaty of Waitangi has been misinterpreted and is a rort, but we are not supposed to question it.

The science about climate change is far from settled and most of the political rhetoric promoted by the Greens and the others that promotes CO2 as evil seem to have limited knowledge of science.

Sir William has perhaps expressed in his speech the thoughts of many people in NZ who are never given a forum to pass public comment.

And do not forget that the charities supported by the Gallagher family do not discriminate on class, ethnicity or age.

The Waikato Times needs to publicly apologise to Sir William and the Gallagher family for its overzealous reporting.

Jim Findlay

Hamilton