Is it time to step back and take a broader view of what New Zealand needs, a reader asks? Photo / Nasa, File
Is it time to step back and take a broader view of what New Zealand needs, a reader asks? Photo / Nasa, File
Basic economics
With everything that is happening in what is a very strange world, and particularly with regard to the numerous problems which now beset our lovely country, surely it is time for a complete reset of our priorities in all respects, and get back to basics. Firstly we shoulddecide and keep only what existing policies are absolutely necessary. We should then determine what, as a small country, we can afford. We must then prioritise, in order of importance, what needs to be done. This must exclude everything that is not absolutely necessary, even though some of those things might be quite nice to do if we had unlimited resources. We need to be quite clear that in a perfect world, the cost of upgrading all of our necessary infrastructures would cost in excess of a trillion dollars, which we simply do not have. So, unless we get back to basics, and prioritise brutally if necessary, we will continue to march into an inevitable Third World environment. Steve Clerk, Meadowbank.
Weaknesses exposed
This whole tragedy of Cyclone Gabrielle has pulled back the curtain on a number of failings in New Zealand. First, the warnings: Four different computer models (ECMWF, GFS, ACCESS, ICON) were all in agreement, for both track and intensity of the cyclone a week before it reached NZ, that it would be a Category 2+ cyclone (pressure less than 965 millibars) when it arrived here. The friends I tried to warn were sceptical, as apparently were the Civil Defence officials, who did not come out of the woodwork until a couple of days before it hit. Second, the net result of the cyclone was to disclose the inadequacy of the NZ highways and communications networks. So many roads in NZ were built on pick-and-shovel alignments to minimise excavation and have never been brought into modern vertical and horizontal sight alignments, or had the adjacent hillsides cut back to preclude landslides. Witness Highway 25A (Kopu-Hikuai) road that has been almost completely destroyed, let alone the isolation of Gisborne and other East coast towns. Let us hope that the rebuilding is not a series of sticking plaster patches and gives us properly designed modern highway replacements. Ericson List, Pāpāmoa.
The current slew of ex-politicians ignoring the “rules” of political comment is disturbing. More disturbing is the claim by Ruth Dyson she had not read the rules. The reading of these should not be necessary as the standard of public commentary required by any public servant should be patently obvious and failure to understand this should disqualify them from such employment in the first place. This should apply no matter which political party is involved. Rod Lyons, Kumeu.
Deputy chair of the Earthquake Commission and Fire and Emergency New Zealand Ruth Dyson. Photo / Glenn Taylor, File
Now read this
For over 100 years, one of the fundamental tenets of the public service was that the permanent heads of government departments were always expected to give their minister “free and frank and neutral advice”. Sadly, with the introduction of Rogernomics and the major restructuring of the public service in 1987, and the introduction of five-yearly contracts for permanent heads, this tenet became blurred and watered down. Human nature being what it is, there was a tendency for some permanent heads to give their minister the advice they wanted to hear rather than being “free and frank and neutral” or risk their employment contract being terminated or not renewed. Having been employed by the former Department of Lands and Survey from 1968 to 1987 and the Department of Conservation from 1987 to 2011, I have personal experience of “the best and worst of the public service”. Perhaps it should be a compulsory requirement for all political appointments to the public service to re-read the readily available “Code of Conduct for Public Servants” published by the State Service Commission. Bruce Tubb. Devonport.
With all the challenges facing New Zealand at present, why is the 2023 Census questionnaire asking about our sexual identity? Hands up all those who think this is the burning question in New Zealand right now. We are told that we must answer all these questions as they determine future funding for essential services. Things like housing, medical care, food, mental health, child welfare, education, and our damaged infrastructure come to mind. We’ve been hijacked by the loonies again. Susan Norton, Cambridge.
Bureaucracy boom
David Seymour lambasts Labour for the explosion of 3845 bureaucrats while in office. When you think of all the testing stations vaccination centres, importation and distribution of vaccines traffic control, etc, required at the peak of the Covid pandemic the 3845 public servants which would have been required for each and every, city, town and village seems reasonable. I would be interested to hear how David Seymour would have handled the crisis. Perhaps he would have had everyone running around testing themselves, vaccinating themselves, and rehabilitating themselves in their homes or, in some cases, cars. Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.
Consultant binge
The Government has spent $1.24 billion on consultants for core public service providers in the year 2021-2022. Add Crown entities like NZTA and Housing NZ and the figure is close to $1.7b (NZ Herald 07/03), plus an increase in public servants of between 60,000-100,000 since coming to power. In comparison, the Government has turned down, for the second year in a row, an offer from Auckland and Otago Universities to increase the number of much-needed doctors they can train. It becomes clear Labour’s priority is growing the central government empire rather than providing essential services for Kiwis. Brian Mclachlan, Onerahi.
Merger splurge
The TVNZ-RNZ merger that never happened – $16.1m spent on “trying to get a cohesive strategy” (NZ Herald, March 9). On the same page, we are reminded that the Herald and Radio New Zealand often swap news stories, to economise on the costs of putting reporters in the field. So why can’t TVNZ and RNZ simply swap stories? Why a merger? Arch Thomson, Mt Wellington.
Can we please do away with the ludicrous phrase, Western science? A law of physics is a law of physics, as informed and developed by knowledge and practice derived from the ancient Greeks, Chinese, Persians, Polynesian peoples, or whoever. That said, I see no reason why “science” and mātauranga Māori are not complementary. One teaches us how to prepare karaka berries so they can be safely eaten, and the other informs on the mechanisms of how such preparation nullifies poisonous compounds. Greg Mann, Army Bay.
Rigorous pursuit
The traffic lights in the cycleway (NZ Herald, March 9) have been through a “rigorous temporary traffic management approval process”. Isn’t that the most blatantly untrue statement possible? Truly, this is a “clear as day” example of all that is wrong at Auckland Transport. Suburban streets are filled with speed bumps every 100m which is a nightmare for classic cars and trailer towing, then, get a 30km/h speed limit. Speed bumps incorporated with traffic lights, many unnecessarily severe, on main arterial routes that cause bottleneck traffic jams. A completely out-of-control department of the council that seems answerable to nobody except its own chief executive. Tony Olissoff, Mt Eden.
Short and sweet
On Beyer
Nice touch on Georgina Beyer Way in Carterton, but they could have done that for her while she was still here, to have cut the ribbon at least. Eye roll. Glenn Forsyth,Taupō.
On Savea
Chris Rattue condemns Ardie Savea for his throat-cutting gesture, and properly so. However, no mention is made of the rugby union’s promotion of that very same gesture as part of the Lardelli haka. Rugby is hypocritical. Carrick Bernard, Mt Albert.
The All Black’s official haka includes this action. Was Ardie’s more a reflex reaction rather than a premeditated and lethal personal harm threat? Larry Mitchell, Rothesay Bay.
On Iran
The latest Iranian atrocity of poisoning schoolgirls brings to mind two cliches: “be careful what you wish for” and “from the frying pan into the fire”. Ray Gilbert,Pāpāmoa Beach.
On doctors
Calls for NZ to train more doctors will raise toasts in Australia, where pay rates are double and our doctors head in droves. Stewart Hawkins, St Heliers.
On royals
Personally, if Harry was my son, I would not invite him to afternoon tea let alone my coronation. A N Christie, Rotorua.
The problem is the rise of the “rush defence”. It has not only caused more collisions, but it has also stifled creative running to the point it is now very hard to get through the defence. It is ruining the game as a spectacle. The answer to me is to stringently enforce the offside rule, which seems to be absolutely flaunted by many northern teams who rely on the rush defence, or change the rules regarding the defensive point to more metres. Players these days seem to get the ball at the same time as countless defenders arrive. I can see this happening internationally because the Northern Hemisphere dominates and controls the game, and changes to open the game up will give our sides a huge advantage. Some, not all, northern teams are simply happy to play a satisfyingly boring game. Look no further than the English women’s team who use as virtually their only attacking weapon the rolling maul. Change this and players tackling players arriving at pace will be forced to tackle around the legs. Ross W.
I’ll go you one better Ross and suggest that, rather than the offside line being at the “hindmost feet” of the ruck (which it never is), it should be five metres behind the ruck. Hugh J.
Even get rid of the professional 1st XV environment and move it into under 21, and graduate into super rugby after 21. Defence has changed, players are too close to get low into the tackle. Jeremy B.
I have waited a long time for such a piece to spell it out as it truly is. The game I loved and played has become a bore and a threat to health. The likes of Grahame Thorne and Christian Cullen wouldn’t find any gaps today and would soon be smashed to the ground. With a string of forwards lining out what chance is there of any gap appearing? I attended every game of the great Auckland Ranfurly Shield eras of the ‘60s and ‘80s but now I wouldn’t attend with a free ticket. Bruce B.
