PM Chris Hipkins speaks to media. Photo / Warren Buckland
Future has no votes so it’s up to us
So the Hipkins Government has decided that in order to win the coming election it must join National and abandon the future? What an indictment of our system that even as this summer’s catastrophic storms and floods announced the arrival of climate change, our two major political parties have kicked the issue into touch.
The problem is simple — the future has no votes. The answer is more complicated. We have an electorate increasingly tilted in favour of the old. Their entrenched voting habits leave little room for today’s problems — many completely outside their life’s experience but presenting real threats to the lives of their grandchildren.
Then there are all those who have done well out of the past 40 years as we have set about consuming planet Earth and its future — they want the destructive gravy train to roll on. One possibility is a Future Generations Commission charged with representing the interests of the future. Just as children and the environment have commissions to represent their interests because they have no votes, so should future generations. Right now, their interests are seen as expendable. Geoff Prickett, Waikanae.
Climate change conundrum
The biggest fly in the policy ointment is the inarguable fact that nothing New Zealand does in terms of reducing emissions (carbon, methane) will make one iota of difference to the extreme weather events we will suffer here. The moral road is to take principled action and make promised reductions, be part of those international populations that are changing their behaviour in farming, transport, industrial energy use — even though the big boys refuse to do much.
The global solution by 2050 is not likely to be new transformative technology, as the right advocates, but a massive population decrease. And that will be achieved by enormous loss of life through extreme weather events, starvation, lack of water, disease, fires and war. B Darragh, Auckland Central.
Nash behaviour dangerous
It beggars belief that some commentators appear to support the way in which Stuart Nash promoted stricter penalties for offenders. We all agree that crime is out of control but is dangerous for a minister of the Crown to behave in such a way and ignore due process. Much has been made of the impact of the occupiers of Parliament’s grounds. What is the difference between them and Nash taking the law into his own hands? The answer is not a lot. Both could result in anarchy. Glennys Adams, Waiheke Island.
The law is an ass
While Stuart Nash has taken the appropriate action in resigning, his actions while themselves “unwise” are understandable, given the ridiculous sentences passed down by some judges. I well recall the case of the brutal attack on a policewoman by a drunken thug which put her off work for months yet only attracted a sentence of 300 hours of community service. He should have received a three-year jail term and may well have if the charge of aggravated assault had not been downgraded to one of assaulting an officer. I still do not understand why the then Police Commissioner did not appeal, and there are numerous other cases where convictions are not entered because such a charge might impact an accused’s ambition to play for the All Blacks, etc. It’s therefore not surprising to find the general public concurring with Mr Bumble that the law is indeed an ass. This is particularly so when last week a 73-year-old woman was convicted of drunken driving, fined, and disqualified. While I do not condone the offence, was she not also “unwise” in not being an international star or having a really expensive lawyer? I suspect the Opposition parties may come to regret opening this particular Pandora’s Box in years to come. Rod Lyons, Kumeu.
Hold judges to account
Sometimes we get so tied up in protocol that we forget that beneath words spoken in haste there is a hidden message. It is absolutely right that no minister of the Crown should use their position to influence a decision outside their remit, particularly when it refers to the law. Having said that, some decisions made by our justice system are difficult to understand as often the punishment does not seem to fit the crime. We have all seen the miscarriages of justice that have prevailed and taken decades to rectify. Now could be an opportune time to introduce a statute where those who make decisions in law are held accountable, as after all, that is what they impose on everyone else. Reg Dempster, Albany.
GDP is daft
GDP has dropped by 0.6 per cent, shock, horror! No worries, we can easily bring the economy back on track by borrowing to install bollards and fog cannons for every shop, and installing doors between driver and passengers on every bus. If that is not enough, we can start selling hamburgers to each other.
Using GDP as a measure of economic success is daft. At least there should be a distinction between desirable GDP (building a school), and undesirable GDP (building a prison). No government will do that because it would immediately reveal how much money we are wasting. K H Peter Kammler, Warkworth.
Fix it to avoid Armageddon
The pre-2000 generation population was very good at fixing things. If the car engine broke down, nine times out of 10 we could go under the bonnet and fix it: top up the oil, radiator, or change a tyre. If a fuse blew, we could replace the fuse wire. Similarly, if we had a tear in a shirt or trousers, out with the sewing box, stitch it up and give the clothing a new life. Now, if it doesn’t work, throw it out is the new order. And then we wonder why, when environmental pollution is burgeoning, electronic gadgetry and defunct automobiles and batteries are consuming landfills, exuding methane and nitrous oxide in such quantity as to rival greenhouse gas from fossil fuels, we are spiralling towards inevitable climate Armageddon. Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.
Poor not undeserving
Bruce Cotterill (Weekend Herald, March 19) seems fixated on what he believes is excessive support the state provides for the 20 per cent of the population who live in severe poverty. His suggestion seems to be: cut their wages and benefits unless they somehow demonstrate that they deserve our support. He’d much prefer that the charity sector covered the costs of keeping the “undeserving poor”, a phrase originating in the Victorian era. The solution in those times was to provide workhouses and prisons for these people. Cotterill appears to be furious that his taxes assist these people, but is more than happy to pay superannuation to wealthy old people whether they “deserve” it or not. It astonishes me that someone can be so lacking in compassion, and perspective. I wonder if he’d consider other options, such as a wealth tax? I doubt it. V M Fergusson, Mt Eden.
Keep it tidy for good
As a resident of Auckland for over five decades, I am saddened to say I have never seen it looking so shabby and neglected. The once well-maintained parks, berms, streets and beaches have become a victim of prioritised spending. The alarming decline in standards and basic maintenance services has been clearly evident well before the recent weather events. It seems like a far-fetched fantasy that the Auckland Council and its agencies aspire to transform Auckland into the most livable city in the world. Regrettably, the bureaucrats who dream this stuff up seem disconnected from the real world as there is nothing more fundamental than tidy, clean streets and parks. Poor presentation of the city is not just a matter of aesthetics but it has a significant impact on the wellbeing, health and safety of all. Bruce Eliott, St Heliers.
Health a Titanic concern
“The long fight to see a doctor” by Nicholas Jones (Weekend Herald, March 18) certainly didn’t give cause for much hope of improvement in our struggling health system anytime soon. The suggestion that a way to ease the burden on public hospitals is to let GPs and other primary health providers give more specialised treatment is as useful as rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. National Party health spokesperson Dr Shane Reti quite rightly said: “Who is this primary care who will do more — can you point them out to me? They are the GPs who you can’t get an appointment with this week; who are so exhausted, tired and under-resourced that they can’t open doors to do after-hours.” Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.
TV future for Nash?
Maybe we could have Nash start a new TV program here — Judge Bash, then we will all be happy. Glenn Forsyth, Taupō.
Bang on, Bruce
Bruce Cotterill’s article (Weekend Herald, March 18) is bang on the money as usual. For those of you who have not read it, it can be succinctly summarised as “no society ever thrived because it had a large and growing class of parasites living off those that produce”. Richard Telford, Lucas Heights.
Echoes of Vietnam
The Ukraine war has been so costly for the Russians that, like the Americans in Vietnam, they are reluctant to pull out. In Vietnam, American public opinion eventually won the day, but this seems unlikely to happen in Russia. Does Xi Jinping have any chance? Keith Duggan, Browns Bay.
Subpar thinking
Australia is spending $400bn on acquiring nuclear submarines. Really? Imagine what that sum would do for combatting climate change and also for mitigating against its effects. Think what Pacific island states would think, when the oceans wash over them, as the shiny new submarines sail past! China, on the other hand, has been spending billions on infrastructure in the Pacific. If anything, the submarine deal will increase, and not reduce, its influence in the Pacific. Gehan Gunasekara, Stonefields.
Road cone war: Wayne Brown seeks to slash $145m spend on AT traffic management
Fully agree with Mayor Brown, recent travels in Europe show road works with barely a cone and little disruption. Time for a reset and rethink of the cone mentality in NZ. Mike W.
Speed bumps at traffic light-controlled intersections, disrupts traffic flow — more emissions. Absolute madness. James M.
The pedestrian trial in Queen St should have been cancelled or replanned when the numbers of people coming into the city dropped. What was once bustling with workers and students is no longer. I believe the bike lanes in K’Rd have done as much damage to business. Especially as there is no penalty for riders who don’t use them and cause even more congestion. It’s chaos with pedestrians walking in bike lanes and bikes going the wrong way down lanes etc. I wouldn’t mind seeing the ACC stats on injury in the street. K’Rd has lost it’s beezy nature. Now you have to be hyper alert, looking in every direction just to walk out of a store without being bowled. Kylie T.
Finally, a business manager instead of a career politician. This is just one example of why our rates are out of control, and up until now no one (Goff) has cared. Applying pressure to this type of spending is exactly what I’d needed. Keep it up, Wayne. John M.
OPINION: New Zealander reflects on delivering speech at St James' Palace.