Covid countered
Goodbye Covid restrictions and take a bow Team of 5 million.
We trusted our Government, we worked together; achieving high vaccination and low fatality rates.
Our lockdowns, although very tough for some, protected our vulnerable and reminded us of some simple joys of life.
Our border control and healthcare workers
were true heroes.
There were some nitpicking detractors but we kept to the plan and have received worldwide praise.
Covid has not gone away but we can be proud of our unity. Well done New Zealand.
Roger Laybourn, Hamilton.
Facing challenges
I am not a professional but I can't see, for the life of me, how face masks and vaccinations can take away our liberties and cause mental distress.
Yet these two actions can save the lives of thousands.
I feel they should still be mandated while out in the community.
As for me, I will still be wearing a face mask to protect me from any new or existing virus.
Ailsa Martin-Buss, Glendowie.
Pākehā support
Thank you, Willie Jackson, for highlighting the role of Hana Te Hemara Jackson in the revival of te reo (NZ Herald, September 12). Also needing acknowledgment are the efforts of the Māori Women's Welfare League which, from its first conference in 1951, supported the teaching of te reo in schools.
It was women who formed the backbone of the kohanga reo movement. According to Merimeri Penfold "they were urban mothers who were fired with this idea… and they looked to their older women, and nannies".
Jackson is correct that actions such as the articulation of Māori sovereignty "horrified Pākehā", but not all. Donna Awatere's ground-breaking sovereignty essays were published by the feminist magazine, Broadsheet. We went on to publish the essays in book form. It is exactly 40 years since Broadsheet published those articles and 50 years since Hana Te Hemara took the Māori language petition to Parliament. Today we see articulate young Māori women speaking te reo on television: it is a symbol of New Zealand's growing maturity as a nation and a cause for celebration.
Sandra Coney, Piha.
Medal struck
I wonder how many people remember receiving a beautiful gold medal attached to a blue ribbon when the new Queen Elizabeth made her first visit to New Zealand after her coronation.
All school children received one and I still have mine. I was 10 years at the time and my older and younger sisters have no recollection of ever receiving one.
Florence Young, Papakura.
Republic heads
I feel required to make some response to the arguments put forward by Reg Dempster (NZ Herald, September 12).
During the 90s I discussed the monarchy with the granddaughter of a Sinn Fein activist, not herself a republican. She brought up the issue of malfeasance and rabid politicking as evidenced by the Bill Clinton impeachment saga. She argued that that made a republic unsafe.
The question of the unsuitability of leaders is far from new. The ancient Celts used to execute tribal kings during drought and famine, to appease the gods. Then they'd elect new ones to further appease the gods. Hope springs eternal.
It would take very little to make New Zealand a republic in the shape of the Finnish or Indian republics, where the President is largely ceremonial.
I favour the French idea, where the President and the Prime Minister share the executive role, to make sure neither gets comfortable.
The US example is far too close to the absolute kingship that King Charles I got executed for trying.
Leaving the Head of State role up to chancy genetics doesn't make me comfortable either - how many King Leopold IIs can the world afford?
Wesley Parish, Tauranga.
