Letters: Coronavirus, city projects, self-isolation and vaping

Concept visual for a mooring dolphin at the end of Queen's Wharf on the Auckland waterfront to accommodate large cruise ships. File image / supplied

Dolphins bumped

In hindsight, Auckland Council/Panuku Developments must feel some relief in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, that the much opposed plan to stick mooring dolphins at the end of Queens Wharf to enable gigantic cruise ships to berth there, was financially unsound.
We can only hope that, similarly, finance offered to build the much criticised tram line from the CBD to the airport also evaporates as the Government grapples with assistance plans for those affected by travel bans and an economic recession.
If ever there was a time for local councils and government to get their priorities in order, this is it. Pragmatism must prevail.
Coralie van Camp, Remuera.

Self-isolate here

I own an accommodation business in a lovely, isolated part of the Coromandel Peninsula - as do many Kiwis. Why not have a portal/central sign-up system where tourists who are having to self-isolate can arrange to do so in one of our Kiwi accommodation places?
We can offer grocery drop-off etc. In my case, they can still fish, swim and walk without coming across another person.
I would gladly give a big discount for a 14-day stay.
Bronnie Kennedy, Pohutukawa Coastal Chalets.

Vaping link

When a person using a vaping device takes warm water vapour deep into their lungs, they then expel it in a billowing cloud of tiny droplets that either settle on surrounding items or are inhaled by anyone unfortunate enough to be near them.
If the person expelling this vapour has coronavirus, surely they are spreading it near and wide every time they exhale?
C Fraser, Freemans Bay.

E-car batteries

One matter that I notice missing from the discussion on how wonderful electric cars will be is the economics of battery replacement.
A case recently in Australia caused a bit of a kerfuffle when Nissan reportedly demanded $35,000 for a replacement Leaf battery. I don't know what the Nissan New Zealand price is.
I allow in my budget 2 cents per km for battery replacement in my Prius - assuming eight years battery life as claimed by Toyota and my present average useage.
G N Kendall, Rothesay Bay.

Public transport

Mike Hosking's vigorous trope, "The war on cars isn't working" (NZ Herald, March 12) is spot on. But why, for goodness' sake, does he pour scorn on brave little Luxembourg for its recent announcement making all public transport free?
There's nothing new, of course, about Luxembourg's new plan. The idea of free public transport has been around for over half a century: I first heard it mentioned in London by a Labour MP in 1948, but it takes a brave little country like Luxembourg to actually do it instead of just talking about it.
Other countries are, so to speak, in hock to the oil companies and still spending billions of dollars on motorways for the specific purpose of bringing ever-increasing numbers of polluting vehicles into city centres.
Barry Littlewood, Glendowie.

Slow down

It's good to read of AT's concern for the serious "rat run" issues on a Ponsonby street (NZ Herald, March 13). It's also nice to see that they are working on safer areas for children near schools and shops in Māngere Bridge; although this may delay work on Collingwood St by several months.
But there are literally thousands of suburban streets in Auckland, with children living and playing on each one of them. Hundreds of their streets are also used as "rat runs" every day - far more than AT could "calm" in many decades. And even when they are installed on selected streets, traffic-calming measures tend to benefit residents of one privileged street at the expense of those in neighbouring streets.
Evidence from Denmark shows that reducing speed limits to 40km/h on suburban single-lane roads significantly reduces injuries, and dramatically increases use of cycles. While some streets warrant special attention, all children on every suburban street deserve to deserve a safe neighbourhood. A consistently lower speed limit is the fairest, cheapest and most effective way to make their streets - and ours - safer and less congested.
Stephen Bayldon, Mt Roskill.

Talkback opinions

In his letter, John Capener (NZ Herald, March 13) gave us his deeply thoughtful and considered opinion regarding talkback radio. I beg to differ.
While I am not a regular listener of talkback radio, I have many times heard the other side of the voice of New Zealand.
Contributors might not always express themselves in perfectly formed sentences – in general conversation very few of us do, I certainly don't.
All that is required to hear this other side of New Zealand's voice is to hone one's listening skills.
Eamon Sloan, Wellington.

Farewell, Latin

English is a Germanic language and is not based on Latin. English incorporated many French words, but claiming those words are based on Latin is as pointless as claiming they are based on the earlier Etruscan, Greek or even caveman language.
Most of the English words people actually use to make sentences are German-derived words. Sentences are structured following the rules of old Germanic that were heavily modified by the people of the British Isles. Archaic Latin grammatical cases are complex but are not an indicator of brain power. After all, exactly half of the native speakers of Latin were people of below average intelligence.
The only modern purpose of Latin is to signal wealth and social class. Prior to 1960, Oxford University used Latin entrance exams to exclude clever children of working-class parents in order to favour the less clever children of wealthy people who could afford schools fees. More recently, Latin has been used to demonstrate that a person was fortunate enough to attend a private school or a state school in a particularly wealthy area.
While I may not know my ablative from my elbow, I am very pleased to see Latin finally removed from NCEA.
John Parlane, Greenhithe.

Mobile wallets

I read that Eftpos NZ predicts that cash will largely disappear in New Zealand in the next three years. This doesn't worry me at all; filthy stuff really.
What does concern me is that people are increasingly turning to mobile wallets, which allow them the "convenience" to pay by mobile.
I am not sure how convenience comes into it, my experience in queues behind people paying by phone, while they struggle with finger prints, thumbprints TFA codes, I quickly outstrip them, probably being three times faster with my tap-and-go card.
Phone payers, please, out of consideration for those behind you in queues, leave your pay by phone for online purchases or learn to use your phone much much better.
Lyall Dawson, Sandringham.

PayWave

Now would be a good time to make payWave Eftpos terminals mandatory in any establishment, or at least those that sell food. It's obvious that a keypad can be a Covid-19 vector and these grubby devices are often in a sequence that involves handling and eating food. The ubiquitous adoption appears to be hindered by greedy bank transaction fees, when clearly there is no real additional overhead to pay for a coffee or sandwich with payWave. A gesture from the banks would be timely.
Simon Shanahan, Takapuna.

Give me a break

I routinely make donations twice a year to charities I support. However there are two consequences which, as far as I am concerned, are increasingly offputting.
First, is the fact that I receive repetitive begging letters in almost every mail. The cost of these must be significant and is a misuse of my donations. The second is a recent phenomenon where I receive telephone calls suggesting how much more convenient it would be for the charity if I changed the frequency of my giving.
It has always been inadvisable to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Peter Clapshaw, Remuera.

Short & sweet

On unity

After the tragic events of a year ago, the Prime Minister said "we are one". Oh I wish that were true. While the divisive rhetoric of Shane Jones continues it shows how much there is still to do. Rubin Levin, Devonport.

On demonstrating

Demonstrating in front of the Beehive is freedom of expression. Demonstrating in front of an abortion clinic is harassment, pure and simple. K H Peter Kammler, Warkworth.

On Eden Park

I would suggest that if Auckland Council banned private backyard and parks' use of fireworks and allowed six concerts a year at Eden Park, the lives of residents in the vicinity would be a lot more peaceful. Peter Dodd, Chatswood.

On panicking

Where was the "love, compassion and care of others" (shown after the mosque tragedy) when selfish people emptied shelves of goods, not leaving anything for others? Diane O'Sullivan, Mt Wellington.

On Boomers

If Covid-19 forces the closure of schools, Baby Boomers and Gen X workers will really come into their own. Employers will realise the benefit of employees whose children are old enough to fend for themselves. Isaac Donaldson, Northcote.

On regulations

This political posturing about burning red tape has been tried many times in the past. It just doesn't catch fire any more. Russell Armitage, Hamilton.

On recovery

The implications of these restrictions will cause hardship for business and workers alike. However we should remember that lost wealth can be regained by hard work but if you have lost life no money can get it back. Reg Dempster, Albany.