Any money spent by the Government supporting this event will be a sound financial investment.
Glen Stanton, Mairangi Bay.
Hospital language
Patients have every right to demand information from professional health workers that is clear and understandable so we can make decisions, or question future care.
The problem is the health professionals we trained have been lured across the Tasman by an aggressive advertising campaign. Thanks to monetary incentives, plus an easing of living standards, people have left in droves.
It’s not just health professionals, but our well-trained police force as well. It’s not a good look by the Australian government, but it did the job. Most countries are feeling the pinch with hospital care, so we too are looking elsewhere, usually to countries where English is a second language.
The answer must be with patients themselves, to ask politely for a repeat of what’s said and say “a little slower, please”, because without their training, we’re stuffed.
Emma Mackintosh, Birkenhead.
Speed limits
Auckland Transport’s unattainable goal of eliminating all road deaths and serious injuries fails to acknowledge that all drivers have tacitly accepted these are possible outcomes of driving.
Having accepted the risk, sensible people then set about minimising it by driving as well as possible. The problems that remain are the insensible, who drive recklessly and too fast for the conditions, and poor road design. Education can help with the former and investment with the latter.
What we, the sensible, are looking for from our roads is efficiency – 50km/h is fine on most city roads, and on motorways 110km/h or 120km/h would be fine. We don’t want to be slowed to inefficient speeds just so Auckland Transport can put itself up for design awards.
Tony Waring, Grey Lynn.
Phones and driving
The reckless use of a hand-held phone for texting and talking is one of the most dangerous actions faced by innocent motorists.
It is widespread and must be treated as a serious offence, in the same category as drink/drug-driving. I observed a man in a van today travel about 500m without looking up. A $150 fine is not a deterrent and the fines and penalties are much greater overseas, where cameras are now deployed which can spot motorists looking down at their laps.
I’d like to see the phones of offenders destroyed, because I could guarantee no one would want to face that ever again. Compare that to a fine of $150 for rear wheels trailing in a bus lane as the driver is moving over. No contest.
Helen White, Freemans Bay.
Overseas investors
It seems like a large number of the population (as evidenced by the election) think of CEOs as being in the same vein as successful, self-made businesspeople.
Perhaps this is why our Prime Minister thinks some glad-handing and shoulder-touching will suddenly get overseas business wanting to invest here. I would suggest an actual businessperson would realise that, and he is not enough to convince them. I find Winston Peters’ ideas are often a bit cynical, but a lower tax rate for overseas investors is probably going to have a much better result than numerous lunch dates.
Hamish Walsh, Devonport.
Berm buffer
In order to reduce costs, some councils would like to have urban landowners maintain their berms at their cost. Many farmers have been doing this for years; those with organic certification must also maintain a no-spray buffer zone.
This means instead of regularly spraying ditches, councils must mow these occasionally. This small cost must be minimal compared to the huge cost of trying to prevent the huge amount of scouring with the addition of rocks. Nature had the answer all along.
Alan Penney, Silverdale.
