Letters: Coronavirus precautions, Aus evictions, city bus terminal and education

Masked health officials at Auckland International Airport in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Concerns are rising around retirement facilities. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Village plans

We at Grey Power in the Northern Region share the concerns of the Age Care Association that to date no contingency plans for moving residents out of rest homes have been put in place by the Ministry of Health.
We are always concerned for the safety and welfare of the elderly. The Ministry of Health is now responsible for formulating a plan to move residents should a case of coronavirus happen in one or more of the aged care facilities throughout the country.
Plan before it strikes, is our view for our vulnerable elderly people.
Mate Marinovich, Oratia.

Bulk purchases

To those thoughtless, selfish people who embarked on a buying spree last Friday and left empty shelves for everyone else, give a thought next time to those in your community who are forced to "self isolate" all of the time.
The elderly, ill and disabled who live alone and rely on a care worker to take them shopping for a mere one hour each fortnight, who see no one else and who live a virtually full-time life in isolation.
Retailers have gone to online shopping, banks have cut out cheques and cash deposits and tellers, the post only comes three times a week and the baker, butcher and milkman never come nowadays.
Service, like common sense, is in its dying stages, families have become dysfunctional, and neighbourhood communities have ceased to exist.
What type of society has technology created?
Marie Kaire, Whangārei.

Rude chastisement

I agree with Greg Adamson (NZ Herald, March 2). Our Prime Minister had no right to publicly chastise Scott Morrison over their deportation policy. It was arrogant, rude and embarrassing. We would be up in arms if they did the same to us.
Australia is absolutely within its rights to deport these Kiwis, they are not citizens.
They don't have families here? Well boo hoo. They are adults and should have thought about that before committing crimes - or at least applied to become Australian citizens.
Paul Carpenter says there are only 16 Australians in our prisons. There are hundreds of Kiwis in Oz prisons, so what does that say about us and crime?
We are very lucky to be able to walk into Australia and work and live permanently. We should not take this for granted. Jacinda Ardern, by taking the side of criminals, is jeopardising the goodwill towards the 650,000 Kiwis who call Australia home.
Diane Anderson, Sunnynook.

Bus dump

Because of recent ill health I am now unable to drive to Auckland to visit family.
I depart from the pleasant, bright and cheerful atmosphere of the Hamilton terminal, usually after a nice cup of coffee or a visit to their spotlessly clean toilets, and arrive in the dump that is the Auckland terminal.
The toilets are awful, there is nowhere to stand to be picked up from on arrival and seating is limited to a row of hard chairs by the booking office.
I feel ashamed for the many tourists and sad for the many elderly people that use the bus service.
Margaret Reilly, Hamilton.

Train in vain

If the City Bus Terminal is terminus horribilis, then terminus horribilis II is the Intercity Rail Station in a abandoned siding somewhere on The Strand.
What an embarrassment to Auckland. Recently 150 tourists huddled at 6am for hours, not even a coffee cart within cooey to brighten the mood. Eventually buses replaced their much anticipated "scenic train trip" to Wellington.
Bring the train into Britomart where it belongs.
Mary Tallon, Morningside.

Icky books

Alwyn Poole's impassioned plea (NZ Herald, March 3) for better education across all socioeconomic groups is most laudable. But he seems unaware of the new way.
Anyone facing a skill or knowledge challenge today instantly reaches for their phone and googles the problem. Books have become icky, only for old people. Why struggle to attain knowledge or skill when Google is you omnipotent friend?
The next big thing for schools is to inculcate personal responsibility, relationship skills and family management in our ever more crowded world. Government benefits will provide income.
Jim Carlyle, Te Atatu Peninsula.

Suscipiat Latin

I read Yolanda Huo's excellent article (NZ Herald, March 2) about the Ministry of Education proposal to scrap Latin from NCEA. The content of her article was an important and meaningful argument in support of the retention of teaching Latin. That Yolanda is herself a Latin learner speaks volumes.
Like others, I studied Latin for a number of years and passed University Entrance with Latin as one of my subjects. Still to this day, I can work out the meaning of more complex words by using my knowledge of Latin.
I presently teach a class of students who are bilingual and I enjoy the benefits of working alongside students whose minds love brain challenges. To quote Yolanda: "You are doing mental gym."
Come on MoE, allow students to be mentally challenged.
Audrey A Metcalfe, Orewa.

Education slide

For some years, New Zealand students have been steadily dropping down any international tables of educational achievement. This has been achieved under the misguided notion that if you give students generic skills, all the acquisition of factual knowledge will somehow be acquired by the students themselves.
This system was found to be disastrous in the UK, for example, and was replaced about six years ago, with the result that British students are now steadily climbing back up the international tables.
This Government seems hell-bent on bringing our educational standards down to a level of the lowest common denominator. The hugely successful Partnership schools were abolished and absorbed back into the state education system which had failed the very students the Partnership schools were having success with.
Now, many specialist categories of learning are to be abolished along with the specialist teachers, I presume. For example, classical studies, art history and Latin are all to be removed from NCEA level 1 curriculum. Students will be able to take Māori performing arts instead. That would be fine if it were an added option but those other subjects will simply disappear.
Similarly biology, chemistry, physics and space science are all to be abolished as specialist subjects and all to be absorbed into a generic science.
Parents with any ambition for their children should be outraged.
Dame Jenny Gibbs, Orakei.

Transgender talks

I applaud recent articles (NZ Herald, February 28 and March 2) concerning the transgender athlete Laurel Hubbard. The Herald presents the transgender topic in a fair and balanced manner. I have not, as yet, heard of people complaining, protesting or in any way taking the Herald to task. Therein lies an issue.
The Herald has done what the universities of NZ should be doing. The very institutions "committed" to free expression, muzzle debate.
Recently, Massey cancelled a speaking occasion called "Speak Up for Women"; part of its Feminism 2020 event. Speakers were unable to air views on transgenderism and athletic fairness.
Massey University claims it is "committed to the values of academic freedom, the freedom of speech, and the freedom of expression, as values that lie at the very heart of the tradition of a university and academic inquiry".
Massey claimed discussion of transgender sport would "hurt the vulnerable". But has the Herald customer base experienced "health and safety" issues since its articles?
There is a public interest in such issues being aired, discussed and resolved. "Silence by threatened violence" on campuses, reflects a toxic and ideological university climate that is unflattering of the institutions, their teaching, diversity of opinion and administration competencies.
Nationally, this type of free discussion should be braved by universities, not quashed.
Dr Mike Schmidt, Sunny Hills.

Short & sweet

On cyclists

Yes, we may be a "nuisance" and we may cost ratepayers money. But keep one thing in mind: We are not contributing to global warming, cars are. Phil Skipworth, St Johns.

On poverty

There seems to be an inability to differentiate between child poverty and child neglect. Neville Cameron, Coromandel.

On restaurants

Now that a restaurant is called an eatery will a bar become a drinkery? Jeanette de Heer, Remuera.

On fines

Driving infringement revenue has little to do with disciplining errant drivers and more to do with money grabbing. Ken Bowell, Windsor Park.

On access

"Access for everyone", the car-free zone for downtown, is an oxymoron. It denies access for the 10 per cent on any day who have permanent or temporary mobility difficulties. Hylton Le Grice, Remuera.

On sanitiser

I'm not sure why there is mass buying of hand sanitiser. It will not kill the coronavirus or any other virus. It will eventually kill germs, that is, bacteria. Having said that, not only are you killing the bad bacteria, you are also killing the good bacteria. Graham Hansen, Howick.