Finance Minister Grant Robertson during his Budget 2021 lockup presentation at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Claire Trevett's explanation (Weekend Herald, May 22) that Labour's re-election in 2023 was the real motivation behind 2021's Budget, was brilliant. She explains that the welfare largesse now being handed out will have faded from the Conservative memory by 2023, and it is then, just in time for the election, that Labour will present a Budget that favours middle New Zealand and proves that she has "not forgotten" those who had switched their votes to Labour in 2020.
This Government is sometimes seen as being incompetent, but this crafty, even Machiavellian, Budget is a hidden warning that the Labour Party must not be under-estimated and that Judith Collins had better come up with something pretty solid by 2023 or she will be doomed to another spell in Opposition.
Care and consideration
The Prime Minister of Australia has been pilloried for closing the border with India and in spite of his efforts someone sneaked through. The outcome of this is that Melbourne is now under lockdown after the carrier attended an AFL game and one of the contacts went on a pub crawl. The situation, which was entirely predictable, is not yet under control.
The New Zealand Prime Minister, possibly to curry favour with the travel industry and those wishing to travel, has opened our borders to Australia and as a result has exposed this country's population to potential illness and death.
Apparently, all that is needed to get into this country is an affirmation they have not been in one of the many locations where someone might have been. Which Prime Minister is showing care and consideration, let alone "kindness" to the people of their country?.
Rod Lyons, Muriwai.
Transplanted American
I can relate to the Americans living here in Aotearoa, (Herald Canvas, May 22). I am a transplanted Yank too, and have lived here longer than I did in my birth country.
Straddling two cultures can be [hard], and the last five turbulent years in America have caused me heartache, as I watched in disbelief a once-mighty country descend into chaos and division. Even with time and geographical distance, I still occasionally suffer from post-traumatic "Trump disorder".
I love New Zealand. I love the kindness of its people and I love its quirky insistence on being true to itself on the world stage. I am grateful that I don't have to dodge Covid or flying bullets from an assault weapon, but like Eleanor Black, I am in my heart, a "star spangled" kid.
I sentimentally cherish the vision of my father's America when he returned from World War II. He was filled with immense pride that, as the son of immigrants, he was the first in our family to obtain a university degree under the GI Bill, and subsequently went on to employ a Japanese pharmacist while my mother taught the family English.
No country is perfect, but I consider myself very fortunate in being able to experience both.
Mary Hearn, Glendowie.
Lack of urgency
I am becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of urgency in getting New Zealand vaccinated. I wonder why? Is it lack of vaccines, lack of vaccinators, lack of venues? I live north of the Harbour bridge and our only centre is at Birkenhead. Why is North Harbour Stadium not the vaccination centre? It has easy motorway access, large car parks and different gate access. This venue would facilitate the rollout very effectively.
I am a retired nurse and offered my services to WHB as a vaccinator. Problems arose as I would have to reregister with NCNZ for my Annual Practicing Certificate at a cost of just under $100 with no guarantee that I would be used or reimbursed.
Auckland is the hub of NZ plus its weakest link if Covid-19 takes hold. It is therefore essential that maximum effort is placed on getting this area vaccinated and in so doing protecting the whole of New Zealand.
Christine MacDonald, Silverdale.
Logic and simplicity
Co–leader of the Maori Party, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer's article (Herald, May 27), is eloquent in its logic and simplicity.
Article 1 of Te Tiriti o Waitangi speaks of the cession by Maori of kawanatanga – the authority to legislate for settlers - to the Crown;
Article 2, of the retention by Maori of te tino rangatiranga – sovereignty, and their right to sell land to the Crown should settlers wish to purchase it; and Article 3, of the granting to Maori and Pakeha equal rights of citizenship.
Elisabeth Garrett, St Helier.
Python sketch sequel
Letters to the Herald criticising recent findings that New Zealand children's bedrooms are too cold bring to mind the Monty Python sketch The Four Yorkshiremen, most versions of which have a variation of "Well, I grew up in a paper bag in the middle of the road".
It is good that these correspondents survived childhoods in cold, unheated homes without serious illness but not everyone is as hardy. In fact, New Zealand has always had a high death rate from seasonal flu and at one point we had the highest cot death rate in the world, most occurring in the South Island where winter temperatures are so low that other developed countries would have central heating.
Immigrants from northern Europe complain of our cold houses, which they did not expect in a First World country. Even the ballet dancer Anna Pavlova, after whom our iconic dessert is named and used to Russian winters, mentioned our cold houses.
Health and housing policies should be for all, not just those with a strong constitution. Rather than re-inventing the wheel, we could learn from what other countries have done, beginning with facing up to the reality of our cold winters.
Raewyn Maybury, Westmere.
Cycle lanes
Regarding Simon Wilson's article (Herald, May 28) re his support for closing one northern lane on the harbour bridge to create cycle lanes.
Census 2018 states 48,000 people cycle to work daily (nationally), 2.2 per cent of all commuters. NZTA states 154,000 motorists per day, peak 200,000 per day, cross the Harbour Bridge. This means 3388 to 4400 cyclists per day would use the cycle lane.
I travel both the northern and northwestern motorways at peak times morning and night (depending where I need to be) and off-peak during the day. Cyclists on the northwestern motorway certainly don't appear to back those census numbers.
To shut one lane heading north on the bridge would definitely be a "bridge too far". Currently during peak, heading north traffic can be backed up to Ōtāhuhu on a good day and further if wet or accidents occur. Waka Kotahi is right in saying no to this madness. Reducing the bridge northbound lanes by one defies logic, irrespective of what the woke of this city seek.
Unfortunately I'm sure the minority pressure groups will somehow get their way to the detriment of the majority.
Frank Slater, Manly.
Cunning plan
A former Prime Minister, Rob Muldoon, once famously said in the 1980s that Kiwis
moving to Australia raised the IQ in both countries. I wonder what he would make of the Australian Government's 501 legislation where New Zealanders living in Australia who fail a character test will be deported to NZ.
Is the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison masterminding a cunning plan to send
their criminals to NZ to the point where NZ becomes a lawless country and Kiwis flock to Australia? Australia ends up with a well-educated and motivated workforce at no expense at a time when there is a huge shortage of skilled workers in both countries.
Graham Fleetwood, Botany Downs.
Could it be that the reason vaccine delivery is restricted to only a few hard-to-get-to places in Auckland is that there isn't any to go around?
Anthony Browne, Birkdale.
It would be nice if cars had a roof cam to record the event so that [those] who put a ding in your car, without leaving any record, and then happily drive off as if they didn't have a care in the world, could get their comeuppance.
Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.
Those who hack and mess up hospital records must be very sick in mind. There seems no apparent reason other than to make life difficult for the hard-working medical staff and their vulnerable patients.
Pamela Russell, Ōrākei.
We are in a very vulnerable situation in NZ. The latest breakout of Covid-19 in Victoria is a real problem that potentially could be a problem here. The solution is mass vaccination in this country. The Ministry of Health will not emerge out of this pandemic looking particularly well.
Geoff Williamson, Mission Bay.
I agree with our country's position re-Five Eyes (which is not a treaty) but I do have concerns regarding our total lack of providing military defence while relying on allies. In order to assert our independence we need to equip our Air Force with up-to-date fighters to ensure that we are truly able to fend off any threats and also be effective allies.
Phil Saunders, Northcote.
Sign of the times? Does the red moon this week also confirm that Labour will again win the next election, as we never ever see a blue moon?
Murray Hunter, Titirangi.
For a television network so exercised about pronouncing Maori place names correctly, TV1's persistent use of "Palmy" instead of Palmerston North is a trifle ... well ... inconsistent?.
Larry Mitchell, Rothesay Bay.
I am disappointed to see that telephone landlines will be no longer be available and will be obsolete in a few years' time. Why can't they wait until all the old people die before they do this?.
Tom Reynolds, St Heliers.
Gary Arnold (Herald May 27) writes in opposition to lowering the voting age to 16 years, citing immature brain development. His description of how this manifests itself reminds me of a number of recent and current world leaders, none of whom have the excuse of "callow youth" as mitigation.
Christie James Coles, Mt Eden.
We never seem to hear of any ransomware cyber-attacks on Russian or Chinese institutions. Why?
Alex Findlay, Pukekohe.
The latest outbreak of Covid in Melbourne illustrates how failure of the vaccination roll-out can undo earlier successful control of the virus. With less than 10 per cent of New Zealanders having been vaccinated, any lockdown would be totally avoidable had the promised early vaccination been properly managed.
Janie Weir, Newmarket.
The Ministry of Education says it was okay for a Hastings school to close for two days to host a Mongrel Mob funeral. The ministry tells us that 40 per cent of schoolchildren miss school at least three days a fortnight. Yet they condone making that worse. Gangs are also a scourge on our society.
Graham Carter, Herne Bay.
Fiona Rose Knapp, 54, once owned a studio in London’s Notting Hill.