Basic grocery items are a struggle to afford for families amid inflation and the ongoing cost of living crisis. Photo / Supplied
Letter of the week: Mary Hearn, Glendowie
It’s not surprising the cost of living is the most important issue for New Zealanders (Weekend Herald, November 5). The Government’s tax credits for childcare are a positive first step, but it needs to be more transformational, as pledged. Labour needs to closely re-evaluate tax thresholds and GST. New Zealand has the second-highest GST in the world and other countries have exemptions for food. Currently, 80 per cent of taxpayers earn between $0 and $70,000. People in the $48,000 to $70,000 bracket pay a 30 per cent tax rate and, if eligible for “Working for families”, receive less in real terms because those tax credits haven’t been inflation-adjusted. Approximately 80 per cent pay a third or more of their income for rent. In some areas, more than half goes toward rent. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this new “working poor” is showing up at food banks. Letting this income group keep more of their earnings won’t stoke inflationary pressure. It’s simply going to allow them to feed their families and pay their power bills, and maybe even buy new school shoes for their children.
German success
I refer to the excellent first article in the “Rebuilding Better” series (Weekend Herald, November 5) by Liam Dann. The argument from Oliver Hartwich about the causes of the success of the West German economy after WWII appears somewhat misleading. West Germany was occupied by the Allied Powers after the war for several years and, to that extent, can only be considered a centralised economy (which is what its liberals considered it to be). In addition, it was assisted with millions of dollars under the US Marshall Plan. In stark contrast, Attlee’s Britain also had much of its infrastructure destroyed, was saddled with huge debt and received no financial assistance. While the success of West Germany is to be lauded, it cannot be the poster child for modern neo-liberal economics, which did not even exist as a working system then.
Alan Glover, Waiuku.
Two hard basket
Liam Dann’s article “Where to now?” (Weekend Herald, November 5) has done an excellent job of exploring the “big questions” on how to “build back a better nation” post-pandemic. In reading the expert responses, two issues stand out as being particularly acute and critical. As economist Cameron Bagrie puts it, the “big one at the moment is the labour market” due to an “immigration reset… [which is] literally choking New Zealand”. In the longer term, Bagrie notes that declining educational achievement is “a bomb that’s literally going to go off over the next 20 years”. We cannot even begin to build a better New Zealand without urgently and boldly addressing these two foundational issues.
Stephen Bayldon, Mt Roskill.
Speech interpretation
In his opinion piece on free speech and potential hate speech legislation, Bruce Cotterill quotes from Jacinda Ardern’s address to the United Nations: “As leaders, we are rightly concerned that even those most light touch approaches to disinformation could be misinterpreted as being hostile to the values of free speech we value so highly”. He then complains that two paragraphs later, the PM has retreated from that position when she asks “how do you tackle climate change, if people do not believe in it?” Cotterill writes: “The implication was clear those non-believers need to be shut down.” But the interpretation is all Cotterill’s. He conveniently skips the previous paragraph in which Ardern states unequivocally “I cannot tell you today what the answer is to this challenge”. Her only implied solution comes later: “Diplomacy, dialogue, working together on solutions that do not undermine human rights but enhance them”. This is hardly the dangerous rant Cotterill and the overseas right-wing commentators have tried to paint it as. Newsweek took a different stance, observing that much of the negative commentary “patently misrepresents both the content and the sentiment of [PM Ardern’s] speech”.
Roy Ward, Freemans Bay.
That’s the ticket
John Roughan is right (Weekend Herald, November 5) about the bus drivers. Low pay and unreasonable hours with the added insult of driving empty buses have led to a recruiting crisis. The purchase of “behemoth” machines, including double-decker monsters, probably rejected by more savvy transport planners elsewhere, has compounded the problem. Thirty years ago, Copenhagen and Switzerland used minibuses to convey passengers during off-peak hours, cutting fuel consumption and road damage, reducing traffic snarl-ups on major roads and tempting drivers to leave cars at home. The service was punctual and reliable. Sell off those huge, empty buses to the first bidders and upgrade the system to a smarter, slimmer service where everyone wins.
Mary Tallon, Hauraki.
Need versus want
John Roughan and Wayne Brown (Weekend Herald, November 5) are both wrong when they say the job of AT is to give people what they want. People want to step out of their front door into a car and drive to the workplace, shop or theatre and park nearby. But this is just not always possible. What people will accept is reliable, clean, public transport that takes them where they want to go in a reasonable time frame. Then the roads will be available for deliveries and unavoidable car trips. That is the challenge for AT.
Bob van Ruyssevelt, Glendene.
Fast and furious
Older individuals have recently made the news, losing valuable life savings to scammers. There will be many others ashamed to admit it. The core issue is both lack of tech savvy and education. The tech race with all its platforms and complexity has happened multiples too fast, the rules changing weekly, with no regard for those left behind. I compare it to the car race audition scene in the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious. We’re in a similar race with many out of their depth, the consequences grievous. The incessant password requirement is, all by itself, painful. This is not an acceptable situation. We are not Wall St, corporate raiders, or special forces. Why aren’t community seminars held to try and address this problem?
Andrew Shirtcliffe, Newmarket.
Murky turkey
Three Waters has become muddied with innuendo about bureaucratic gravy trains, ratepayers’ money being poured down the drain and buckets of reports that clog up Auckland’s already stormy waters. Turn the tap off now before we’re all sunk.
Mary Tallon, Hauraki.
Compare the fire incidence in our indigenous evergreen native forest with pine and consider another reason why some of the recommendations of He Waka Eke Noa should have been considered more carefully. Stuart Mackenzie, Ohura.
Incredible. The Cabinet of one of the most divisive, disruptive governments New Zealand has ever known scores well above average at 67.5 per cent (WH, Nov. 5). Mike Newland, Matakana.
I think Audrey Young was a little harsh (WH, Nov. 5) but, collectively, the ministers could have scored a little closer to the magic “out of 100″ as I assume that’s the rating she was giving them. Murray Brown, Hamilton East.
Perhaps the Midterms have shown more Republicans are seeing Trump as the malignant narcissist he is. Perhaps there is a God after all. Gary Ferguson, Epsom.
An enlightening, and probably frightening, article by Bruce Cotterill especially the quote from Neil Oliver “for any politician to declare that she is the single source of truth is nothing less than dangerous”. Ian Doube, Rotorua
In recent court proceedings, Donald Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination more than 400 times. Are there any supporters out there putting their trust in this huckster and charlatan? Larry Mitchell, Rothesay Bay.
Congratulations to the gutsy Black Ferns for getting through to the Rugby World Cup final. A superb performance. Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.
“Pyrotechnical stupidity”. Your editorial (WH, Nov. 5) got it in one. Every year I hope that someone will finally gird their loins and ban all but public displays, please. J Wallis, Blockhouse Bay.
Thank you for your editorial, “Final call for firework sales” (WH, Nov. 5). I’ve had a gutsful of loud bangs in my local park from 10pm onwards for many years now. Tony Ward, Eastern Suburbs.
I have relinquished my firearms licence but, at this time of the year, can purchase as much explosives as I wish, without identification. Peter Dodd, Chatswood.
All this gnashing of teeth over trying to make it safer for schoolkids by lowering speed limits beggars belief. Slowing down for a few seconds to allow our kids to be safer is not going to cause New Zealand commerce to collapse. Neil Anderson, Algies Bay.
Last decade, it was leaky homes. This time, it’s potholes. Tiong Ang, Mt Roskill.
Commuters using the Auckland Southern, Eastern and Onehunga rail lines: 8000. Cost of planned repairs over the next three years: $330m. At $41,250 per commuter, why not buy each of them a Tesla instead? John Denton, Eskdale.
School children might re-engage with study and stop acting the goat if teachers, principals and television newsreaders stopped calling them kids. Wendy Newton, Birkdale.
OPINION: New Zealander reflects on delivering speech at St James' Palace.