Official celebration event for the Black Ferns World Cup in Te Komititanga Square in Auckland, Tamaki Makaurau. Photo / Alex Burton
Black Ferns bring back the magic
Thank you, Black Ferns, for every game you played in this tournament. You have given rugby a shot in the arm it badly needed. England’s style of play was partly dictated by having a player sent off, but it should be remembered that in the process they dealt to our best attacking player. All teams want to win but somehow Wayne Smith has instilled in his players that you can’t do that unless you really enjoy what you are doing. From a spectator point of view a bit of risk-reward is what we want and that is why the Ferns not only won but gave us the delight we were seeking so badly. Commiserations to the Roses: the game couldn’t have been closer but one hopes you also learned from this tournament. To the Ferns — you did us proud and deserve the accolades that will follow. Reg Dempster, Albany.
Women achievers
It was so rewarding to watch the Black Ferns, wonderful young women, as they reached high to achieve their goal, delighting a crowd of thousands. It didn’t just happen with the gift of Wayne Smith and his team, awesome as it was, but also media representation over the past few years upping the importance of many women’s sporting achievements. The Herald particularly needs a pat on the back for this growth, especially within the Sport section, once the domain of male-only events. So, take note, business communities. Look closely at how you could achieve greater success. Try breaking that glass ceiling yourselves and allow more women in, because sports is not the only game women play well. Emma Mackintosh, Birkenhead.
Mauls overdone
Thank goodness the Black Ferns won by playing rugby, and not by mauling like the English! It has become a scourge of the game — even more so in the men’s game. The NZ women, like the men until recently, have always been innovative in their approach.Wayne Smith take a bow. Ian MacGregor, Greenhithe.
Positives for left
Claire Trevett (Weekend Herald , November 12) maintains cost-of-living issues are voters’ top concern and why National is leading in most polls. But recent elections suggest otherwise. From Brazil to Australia to the US, results have swung to the left, despite the polls. The big issues are climate change, economic fairness and protecting democracy. These favour the left. One finding in the surprise US midterms result is the good turnout of young voters, usually not well covered by traditional polls. Are the polls skewing too much toward older voters? I suggest the left here is in a much stronger position than polls indicate. Jeff Hayward, Auckland CBD.
Winner for most
I agree with Claire Trevett — I see a tax-free threshold as a winner for most households. Rather than boost benefits or tax credits this would help many households and encourage those in work to stay working. It also helps those without children who are often left out of the mix but have all the basic costs of running a household. Claire Teirney, Stanmore Bay. Cliff? What cliff? How sad reading the story of a young woman’s rape (Herald on Sunday, November 13). It asks: “What the evidence doesn’t explain, however, was how a man capable of such offending could find himself a loved and trusted member of the family.” We live in a sexualised world — pornography is not even talked about, and the boundary between it and videos and pictures that can only be referred to as soft porn, narrows. We no longer value women or take pride in who we are, only what we can achieve; no wonder our young people can’t live up to it. We live in a world that’s all about me. Morality is becoming what we want it to be, the normalisation of our ability to do what we want and get what we want has an on-flow. Once we used to believe we needed a fence at the top of the cliff; then the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. Now, it seems, we just deny the cliff exists. John Beach, Sydenham.
Education no disaster
Oliver Hartwich’s column (NZ Herald, November 10) called our education system a disaster. The fall in our education standards is evident, but is it overblown? Our PISA scores have dropped about 5 per cent since 2000 (compared with a 1 per cent drop in the OECD average). There was a significant drop from 2009 to 2012. However, our scores have stabilised from 2012 to 2018, dropping only 1-1.5 per cent. Many countries have leapfrogged us in math, however the drops in the reading and science rankings are due to some countries, especially in Asia and Eastern Europe (and Ireland), investing more in education as their economies prospered in the last two decades. For example, in reading, the top four are Chinese-speaking countries, and Estonia, Ireland, South Korea and Poland all figure in the top 10. While performance gaps between socio-economic groups were similar to the OECD average, there is room for improvement. Perhaps the funding changes announced recently will make a difference. The education review three years ago was a missed opportunity by focusing more on back-office rather than improving standards. I would grade our education standards as “need to improve” rather than a disaster. Kushlan Sugathapala, Epsom.
Word use irritates
Wendy Newton (Weekend Herald, November 12) highlights an irritating use of the language — the word “kids” instead of “children”. I add: “invite” vs “invitation”; not knowing the difference between “to” and “too”, and, oh yes, men have a “prostate”, not a “prostrate”. There are bound to be more. Or should that be there is bound to be more? Peter Cooke, Whangaparāoa.
Empty buses a waste
National Party transport spokesman Simeon Brown clearly is not a regular reader of the NZ Herald letters section. If he was, perhaps he wouldn’t be so quick to sound off on the cancellations across Auckland’s bus network. I have read multiple times in the Herald, and seen the sheer number of empty buses driving around our city at all hours. Empty buses waste funds, and needlessly burn fuel. If Brown knew this, perhaps his attempt at political point scoring could have been taken from a different angle. John Deyell, Ellerslie.
Fireworks decision time
I have been told repeatedly that no NZ Government wants to risk voter backlash if they ban the private sale of fireworks. Backlash? Have the politicians not seen how major retailers have led the way by refusing to sell a product most of their customers don’t want? Even China, where most of these explosives are produced, have started banning the sale of them in their large cities due to pollution concerns. Next election, add it to the ballot paper, let’s have this over and done with. Jane Carmichael, Glendowie.
Cruiseship gets it right
My husband and I travelled on the Majestic Princess from Los Angeles to Auckland. Some of Michael Baker’s comments (Herald, November 12) are incorrect. Only passengers who had negative supervised RAT tests within 72 hours could board. There were strict measures, with masks in elevators and enclosed locations. Crew supervised hand washing or hand sanitation on entering restaurants. We had supervised RAT tests every five days apart from before arrival in New Zealand, where passengers were told the Government did not require it. Many Americans were concerned at the lack of this Covid precaution, with some hesitant to disembark. In Tahiti, the ship was locked down for 12 hours while the French government checked Covid precautions — there were 120 cases. Covid passengers were confined to their cabins for five days. The ship took excellent precautions regarding the virus and I wouldn’t hesitate to cruise again with them. Cheryl Price, Omaha.
Putin’s prediction
A number of weeks ago Vladimir Putin predicted that Kherson would be Russian for ever. Nearly 90 years ago, another dictator made predictions about a Reich that would exist for a thousand years. There are many similarities between Putin and that other dictator, but the most distressing is their complete lack of concern for the lives of others and the welfare of the world in general. Greg Cave, Sunnyvale.
On Black Ferns
From the national anthem, haka and the way they play the game, the Black Ferns are an inspiration. Murray Reid, Cambridge.
Our greatest sporting achievement. Ever. Bruce Tubb, Devonport.
On justice
A man gets sentenced to nine months home detention for raping several underage girls while a bag shop gets fined $780,000 for pricing irregularities. Something is not quite right. Chris Tompkins, New Plymouth.
On league
Congratulations to Samoa for beating England in the semifinal and earning themselves a place in the final against Australia. Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.
On emissions
For a government that is so concerned about the bodily functions of cattle and carbon emissions, they sure do jet around. Last week, James Shaw in Egypt; this week Jacinda Ardern in Phnom Penh. Janet Boyle, Orewa.
On US elections
If Donald Trump was a true patriot, he would pave the way for Ron DeSantis. Glenn Forsyth, Taupō.
On fireworks
It would be wonderful if we had a politician with the guts to do something about the disturbance of firecrackers after November 5. Neville Swan, West Harbour.
Claire Trevett: Labour’s bitter polls to swallow
National’s plan to raise tax thresholds to address “bracket creep” introduces no new money into the economy, and lets you keep the money to spend how you wish. Labour dishing out more benefits by way of borrowing to do so introduces more money to the economy so is inflationary. Stephen L.
Why would Labour listen to the polls? They don’t listen to any advice or alternative options as is their default position. Ross J.
To be honest, while I’ll never again vote left of National, Luxon doesn’t especially inspire me. I think he is a person of integrity and intellect but he doesn’t particularly project warmth, vision, or even shrewdness — all desirable qualities in a leader. Gerard W.
I don’t want a leader who projects warmth. I want one that projects managerial and financial competence and inspirational leadership. Marcus A.
I think those polls showing the cost-of-living crisis is the biggest issue voters are concerned about today are not necessarily true. Co-governance was not included as an issue in the poll. For many people, that is the main issue that will switch them away from Labour. Jacqui S.
I couldn’t agree more. The needless restructure of health, TV and radio, the Three Waters proposal, and the rise of divisive policies simply add layers of bureaucracy and add no value. Patrick F.
OPINION: New Zealander reflects on delivering speech at St James' Palace.