Letters: Booster shots, supermarkets, taxation, Christopher Luxon, and China

A staff member at Te Whānau O Waipareira pop up vaccination clinic holds up the best known protection against the worst effects of Covid-19. Photo / Sylvie Whinray, File

Quite some nuisance
The editorial (NZ Herald, May 31) "Prudent to boost boosters" is very timely and highlights the problem that far too many people regard Covid as a bit of a nuisance but nothing to worry about.
As we progress through this epidemic, it's become evident it's not like the flu in that, as well as death, it can cause long-lasting health problems, regardless of age. It is very difficult to understand why a free get-out-of-jail jab is not grabbed with both arms.
It would seem we need another wake-up call - that could be highlighting the number of Covid-related deaths and the ongoing health problems that can occur.
It should also be emphasised that the likelihood of another epidemic is still high and that a booster jab after death has yet to bring anyone back to life.
Reg Dempster, Albany.

Grocer profits
There seems to be so much criticism of supermarkets by the Government and I wonder why.
We have been talking for years about banks and overseas ownership and the obscene profits that leave the country annually, we have talked for years about petrol companies and their profits also. The price of dairy products has been a touchy subject as well.
But now, the Government thinks it is a good idea to force a private company to lower their prices and profits and possibly sell parts of their business to a competitor.
You can look at any business in the country and see you are being charged too much for just about anything and yet the Government has chosen supermarkets. Why?
P J Burrell, Morrinsville.

Price drop
The Commerce Commission reported that the grocery retail market turned over $22 billion. The duopoly's "excessive profits" were $420 million.
If these excessive profits were totally eliminated, prices could drop by less than 2 per cent.
Nick Hamilton, Remuera.

Taxed on tax
Well done Kushlan Sugathapala (NZ Herald, May 27) in highlighting that our tax system is grossly unfair.
One of the simplest and fairest ways of helping lower/middle income earners is to bring back the tax threshold abolished several years ago.
Low-income earners have little or no discretionary income resulting in all their taxed income being spent and incurring a further tax of 15 per cent, not to mention various other "disguised" taxes on petrol and alcohol. Even property rates are, in effect, a tax.
Valerie Moran, Stonefields.

National and Māori
So Christopher Luxon refuses to condemn an unsolicited racist anti-Māori posting on his Facebook page. What conclusions can we draw from that?
A lesson for Te Pati Māori though. Māori voters punished their predecessors for supporting nine years of the Key Government by deserting them in 2017.
Will the same mistake be made in 2023?
Roger Laybourn, Hamilton.

In plane sight
Again our Air Force is embarrassed, as is our Government, because our RNZAF Boeing 757 is unserviceable whilst transporting the prime minister and her delegation overseas.
John Key suffered the same in Townsville some years ago.
I am somewhat surprised at Christopher Luxon's comment to replace the aircraft with Boeing 767s.
These aircraft are of similar vintage and certainly, the 767 appears the more viable option to the 757.
However, they are old technology. Perhaps, given Air New Zealand has most of its Boeing 777 fleet parked up in long-term storage, these aircraft could be an alternative replacement?
Air New Zealand could be contracted to operate on behalf of the Air Force and the money saved could be used to replace 60-year-old Hercules transport aircraft.
Nigel Bufton, Pauanui.

Betty boop
The Prime Minister's plane breaking down is an embarrassment and a reflection of New Zealand society. The RNZAF Boeing 757 is affectionately called Old Faithful Betty.
You would think that this was the best plane the RNZAF could provide, as it was to carry the PM.
America has two specialised, highly-maintained Air Force One planes to carry the President- we have Old (and not so) Faithful Betty.
Perhaps we need to take advantage of Chinese offers to help struggling Pacific countries?
Neil Hatfull, Warkworth.

Change afoot
Simon Wilson is quite right in his comment piece on the CBD (NZ Herald, May 31).
The one common factor of the successful shopping and entertainment areas downtown is they're largely vehicle-free pedestrian areas.
Commercial Bay, the Viaduct, Vulcan Lane, and Britomart are all doing well and often full of people. They are the downtown success stories.
O'Connell St, High St, and Fort St are partially pedestrianised and at the next level.
The reduced lanes of traffic and new native trees on Quay St have made it much more enjoyable for people.
Wherever vehicles with their noise and fumes are removed, people congregate. It has taken a generation of fighting the vehicle lobby to have the few car-free areas we have downtown.
Let's just get on with making much more of Auckland's city centre designed for people, not vehicles. That will revitalise the whole downtown. Particularly as new City Rail Link lines will soon make getting into and out of the city much easier.
Roads full of rumbling traffic do not attract people, vehicle-free pedestrianised areas do.
Jeff Hayward, Auckland Central.

Charm offensive
The visit by the Chinese Foreign Minister to 10 Pacific nations to coax them into signing up for China's vision for a Pacific partnership is breathtaking in its scope and ambition. While Wang Yi and his delegation attempt to impress these sovereign nations to sign away their birthright, pocket another 10 votes at the UN, and change the region forever, our Government believes foreign affairs only requires a part-timer.
It is evident Nanaia Mahuta sees her more important role as Local Government Minister and her legacy to be the reconfiguring of water services in the face of widespread objections.
Thus, she has missed the ally of the invaders of Ukraine attempting to subvert our neighbours with propaganda masked as education, training in heavy-handed police tactics and installing an internet system that could be controlled from Beijing.
China also wants its voracious fishing fleets to trawl the islands' fisheries which would soon be decimated just as those of Asia have been.
Luckily Australia had a general election last week and their new Foreign Minister Penny Wong was on the plane to Fiji within hours to alert the Pacific nations to the dangers they face.
Gregory Pinches, St Heliers.

Reheat Anzus
Way back in the mid-1980s, our then Labour Prime Minister David Lange had New Zealand withdraw from the Anzus alliance on the reasoning that we didn't want US nuclear-powered vessels in our waters.
That severely affected our defence capabilities with the two most important Pacific nations. The tragedy now is that China is elbowing its way right across the Pacific to set up a barrier between the US in the north with Australia and New Zealand in the south. It is a pity that the Pacific nations cannot see past all the "goodies" that China is dishing out to them. China will want payback when the time comes.
Maybe NZ should take cap in hand and see if US and Australia will let us kiss and make up and rejoin in a worthy alliance of the three of us.
Bernard Bowen, Thames.

To the rescue
The Brooke van Velden piece "NZ negligence paves way for China" (NZ Herald, June 1), exhorts the Foreign Minister to get into an Air Force jet and visit the "oh-so-neglected" Pacific.
I wonder if, on the way, Nanaia Mahuta could carry out the search and rescue functions undertaken over many years by the RNZAF?
The latest of these missions was our ageing prop aircraft finding fishermen adrift from Kiribati.
Maybe the Pacific nations could ask their new best-friend-forever China to take on the search and rescue missions in the region. After all, those airstrips China is busy constructing are entirely for peaceful purposes.
It seems to me, that once again, the Pacific attitude to this country is: "No good deed should go unpunished."
Rob Harris, Dannevirke.

Short & sweet

On guns
The second amendment to the US Constitution, the right to keep and bear arms, is referring to single-shot muskets, not modern-day assault rifles. L H Cleverly, Mt Roskill.

On polls
All the latest political poll shows is the two main political parties are equally as bad as each other. Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.

I wouldn't stress over the hung parliament suggestion just yet. There is plenty of time for numbers to square up. Where it slides, is still to be decided. John Ford, Taradale.

On Queen St
Simon Wilson (NZH, May 31) suggests Phil Goff has just four months to put things right before he leaves office. Possible if Goff was on the road to Damascus and not London. James Gregory, Parnell.

On haters
In the interests of accuracy, the term "keyboard warrior" should be replaced with "keyboard coward". Derek Smith, Newmarket.

On China
The Chinese may well be writing cheques to win influence in the Pacific (NZH, May 31) but, as we all know, no bank will cash them. Martin Adlington, Browns Bay.

The Premium Debate

Has social media changed since March 15?

What is the definition of a far-right Facebook page & a far-left Facebook page? Sara M.

Right - bad. Left - good. Tony M.

So this is consistent with everything else Jacinda Ardern does - lots of talking and no action. It's all about spin to distract from the fact the country is besieged by gangs, inflation is out of control and poverty is through the roof. Bridget A.

Yet President Biden today said to Ardern that, "...your leadership has taken on a critical role in this global stage"..."the work you're doing with the tech companies is very important"....and, "I want to work with you on that effort". When was the last time a New Zealand leader received such clear and public accolades from the President of the US? Regardless of your political leanings, it's clear that Ardern's approach is helping NZ build an international identity and a level of soft power and influence that we haven't enjoyed often in the past. Evan B.

No one really thinks Biden is a good leader either. More than 60 per cent of Americans say the Democrats are out of touch with the concerns of most Americans. Sound familiar. Birds of a feather and all that. Mark Y.