Should Finance Minister Grant Robertson ordain lower interest rates, increase the money supply, and lift wages and benefits for workers, beneficiaries, householders, and small businesses? Photo / Warren Buckland, File
Avoiding recession
New Zealanders, or more accurately, those least well-off, do not have to suffer from recession. The Government has tools to remedy many of the causes with counter-cyclical policies – interest rates must be lowered urgently, money supply should be increased at a steady rate to maintain liquidity and increase wages and benefits for workers, beneficiaries, householders and small businesses. These measures should be complemented by a permanent wealth tax. Paying nurses a real increase would have a positive multiplier benefiting the whole economy. Treasury economists might be somewhat coy in ascribing one-third of inflation to “unknown”. I suspect that, as in the UK, this component is due to excessive demand at the luxury end of the market. Lower interest rates would push more of the savings of the wealthy back into circulation. Government spending may be adding to inflation. However, much of this is providing infrastructure and services that the private sector requires, and should be maintained, perhaps more effectively targeted. In Wales, where 31 per cent of children will be hungry tonight, I advocate a supplementary internal currency (free electronic money, £20 per week per capita on to a debit card) post-independence. Net of savings, this would add about £1.5b a year to an economy of £78b GDP with negligible impact on inflation.
Neil Anderson, One Tree Pt.
Inflation split
Regarding your front page article titled “Going to be a tough year” (NZ Herald, April 18). Treasury believed the issues causing inflation could be divided into three factors. I would suggest a more accurate division of the causative factors would be: 50 per cent Government financial ineptitude; 30 per cent overseas supply issues; and 20 per cent unjustifiable price increases.
J. Porter, Taradale.
Supply and demand
Chris Bishop’s assertion (NZ Herald, April 17) that the emergency housing crisis is caused by Labour’s policies is ridiculous. Most landlords bought their properties at a price far below what it is now and are making a huge amount of money off this investment. If landlords were able to deduct interest from their earnings they would still be charging exactly what they are now because the law of supply and demand sets the price. If they can get some desperate family to pay $600 plus, then that determines the rent. These assertions by Bishop are just another example of National looking after its rich supporters at the expense of everybody else.
John Lipscombe, Whangamatā.
Accelerated learning
The Government’s plan to reduce class sizes from 29 to 28 for years 4-8 is not quite honest. Class sizes will probably not change as it is the funding that changes. How schools use this extra funding is variable. Many will employ an extra teacher who will not be in a class but will withdraw small groups of children for enrichment or extension sessions which can have very good results. Katherine Swift, Kohimarama.
Additional solution
Instead of employing an additional 320 teachers to reduce class sizes by one, the Government should parachute specialist maths teachers into every primary and intermediate school. This should arrest the alarming decline in numeracy skills, as well as grant the “generalist” teachers the additional non-contact time they have been asking for.
Allison Kelly, Mt Eden.
Isolated thinking
I have to wonder whether some of our wannabe leaders are as deluded as they sound. The Government has decided to keep the seven days isolation period for positive Covid results, but Christopher Luxon is still adamant that we should be out and free. There are around 12,000 cases every week and around six deaths, yet Luxon is happy to have everyone out and about, infected or not. We can only thank the Lord that National has not been in Government during the last three years. Labour may have made some mistakes (don’t we all?} but has pretty much got the Covid issue right.
Trish Heikoop, Pakuranga.
The aristocrats
Kieran McAnulty’s recent comments mean that this year’s general election is shaping up to be a 17th or 18th-century style contest between democracy and aristocracy, with the Labour Party backing aristocracy. I am sure Labour’s cloth-capped forebears would be dumbfounded by this turn of events.
Ross Weenink, Karori.
No good wars
In response to a recent letter from S Lincoln (NZ Herald, April 11) regarding comments about the war in Ukraine, thanks for reminding us that America did not have any sanctions placed on it by the rest of the world with the two Iraqi wars and other conflicts, President George W Bush and others who were not held accountable and, as Lincoln also mentioned, 275,000 people were killed then without weapons of mass destruction. I don’t like anyone causing wars as they are unnecessary evils, regardless of whether they are Russians or Americans; having seen and experienced firsthand as a child in World War II in Europe the suffering and lasting effects that war has on everyone.
Katie Sabine, Pt Chevalier.
Emergency squad
In regard to the Anniversary Weekend flooding in Auckland, I am curious as to the role of the 42-strong team of Auckland Emergency Management. If the role is to react effectively during an emergency, it failed miserably. If the role is also to anticipate and plan for emergencies (including “unprecedented” ones), it failed here spectacularly. How does the team spend its time at work?
John Walsh, Green Bay.
Hangar minute
Grant Bradley’s article on the proposed new Hangar 4 at Māngere (NZ Herald, April 17) makes no mention of the curious appearance of Hangar 3. The designers of that hangar for the then-new DC8 spent much time trying to foresee what the DC8 successor would be like and designed for that as well. When the DC10 appeared, no one had allowed for the unique configuration of a third motor under the tailfin. An ingenious truss had to be built on top of the roof allowing the bottom cord of the main truss to be removed in one place to allow for the high tailfin. Today Hangar 3 stands as a monument to the impossibility of “future-proofing”.
Denys Oldham, Devonport.
Heavy rail
With the recently released transportation options involving long lengths of light rail in tunnels, why not instead extend the existing heavy rail network using similar tunnels? Light rail is best used as a modern-day tram, collecting passengers at street level to maximise patronage. Being buried in tunnels with wide space stations does not efficiently do this. It is also not suited for longer journeys to the airport or up to Ōrewa from the CBD where speed and luggage handling convenience are needed. It seems Labour is fixated with light rail and is not sufficiently considering the longer-term heavy rail options. Much better would be to loop the existing heavy rail network from Puhinui, via the airport, to Onehunga and to tunnel the heavy rail beneath the harbour to link the hubs of Birkenhead/Northcote/Glenfield/Albany and future-proof to Ōrewa/Warkworth with a loop back to the main line at Helensville. Why not expand the existing proven infrastructure and trains, soon to be enhanced with the inner city CRL, instead of starting a completely new system which in the future could well prove to be a white elephant?
Rob Walsham Birkenhead.
Easy beats?
One of the issues that impacts on the Warriors is the media hyping them up as soon as they win a few games without considering who they have beaten. So far this year, they have only beaten one side from the top eight while three out of four of their remaining wins have come at the expense of the teams currently 15th and 16th on the table. While we all want the Warriors to win, players need to keep their feet on the ground and shallow over-hyped media reporting does nothing to assist the coach and management to do this.
Gil Laurenson, Eastern Beach.
On Census
Will the last Census end before the next one? Steven Chapman, Rotorua.
On motorbikes
Can anyone explain why Auckland Transport is funding radio ads on motorcycle safety? Surely that is not in the ratepayer domain? Lucas Bonné, Unsworth Heights.
On Coronation
With the Labour Party so concerned about the harmful effects of colonisation, it was interesting to see Chris Hipkins, proudly, accepting an invitation to the King’s Coronation. Neil Hatfull, Warkworth.
On supermarkets
Supermarkets in NZ have a $22 billion turnover so, at profits of $1 million a day, they are making less than 2 per cent on their turnover. That’s not price gouging. They would be better off putting the money in the bank Jeff Tallon, Hauraki.
On crossing
I guess that the harbour tunnel is just a pipe dream? Phil Parker, Pt Chevalier.
On wage subsidies
Why do we as taxpayers have to put up millions to rescue food outlets (NZH, Apr. 14) while other responsible owners use their own money and efforts to survive? Brent Murdoch, Greenlane.
Cost of childcare means it’s not worth going back to work
For some families, the benefits of going back to work are not just (or not even!) financial. Our daughter went to daycare for four hours per week when she was 18 months old. The cost of this was just over what I earned for working those hours while she was there - but it gave her socialisation and learning opportunities, and it gave me adult interaction and the ability to keep my hand in my profession (which helped immensely when I was later ready to return to full-time work outside the home). Don’t just look at the dollars to decide if working is worth it - look at what is best for you and your family’s well-being and then decide accordingly. Fiona K.
Our policies and our economy encourage and reward the poor for having kids and punish the middle class. Inevitably, we have a constant renewal of lower socio-economic problems regardless of how much money we throw at welfare. Meanwhile, the burden on the middle class is growing and growing and now the middle class can’t even afford to reproduce. Welly G.
I think the solution to this is simple. Remove 20 hours of free daycare from those that don’t work and give the 20 hours to those that do. The taxpayer is already paying them to look after their children, so what is the reason to pay for their childcare on top? Okay, it was meant to be so they could go out and find a job. So if they have been unemployed for longer than a year, then 20 hours of free childcare gets removed. Deane S.
Not really, it was designed to give children over three a head start or a levelling when they started school. Meaning teachers would supposedly have children with similar knowledge when they began school. Gail S.
Two key reasons people use care when not working. One, they are studying or two, mum and/or children have respite hours due to illness. Both are completely valid reasons. Colleen H.
OPINION: New Zealander reflects on delivering speech at St James' Palace.