Cop it sweet
Simon Wilson (NZ Herald, January 5) pointed out the lack of police enforcement of road traffic rules and breath testing for impaired driving etc. The main problem goes back to 1992 when the then Police Minister John Banks incorporated the old Ministry of Transport traffic officers into the NZ Police.
The old Ministry of Transport was designed for enforcement of the road code with Traffic Officers who were professional and dedicated. They also did drivers' licensing testing. I equate the present police effort to the old drill with add-on sander and saw attachments. The only job it did properly was as a drill.
The present road code enforcement is highly inadequate, as general and criminal policing takes priority. It's time the Government allowed NZ Transport Agency, Waka Kotahi, to form a new transport and traffic enforcement agency to enforce all rules. Also, give them powers of arrest. This could be self-funding from fines as it mostly used to be, and would allow the police to get on with the job they were designed for.
David F Little, Whangārei.
Join the non-party
As an Aucklander who has now been able to roam free since December 15, I read with consternation Michael Baker's musings (NZ Herald, January 11) on further lockdowns for Auckland in the event of excess hospitalisations with Omicron.
Ideally, authorities proposing and imposing lockdowns should actually be based in Auckland so they could more readily gauge the full effect of their edicts (Not that we want to overwhelm the health system but are there other approaches?)
Michael Baker please come and reside in Auckland until after Omicron has had its way?
Chris Chrystall, Epsom.
Fantastic Aucklanders
Just two years ago, Aucklanders were referred to as Jafas, by many south of the Bombay hills.
Many in Queenstown in particular, enjoyed the name and referred it to your face, when they found out you were from Auckland. Overseas guests were, of course, in abundance and there was no need for us.
Now we see them pleading with Aucklanders to return and help them with their tourist operations and restaurants, which desperately need our money.
I wonder if they could find a new name for us? May I suggest "We love Aucklanders"? They could wear T-shirts with our new name on. That would really encourage us to return.
Tom Reynolds, St Heliers.
Walking nightmare
Simon Wilson is an outspoken advocate for safer roads, shared spaces, bicycles, sustainability, all admirable which - if his advocacies were adopted - would lead to greener pastures for all.
His passion is to be admired, and thanks must be given to the Herald for giving him space to promote his views.
However, nowhere in his great scheme to make all things bright and beautiful has he much to say about the safety of pedestrians.
On a recent visit to Queen St, there was "incoming" from in front and behind. But unlike in war where there is some warning - enough for someone to shout "incoming" - on Queen St there was none.
E-scooters, electric bikes, electric skateboards, ordinary bikes, and it seems anything on wheels and electrified shares the same space as pedestrians. These projectiles whizzing silently past make life on the footpath in Queen St a lottery, where one misstep could end in a visit to A and E.
Come on Simon, spare a few words for the most vulnerable.
James Gregory, Parnell.
Unsightly city
What's with the mayor and council reps who so often extol Auckland as one of the world's most liveable cities, and then allow the same to be almost an embarrassment in some very public areas?
I refer to the Botanic Gardens in the Domain as one example. Scaffolded over and closed off to the public totally. Directly in front of the building, a dried-up pond, complete with cracked mud and very dead aquatic planting which used to have ducks, birdlife, etc, gracing its confines.
Along with unkempt roadside verges and footpaths, combine this with noxious agapanthus on motorways; 14,000 native trees mowed over on the North Shore by the council to preserve the views for a minority; well-established trees cut down on Mt Albert, replaced by very slow-growing natives; and generally a tired look around the city and environs.
A city more obsessed by glitz and flash, as opposed to a liveable city with regular maintenance of natural surroundings, cannot compete, especially when overseas visitors arrive here.
The first impression they get will be the one they take home. It's hardly likely to score highly in their minds.
Ted Partridge, Māngere.
Different strokes
So Novak Djokovic wins and makes the Australian Government look foolish in the eyes of the rest of the world whilst demonstrating to us normal folk that if you are rich and famous, you can buy your way around the law that the rest of us have to accept.
Well, as for me, if he is finally allowed to play, I hope the Australian public shows its displeasure and boos him off the court.
Gerald Payman, Mt Albert.
Short & sweet
On history
The only thing we can learn from history (including ours) is to make sure that we don't repeat it. Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.
On Hipango
Get rid of her, Chris! Wendy Tighe-Umbers, Parnell.
On Djokovic
Australian Tennis wants him for a drawcard and he can afford to oppose anything that doesn't suit him. It's a pity the 501s didn't have the same resources. Reg Dempster, Albany.
An easy guy to not like and one's hindbrain reaction is to get a giant tennis racket and whack him all the way back to where he came from. But, as the bottom of the E team in badminton, I would need to deputise. Andrew Montgomery, Remuera.
On protests
When will we see the judiciary deal firmly with those who continue to bait the system? Brian Fear, Milford.
On roads
The tragedies on our roads have one single root: Rules are optional. K H Peter Kammler, Warkworth.
Highway 27 to Matamata has cables on the left side of straight roads. I'd prefer incompetent drivers hit a fence or ditch, not bounce back into other vehicles. Bill Capamagian, Tauranga.
The Premium Debate
Workers say pay falling behind
New Zealand has a "free market" economy. Now the employment market isn't distorted by huge immigration, lower-paid workers' bargaining power is increasing. I think this is very healthy for New Zealand, returning to a more egalitarian society of the 1950s and 60s. To compensate for the lower-paid workers getting paid more, those at the top should take a pay cut. Ralph P.
Why not just pay everybody the same? After all. All these big bosses are just overpaid with no more skills than the rest of us serfs. Anyone can run a multimillion-dollar company, am I right? Dave B.
It will be interesting to see wages try to keep up with hyperinflation when it eventually arrives. Geoff B.
New Zealand's problem is too much money invested in housing and nowhere near enough invested in business. Which isn't too bad when labour is cheap or cheaply imported. We have too many people doing jobs that should be done by machines. Our education system isn't helping either. Warren S.
If you researched and looked at other developed countries you will find that New Zealand has almost the highest minimum wages around the world. Increasing wages only fuels inflation, which affects the bottom end the most. The main factor for people having less money in their pockets is house pricing. I've been in a position where we requested a pay rise, a restructure happened and all were basically dismissed. Steven D.
And now, the wage price spiral starts. Mark R.
