Your letters: Price of life; Old people in city

The price of life

Once again we hear and read about the tragic loss of life of the three male members of an outdoor pursuit. To take risks at this time of the season with the weather not the best for rock climbing leaves one to wonder what the instructor or management dreamed of. Someone said this has been in progress for 25 years without accident.

Mother Nature can change so easily without warning. Not being prepared for the worst and taking shortcuts because you have done it so many times leads to familiarity breeds contempt so let us do the job or situation the correct way.DH BourkeWhangareiOld people in cityAs a reader of your paper for over 38 years we'd like to make a few suggestions. Lately your paper lacks some good informative writing of a broader sort. There are too many pictures. Please, if your paper wants to support the readers, promote a building in the inner city especially for the older people, old people's homes are mostly hidden in faraway places. Look at Europe, you will find them in inner-city old-people homes to be part of the community.

For every councillor a matter to be proud of to have their name added to such a good project.

- M Bakker, Whangarei

Develop port

The time will come when Ports of Auckland and the people of Auckland will want to reduce the freight traffic arriving at the bottom of Queen St, preferring cruise liners and tourists. Marsden Point clearly has enormous potential as a freight and container port. Instead of spending the enormous sum of $1.76 billion on the Puhoi to Wellsford project [NZ Transport Agency] should continue the upgrading of the existing state highway and have the huge saving difference allocated to developing Northland rail and Marsden Point.

- Owen Lewis, Whangarei

Buildings first

Interesting, isn't it, that ACC cannot afford to pay out compensation to people who get hurt yet they can pay $90 million for The Warehouse distribution warehouse in Auckland.

I imagine all those turned down for ACC will find this disturbing to say the least.Katherine MoselenWhangareiU-turn imminentThe ruling by the Waitangi Tribunal on Maori water rights is a veritable get-out-of-jail card for the Government. John Key must be sleeping like a baby now that he can can the asset sales programme.

While there is a well-used phrase in the real estate sector of selling and buying in the same market, that doesn't apply to selling assets of the magnitude of Mighty River Power in a global recession. This is not about swapping one house for another, but a silly desire to satisfy an ideological imperative, one that has generated [no pun intended] sufficient voter angst to warrant reconsideration of said asset sales programme. And I am glad that Mr Key is pragmatic enough that he won't play the racist card and blame Maori for his impending about-face. I suspect he will need the Maori Party more than ever in the short to medium term.

- Mike Regan, Auckland (via email)