Letters: Coalition governments should be compulsory; housing questions; the right to protest

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters. Photo / Mark Mitchell

I would like to thank and congratulate Audrey Young (NZ Herald, December 20) on her article about Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters.

At last, we see the benefit of having NZ First in a coalition. Winston is an honest and seasoned politician - I have supported him for years. His experience, wisdom and charisma will benefit the people of New Zealand for years to come.

He brought with him Shane Jones, a powerhouse if we ever saw one. His experience in the past has made him a certainty for fisheries and, of course, regional development. He will take no nonsense from anyone and is a likeable man. Casey Costello is taking on some difficult portfolios with regard to seniors, health and immigration. The good thing about a coalition government is it provides a huge depth of experience to draw from when allocating portfolios.

I would like to see a coalition of at least two parties made compulsory in future, as any party governing alone believes they have a “mandate” and can do any stupid thing they like.

Dan Russell, Tauranga.

Housing site issues

Those who complain about houses being built in Auckland should see all the houses being built in the Black Bridge and Bader Drive area of Māngere. How the infrastructure will cope is questionable, as this area and those close by suffered badly in the floods at the beginning of the year. Tararata Creek flooded so badly that many homes in the local area were destroyed. That creek is tidal and cannot cope with all the stormwater at present. The new Government has said not enough houses are being built - where do they think they are going to put them?

Sue Gallahar, Māngere East.

Competing priorities

Toby Moore’s article “Why the Government’s new Reserve Bank mandate may lead to worse outcomes” (NZ Herald, December 20) unconvincingly makes the case for the Reserve Bank maintaining a dual mandate of inflation and employment. The problem is, they compete. To be successful, RBNZ would need to put rates up and down at the same time.

Steve Dransfield, Karori.

Push for nuclear power

Is it not time now to revisit this country’s stance on nuclear energy, considering it has become almost a signature political act to be opposed to it? If we embraced it, we could then have clean, almost limitless power. And surely turning away large nuclear ships and submarines of our allies’ navies is short-sighted, given increasing threats. Why not get realistic and at least consider it as an option?

Paul Beck, West Harbour.

Right to protest

Did Ian Doube (NZ Herald letters, December 20) not notice the protests from various minority groups against the previous government, or complain about them when they were happening?

The freedom to protest is one of the principles of democracy, a system of government in which the people’s representatives remain answerable to the people who put them there (and that’s everyone, not just those who were lucky enough to tick the eventual winners on election day).

It’s an ongoing thing - not something that’s just kept in a box to be taken out for a couple of days every few years, while the rest of the time, everyone is supposed to just shut up and accept the ideology of the day.

Morgan L. Owens, Manurewa.

Stadium debate scorned

It’s unbelievable intense discussions are taking place regarding a multibillion-dollar waterfront stadium (NZ Herald, December 20) when Auckland Council rates are rising to an alarming level, there is a century of neglected infrastructure, raw sewage pours into our harbour, and residential flooding occurs because of neglected stormwater capacity.

Hylton Le Grice, Remuera.

Picking up litter

A devoted group walk the streets and surrounds of Kerikeri each morning on a double-whammy mission - collecting the rubbish of others and meeting and greeting locals.

Data analysis shows the most-frequently tossed items on our land are cigarette butts, while plastic is the most prevalent material: a 72 per cent increase since 2019. Glass beer bottles are the leading litter material by weight, while paper and cardboard make up the highest increase in estimated litter volume and are now found seven times more often than in 2019. Snack wrappers and packets are the top industry category of branded litter, surpassing alcoholic beverage containers and packaging. Retail sites have the highest levels of litter per site type, overtaking industrial sites in 2019.

While NZ probably won’t go Singapore-style in terms of penalties - hefty $500 fines for butt-droppers and $1500 for first offenders caught discarding chewing gum - one simple waste-solving mechanism could be that all packaging be returned to its retail source. Supermarkets, hardware and even shoe shops etc would then have to deal with the copious single-use wrapping that protects food and other household items but is ripped off shortly after purchase and then deemed waste.

Rob Buchanan, Kerikeri.