Letters: Balance of payments deficit concerns; climate change; Covid data comparisons

New Zealand "must welcome as many tourists as possible and export whatever we can" to get the country off its slippery financial slope, a correspondent says.

NZ has one of the worst balance of payments deficits in the world (177 out of 178 countries). Unless this changes, NZ will be on an even worse slippery financial slope.

We import significantly more than we export and with increasing debt-servicing costs the deficit is currently in the vicinity of $30 billion. Maybe whilst sustainable to a degree in the short term, this trend must be reversed long term.

We must welcome as many tourists as possible and export whatever we can such as timber, gold, coal, any oil and gas products that we produce, horticulture products, along with supporting exporting businesses.

While exporting timber, gold, aluminium, coal or oil and gas products may not be acceptable to some, at least what we produce is some of the cleanest in the world and therefore assists the planet as opposed to importing dirty Indonesian coal.

A period of realism is required while hopefully the new Government can get things back to a better state.

Mike Baker, Tauranga.

Workers’ rights

While the advantages of the 90-day trial period to businesses are clear; the implications for workers can be more insidious. I personally know several people who have been quite adversely affected by this legislation in the past. It has been used, on occasion, as a mechanism to acquire cheap, dispensable labour.

I am sure most employers would use and adopt the law appropriately and in good faith. However, the ease with which companies can dispense with an employee on a whim; unsubstantiated and unchallenged, is concerning for workers.

In an age where the oft-repeated “cost of living” is impacting the middle and lower classes unabated and disproportionately, job security is extremely important. One would hope NZ First would adhere to their centrist philosophy and oppose this legislation — which could possibly be construed as an attempt to compromise basic rights of workers.

Miles Langdon, Remuera.

Window cleaning

I am, without doubt, a peasant. I look at the fabulous multimillion-dollar homes on the market and my only reaction is “some poor sod has to clean all those windows”.

Anne Martin, Helensville.

The family ute

In his column, did Bruce Cotterill (NZ Herald, December 23) actually say “the family ute”?

Geoff Leckie, Flatbush.

Buyer beware

As if groceries are not dear enough: I was doing my supermarket shopping when an item was clearly signed as being $1.99. At the checkout, it was scanned as $5.69. Fortunately I was watching the screen as the items were coming through and picked up on the overcharge. Shoppers: Watch the screen as items are being put through, and/or check your receipts.

Dennise Cook, Torbay.

Providence fund

Dail Jones (NZ Herald, December 28) correctly remembers that Norm Kirk died after only two years in office. He thinks the Government changed in 1975 because National campaigned on the slogan “NZ the way you want it”. If voters really didn’t like Labour’s new legislation, National would have changed it but the new Government kept many of the revolutionary new laws like ACC, the Waitangi Tribunal and much else besides. What Dail Jones and his Government colleagues did do was trash the Provident Fund. (These funds were started later in countries that got wealthy, like Norway and Singapore). That fund in NZ today would be worth $1 trillion ($200,000 for every man woman and child in the country) more than enough for any government to buy as many ferries and trains and roads and water as we could wish.

Mark Nixon, Remuera.

Climate change

Both Jamie Morton and Ben Tomsett review with urgency our planet’s difficulty coping with the violent storms, floods and fires accelerating at pace right now (NZ Herald, December 28). This destruction is caused by human-induced heating, particularly by fuel companies as they profit from the selling of fossil fuels. They show little concern for life trying to exist. Our sea animals suffer from warming waters and unknown plant life devastating their food sources. But still we totter on with no worries it seems.

Along with others in Parliament, our Prime Minister and Finance Minister have young children who will be affected by these conditions. Is it too much to ask they take a hard look at what their own and other young people will face and prioritise an action plan now to replace fossil fuels? It would be valuable too to provide the money necessary to help with reconstructing the way we live. This will see their future protected and one actually worth living for.

Emma Mackintosh, Birkenhead.

Questionable data

Richard Prebble (NZ Herald, December 27) uses a rather unusual measure (percentage increase in deaths) to claim that Sweden did better than New Zealand in relation to the impacts of Covid on deaths. The Economist updated its Covid mortality rates in November 2023 and shows sharply differing rates for excess deaths (actual deaths compared to expected deaths) between the two countries due to Covid (190 to 200 excess deaths per 100,000 people in Sweden versus 5.3 to 200 for New Zealand). That equates to a significant difference and New Zealand would have seen thousands more deaths if it had seen the same per capita death rate as Sweden. Moreover, New Zealand was only one of three countries to see a rise in life expectancy during the pandemic (the others were Taiwan and Finland) whereas life expectancy in Sweden fell (there was a decrease of 0.85 years for those aged 60 and over). If comparisons are to be drawn, there are more suitable data points and sources.

Paul Spoonley, Torbay.