It seems ridiculous that the ship’s officers could not quickly switch it off, a simple on or off switch!
Peter Plaistowe, Onerahi.
Spilling the beans
Thank you Winston for your astute jibe about the coffee break while on autopilot on the ferry boat. It generated an unusually rapid response from the administration.
That evidently, was because it was close to the truth. Their response is still open to question. Now, we are promised an inquiry in the next few months – an inquiry that should take no more than a week.
This entire event is a painful example of the floundering, even incompetent state of public administration in New Zealand.
Graham Steenson, Whakatāne.
Third strike?
They say that things generally come in threes and, to date, the country has seen two that must surely qualify for the infamous Darwin Awards.
The first involved Transpower when a maintenance crew had the bright idea to unbolt attachment leg bolts that held up a power pylon which then toppled, resulting in power being lost to an entire region – not to mention the increased maintenance then needed.
Next up was KiwiRail, which had apparently installed a new autopilot in a Cook Strait ferry but neglected to educate the bridge crew on how to operate it – the result being they turned it on only to find the ship then veered off towards a rocky shore and no one knew what to do next. Lucky for them it didn’t also go power up.
So, in theory, there’s still one to come. Watch this space.
Paul Beck, West Harbour.
Vexing Vector
Two days ago, I was notified by a neighbour that there was to be a power outage from 8am-4pm the following day that would affect my house.
I hadn’t received anything official. I checked on the Vector power outage site and, sure enough, my physical address was listed there. Plans were made to deal with a powerless day.
Just before 8am on the actual day, I received further notification from a neighbour who said the power outage would not affect me. I checked the Vector site again and my address was still listed, although I noted the site hadn’t been updated since June 25.
I communicated with Vector by email and received the following response: “I have updated your details to be notified of planned outages in future.”
So it seems the system now is you must register your email with Vector and they will notify you by email. This is outrageous. Did Vector publicise this new system?
What about those who have no email address? I guess they will suddenly discover they have no power for a day.
Janet Boyle, Ōrewa.
Razor’s edge
Wow, thank goodness for a bit of a Beauden boost. Hope he is still up for the All Blacks when he is Joe Biden’s age, he sure sparked up our play.
Great refereeing and calmness shown at the very end there, along with the touch judges and TMO, calling out the English player in front. A relief all around.
A tight first two outings against a resolute England side, with that Eden Park fortress pressure building all the time. Congratulations to Razor and the team for the start of their journey.
Glenn Forsyth, Taupō.
Driving motorists
Dr Matthew Birchall’s article “A smarter way forward for NZ’s roads” makes for interesting reading (NZ Herald, July 12).
Its focus is on roads and how road-user charges (RUC) can reduce congestion. He proposes that road-user charging could, in part, be based on vehicle type.
These charges could, in addition to reducing congestion, be used to encourage more fuel-efficient vehicles.
By using this tool, we could fight the most important threat facing every person in the world, and that is climate change.
A suitably designed RUC system could encourage people to use more fuel-efficient vehicles for the benefit of everyone.
David Tyler, Beach Haven.
