Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown preparing to speak with the media after outlining his budget at Auckland Council headquarters. Photo / Michael Craig
Building dreams
There are 75 cities in the United Kingdom with more than 100,000, and less than one million, people. The UK has only two cities with more than a million people, London (9 million) and Birmingham (1.1 million) and has long pursued such a strategy to house its much larger population (69 million) without detracting from its green and pleasant land. New Zealand is a similar-sized country and what it clearly needs now is new planned cities. The Unitary Plan enabled enough housing for the next 30 years. The Kaipara area offers one obvious opportunity, given its separation from Auckland and Whangārei, its natural harbour and park areas, rail link and the connection this allows to the Auckland airport, its poorer quality soils, its hills providing elevated areas for housing, and its areas of flat land for schools and commercial development. We need “visionaries”: architects, planners and people with imagination to ensure the Kiwi dream of a house and garden in a beautiful town/city environment. This is the way to protect our social, cultural and economic environment and tourism.
Victoria Lowe, Shamrock Park.
Hard data
At last some hard facts on the “crime wave” (NZ Herald, June 1), thank you. It’s just a pity that collating the data took so long. This news, and the editorial, deserved to be the front-page story. The Opposition is able to peddle the “soft on crime” myth because ram raids with accompanying video clips are more dramatic visually than white-collar and domestic violence crimes committed sight unseen. Thus we are treated to a fear-mongering campaign that doesn’t stand up to logical scrutiny, all designed to heighten everyone’s anxiety. Playing to people’s fears, which by the way, is the point of propaganda, is also the refuge of any political opportunist.
John Capener, Kawerau.
Allied thinking
I think we have to acknowledge that the world is a different place than immediately after World War II. We should be eternally grateful to the US for its contribution in repelling the Japanese. The defeat of the Nazis we owe to Russia. However, things have changed. We are witnessing the rise of a disturbing political doctrine in the US which has its roots firmly entrenched in Nazism, in every way imaginable. Inflammatory rhetoric, banning books, white supremacism, the likes of Donald Trump, Ron de Santis, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rand Paul, they’ve got it all, stirred along nicely by Rupert Murdoch. Currently led by a doddery old man with either Trump or de Santis waiting in the wings, do we really want to follow this path? Or do we jump on the new order bandwagon that the superior technology of China represents? A threat? Don’t make me laugh. They have only one overseas military base; America has hundreds. Do we really want a dog-eat-dog society like America’s?
Paul Cheshire, Maraetai.
Evolving language
I don’t really see what all the fuss is about regarding signs being in both English and te reo Māori. As it has been said before, it is not uncommon overseas. I can see a day in the future when the everyday language of New Zealand Aotearoa is a mixture of both. It is happening now, how often is whānau used in everyday speech, and kai, aroha, etc?
Julie Pearce, Matamata.
Scrapyard fire
Seriously, Auckland Transport doesn’t have a back-up control centre, as in disaster recovery, for an event like a minor issue? A bit of smoke closes down the Auckland rail network? For God’s sake, all that money on bus and cycle lanes and they can’t have a failsafe for an event like this for the rail network? It beggars belief.
Glenn J Pacey, Glendowie.
Power play
Like many, I also received a letter from my electricity provider to which Ros Gee (NZ Herald, June 1) refers. The wishy-washy rationale for the removal of low-user rates cites a government review. Presumably, the review’s recommendations were adopted because the company’s majority shareholder is the Government. That this also increases revenue without the company having to do anything is a coincidental bonus. Interestingly, government reviews of corporations with recommendations that happen to be financially disadvantageous are usually ignored.
PK Ellwood, Beach Haven.
Stop lights
Your correspondent Anita Banbury (NZ Herald, May 30) is correct that Auckland Transport must provide better bus services and facilities to restore public confidence. Waiting for the bus is a major part of the public transport experience. AT needs to invest in high-quality bus shelters and stops with good lighting. They are low-cost, quick to implement and a high-reward strategy to improve bus patronage and service. Install bus stop lights powered by solar panels. These can be installed within the shelters or directly on bus stop poles next to them. This will eliminate shaded bus areas at bus stops. Passengers will be clearly seen by bus drivers and will be picked up on request.
Patrick McFarlane, Ōnehunga.
Longer view
While the sale of Auckland’s airport shares may solve the Auckland Council’s present financial problems, has thought been given to the long-term consequences? Given the size of the offering and the nature of the investment, it is likely that most shares will be snapped up by overseas buyers. It is predicted that dividends will recommence payment in the near future and thus these will be going to their overseas buyers, now and into the future. Hardly in the interest of ratepayers or the country while the council will have lost a regular contributor to its coffers. Mayor Wayne Brown likes to emphasise his winning of 180,000 votes but, from a population of 1.5 million, it’s hardly a ringing endorsement. Perhaps he should be employed for his engineering expertise and leave financial affairs to the more long-sighted.
P. Belsham, Mt Albert.
Climbing dividends
I couldn’t agree more with Mike Lee (NZ Herald, May 31) on the selling of airport shares. Why do we always have to fight to keep what is ours? It doesn’t seem that long ago we were protesting the neo-libs trying to sell the wharves. The shares belong to Manukau. Before the Super City, they were worth $40 million to $60m a year and kept Manukau’s rates the lowest in Auckland. There has obviously been no dividend in the past few years because no aircraft have been coming in. The dividend for Auckland this year is $40m and it will climb yearly. Any company would think that was a brilliant result. The mayor clearly thought he would come into town on his horse and flog off the airport and would be seen as the great saviour. Think again.
Geoff Leckie, Flatbush.
Needs must
Mike Lee’s argument (NZ Herald, May 31) against the Auckland Council selling its airport shares is basically “never sell an appreciating asset”. It’s usually sound dogma. But the Auckland Council is in desperate times, and we all should know that desperate situations need desperate remedies. The Auckland Council did not buy these shares, but was gifted them. This is good to know, because the council has no mandate to indulge in investing, whether in shares or otherwise. Mayor Wayne Brown is rightly making core council functions the top priority in his mission to bring costs under control, and more power to him. He is an exception to the many people in high places who too much enjoy spending other people’s money.
Jim Carlyle, Te Atatū Peninsula.
Best interests
According to Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, some councillors could be following the dictates of unions or the Labour Party in their voting and decision-making on the budget. These councillors shouldn’t have to be reminded that they are there to listen to and follow the wishes and best interests of Auckland ratepayers.
Ken Graham, Greenlane.
Singularly mistaken
Josephine McNaught (NZ Herald, May 31) wrote about Auckland Transport’s Cowan St and Russell St naming errors in a note to residents. Sandy Webb of Auckland Transport replied writing “Thank you for letting us know about this error” confirming McNaught’s observation: “If Auckland Council can’t get the basics right...” - Webb should have written “these errors”, not “this error”.
P. Harlen, Mount Maunganui.
On sprawl
Urban sprawl is a city getting bigger, trying to keep cities the same size is futile. What is missing is effective planning and follow-up. Steve Dransfield, Karori.
On signs
Strenuous, sustained, and co-ordinated efforts need to be made to maximise the use of symbols, graphics, and pictures on all public signage, avoiding the need for multilingual signs while getting the message across to all residents and visitors to our country. David Hopkins, Remuera.
On drivers
There is only one way to deal with recidivist drink drivers. Confiscate their cars and ban them from driving for life. Successive governments in this country have never had the guts to do this and that is why so many people have been maimed or killed. Mikki Buckland, Pāpāmoa Beach.
On words
I might be tempted to vote for anyone who bans lazy language on primetime television news, for example bucks for dollars, kids for children and kindy for kindergarten. Wendy Newton, Birkdale.
On shares
I would like to know how the council’s airport shares which were allocated to the Auckland Council at no cost and will return $40 million in dividends this year and $60m in dividends next year - not to mention capital gains - can be reimagined as a liability that must be sold. Ken Taylor, Mangere.
On the beat
Good to know that there are now 1800 more police. It would be nice to see some of them on the streets. Nick Hamilton, Remuera.
Liam Dann: Business confidence rebounding
People I know who have businesses are feeling a bit more confident because it’s not long until the election and they’re confident of a change of government. Mark R.
Yeah right... naah, it’s actually getting quieter out there, and the pessimism grows accordingly. Anthony C.
It’s hard to be confident when the figures that Liam has produced all start with a minus in front of them and when you see a supermarket chain lock in 300 prices for the winter at the high end of the price range. This will force more inflation upon us which results in the RBNZ pushing up the OCR closer to 6 per cent, which will force even more businesses to close down. David S.
If the businesses are rebounding when the dollar is at around 60 cents, I can only imagine their joy if Labour gets back in and the dollar dropped to 50 cents. Roy H.
No chance we can enjoy a bit of positivity without bringing up politics for once I suppose? Stuart B.
But Adrian Orr said it’s all under control and his committee is delighted with their own work. Richard M.
Norm Rose, who is now based in Napier, is not surprised by Wood's stellar EPL form.