Letters: Chris Hipkins remains Labour’s best option, Carmel Sepuloni on reality TV

Labour leader Chris Hipkins (left) and deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni.

Hipkins remains Labour’s best option

In the several years I have been reading Matthew Hooton’s columns, I have never known him to genuinely endorse the political left (NZ Herald, August 23).

Now he is offering ways to help Labour to election victory. Why now? This makes me suspicious.

He touts Kieran McAnulty as a leader-in-waiting but McAnulty is convincingly adamant he doesn’t want the top job.

Moreover, any on the left I have spoken to (as well as the Labour caucus, I gather) still hold Chris Hipkins in high regard, for his intelligent, articulate grip on all aspects of policy, and his awareness of what went wrong in hugely unprecedented times (with hindsight a great blessing, as National will discover).

The radical policies that Hooton is urging Labour to embrace do not win elections. The vast majority of Kiwis (be they left- or right-leaning) voted for the middle, and we strongly object to the tail wagging the dog - and the anti-Māori policies that are highly objectionable.

Any move to change the leadership will come from the Labour Party, not Hooton. Any move to radicalise policy will come from Labour voters (and the public), not Hooton.

Barbara Darragh, Auckland Central.

MP and reality TV

Carmel Sepuloni, deputy leader of the Labour Party, took part in Celebrity Treasure Island earlier this year (Herald on Sunday, August 25).

Obviously Sepuloni thinks so little of her position as an elected MP that she feels she can skip her job to be involved in CTI even though Chris Hipkins, her “boss”, gave her the time off with full pay.

Sepuloni also received a talent fee of an “undisclosed” amount. To her credit, for the days she was away from Parliament, she donated her salary to a charity.

However, Sepuloni must realise she was voted in by people to represent them in Parliament, not to go on some lightweight TV show. She is “employed” by New Zealanders through our taxes.

I will not be the only person who does not agree with parliamentarians of any political persuasion to have leave for this kind of activity while Parliament is sitting. What benefit has this been to the citizens of this country?

Janet Boyle, Ōrewa.

Honourable member

MP and now TV star of Celebrity Treasure Island while on full pay. While the pay rules of Parliament are not in line with New Zealand core values and unethical, it’s very rare that MPs are honourable (just check the party list jumpers etc), but Carmel Sepuloni’s heart is definitely in the right place by donating her taxpayers’ income during her leave, to New Zealanders. I hope other MPs are equally inspired to do right by the taxpayers.

Randel Case, Buckland Beach.

Ditching profits

You have to laugh at Kiwis (I’m one of them). They bank at Australian banks, buy their groceries at Australian supermarkets, buy their DIY supplies at Australian DIY megastores, go to the movies at Australian-owned cinema complexes, and then puzzle why the New Zealand economy struggles.

Duh! Could it be that wealth in the form of profits flies across the ditch never to be seen again (gee don’t Australians have a good lifestyle). Now local councils are in trouble financially because they are forced to contract with Australian-owned infrastructure providers (Ventia, Veolia, Fulton Hogan, Downer) advised by a group of Australian infrastructure consultancies, and another set of profits flies across the Tasman and infrastructure suffers.

It’s a pity that New Zealand voted to end compulsory superannuation which, in analysis, is the sole reason why Australia (and to a lesser extent Canada) has taken us over. In another laughter moment, all the gas fields in the Taranaki basin which should have met New Zealand’s energy needs for a couple of a hundred years were sucked dry by Methanex and the profits from their methanol plant in Waitara flew over to Canada.

In 1949, the first National Government inherited the fourth-strongest economy in the world. What happened?

Paul Cheshire, Maraetai.

Airport embarrassment

Janie Weir’s letter (NZ Herald, Aug 23) recounting her recent experience of arriving at Auckland International Airport accurately sums up the situation for returning Kiwis and the tourists we are desperately seeking when she says, “they must walk some 10 minutes – often in the rain or dark – to find a taxi”.

The situation is a complete embarrassment for New Zealand, as foreign visitors begin their experience of our country with a long flight, an often lengthy time in the processing halls, followed by a long walk along an inadequately-covered path to find a car to take them into the city.

I know a number of people involved in the chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle sector that is pre-booked by leading businesspeople and affluent tourists and they are beyond embarrassed at having to escort their clients on the long trudge to a parking area that is another couple of minutes beyond the taxis and Ubers.

The airport has a long history of not recognising the needs of the most valuable travellers, to the detriment of our tourism industry.

Tony Waring, Grey Lynn.