Milk production, year on year, and in spite of often adverse climatic and economic conditions, has continued to grow. Photo / File
Milk production, year on year, and in spite of often adverse climatic and economic conditions, has continued to grow. Photo / File
Letters to the Editor
The opinion article by Matthew Hooton (December 27) was both insightful and not politically partisan.
It clearly shows the slow decline in most aspects of the New Zealand economy and world standing over the past 100 years. What he omitted to observe was the contribution to New Zealand over thoseyears by the milking cow.
From small beginnings, our milk production, year on year, and in spite of often adverse climatic and economic conditions, has continued to grow in value and in volume, and achieved in a mostly environmentally friendly way.
The continuing security of that financial contribution to our country’s economy is unmatched by any other sector. May those heroines, the New Zealand dairy cows, be praised and keep on milking well into our future.
Scooters should always be parked where they do not block footpaths. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Following up from Max Purdy’s excellent letter (November 27) on this subject there are two additions to his suggestions: first, if there is a collision between a scooter rider and a pedestrian, the walker on the footpath is given the benefit of the doubt in terms of blame; second, scooters should always be parked where they do not block footpaths.
The majority of scooter riders are considerate of others but a few need to be conscious that footpaths were designed for walkers, not scooters.
As tradition requires, we gladly sat and enjoyed on Christmas Day, though with closer attention this time, being on the lookout for the numerous offences noted by Karl Puschmann in his recent column (Herald, December 20). Apparently “Love Actually is pretty bad as far as modern sensibilities go”, even “problematic and creepy”.
And there was me thinking it was just superbly human and very funny.
Actually, Karl does admit as much but points out that the film belongs to an “unenlightened time” – a time presumably when people were insufficiently educated to be on the lookout for wrong thinking. Well, clearly I just wasn’t trying hard enough to be offended. Or, more likely, I’m simply a hopeless relic from the 5000 years of misguided civilisation that occurred before Karl and his supercilious ilk came along to save us from ourselves.
Honi soit qui mal y pense, I say.
Ron Hoares, Wellsford.
Trump’s blessing in disguise?
On reflection, the election of Donald Trump as President of the US was more likely than not a blessing in disguise.
Had he been unsuccessful – which he would never have admitted – many of his unhinged supporters, with his support, would have created chaos as a minimum, and this could well have led to a full-on civil war in the country. Is this that hard to believe? I do not think so.
Trump can hardly open his mouth without telling a lie and the world holds its breath as to the immediate future with him at the helm. With some luck, however, the next four years will pass without another world war, then he will be gone. We can then look back – thankfully perhaps – at what might have happened, rather than what has. Cross your fingers.
So, Vivien Fergusson (December 27) says that the Government has “no new ideas and that they are bringing in cruel and unjustified policies”.
The only cruel and unjustified policies I remember were mandates brought in where good workers lost their careers often because they were advised not to be immunised.
And as to new ideas:
No cellphones in schools. Lessening bullying and adding to children’s wellbeing. Thank you, Act.
Roads improved. Potholes fixed. Lessening driver anger. Thank you National.
Gang patches gone. No more intimidation. Their power to intimidate gone. The public are now unaware of who is a gang member, adding to the public’s wellbeing. Thank you National.
Margaret Turner, Milford.
Religious freedom
Bernard Walker’s rather threatening response (December 27) to Jane Livingstone’s earlier letter seems to imply that she has the Catholic Church to thank for her freedoms of expression and as a woman.
I’d remind Bernard that for many centuries there were no personal freedoms under Christian tyranny. It was the European Age of Enlightenment that with science and reason challenged the credibility of Biblical teachings and broke the Church’s stranglehold on individual freedoms.
We here in New Zealand have inherited those freedoms only because our ancestors brought Enlightenment ideals with them to these shores.
Ron Hoares, Wellsford.
Four-day cricket
I agree and disagree with the editorial on the need for five-day cricket to be reduced to four (December 25).
To the non-purist, the sight of a batsman digging in and scoring one or less an over can be frustratingly boring, but to the purist, it can become a game within a game.
Be that as may, when India, Australia and England meet at the MCG, Lords, or Eden Gardens, Kolkata, to full packed stadiums all five days, the loss of earnings just for one day, from television contracts, the ICC and the players, would have a significant impact on revenue needed for the game.
In short, as with most things in life, it’s all about the money.
