A new Kāinga Ora complex has opened in Auckland's Meadowbank at a cost of $1.2 million per apartment. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Damaging division on state housing
The chorus of indignation expressed by property developers, neighbours and land agents about the newly completed high-quality Kāinga Ora housing development in Meadowbank is disappointing (HoS, Oct 13).
Surely this much-needed housing is something to be celebrated, not deplored. I suspect the real cause of their disgust is that they don’t want social housing in their neighbourhood.
In their view, such developments, if they must happen at all, should occur far away on the outskirts of the city, in less accessible and less attractive areas. It should also be much cheaper.
Heaven forbid that “poor people” are entitled to decent housing closer to the city, particularly in their suburb. They are likely to send their children to the local school and lower the tone of the neighbourhood, a shocking thought.
This is another tragic symptom of the damaging division and inequality in our country. Those who are complaining need to take a look in the mirror. It’s not OK.
Margaret Dawe, Mt Eden.
All at sea
I was rather surprised by the teenage-style comments after our $100 million naval vessel HMNZS Manawanui sank off the Samoan coast, creating another fiscal hole in our already squeezed Government’s coffers (HoS, Oct 13).
The replacement value will now double the amount that the taxpayer needs to find to give us another usable vessel to survey the oceans. That is before we start talking about the cleanup and all other necessary administrative and legal bills.
Strangely enough, in 2024 Google can direct a $15,000 vehicle to the exact house number in a street, but our navy software application has seemingly no way to receive an alert when it approaches a reef with a $100m vessel. Whatever went wrong is bordering on ridiculous, whilst we live in times of utter desperation, with foodbanks not coping, kids going hungry, businesses going under at alarming rates and many town centres starting to turn into ghost towns.
Next time, before people start making smugly intended sexist remarks about captains on our naval vessels and sensationalising the loss of many millions of dollars, they should look at our balance sheet and analyse what could have been bought with the $100m-plus now needed for replacement.
Surely, appropriate collision prevention software would be a fraction of that cost and the rest could have gone to feed many struggling people’s stomachs.
We dropped the ball and sadly we have come close to becoming the laughing stock of larger nations who rated us higher than this, all at the expense of the taxpayer.
René Blezer, Taupō.
Sinking fiasco
Captain James Cook circumnavigated New Zealand and produced a mostly correct map of the entire coastline.
He used the techniques of the day: chronometer, sextant and lead-line. He ventured into inland waters in Fiordland and the Marlborough Sounds and never ran aground.
Over 200 years later, HMNZS Manawanui was conducting a survey in Samoa using modern technology: radar, sonar and satellite-based GPS. Despite modern aids, Manawanui became grounded on a reef, the crew abandoned ship, the ship caught fire, and the ship sank in 30 metres of ocean.
The NZ Navy has a lot of explaining to do. This fiasco is so bad that it almost reaches the level where the Minister of Defence should resign.
Peter D Graham, Helensville.
Working from work
I think correspondent Bernard Walker has missed the point about the Government’s edict on not working from home (HoS, Oct 13).
It is a perfectly reasonable request to ask people to work from work. It is not about treating adults like children, it is about treating everyone fairly. Most people cannot work from home – tradespeople, factory workers, hospital workers, retail staff, builders, nurses, doctors etc. I am sure they would all love to work from home.
Mr Walker says the edict “has the smell of a socialist endeavour”. Actually, it is quite the opposite: our socialist government did not care if people worked or not. This Government wants to see increased productivity. Working with others, co-operating and sharing ideas with colleagues is hugely beneficial to everyone.
Also, working from home has a huge negative effect on our cities, as evidenced every time you go into the Auckland CBD. Working from work is good for society as a whole and the Government is right in trying to enforce it.
Diane Anderson, Sunnynook.
Employer’s choice
In a letter to the editor, the writer maintains that any workforce in a modern economy should be able to work out what is best for them, instead of complying with the Government’s “no more work from home edict”.
Surely where people work has always been the prerogative of the employer who pays the wages/salaries. There is no denying that there is room for employees and employers to discuss the option of WFH but, at the end of the day, the employer should be able to decide what premises their employees work from.
Barry Towers, Morrinsville.
Bernard Walker claims that the previous Labour government was treating everyone like children when a minister encouraged people to spend no more than five minutes having a shower to save electricity and water.
However, that has since proved to be very sensible advice, because the results of National’s policies over the past 30 years to privatise the supply of electricity have led to a position where electricity suppliers are not trying to ensure there are sufficient supplies but to obtain the maximum selling price, which is now causing factories to close because they claim the electricity costs are too high – putting hundreds of people out of work.
David Mairs, Glendowie.
Eden Park fast-track
With Government support, it looks like Eden Park is set to win the national stadium debate before Auckland Council’s decision is even made.
At the end of the day, we can only guess what is going on behind closed doors as this debate has mostly been confidential. Presumably, the Eden Park backers have found private investment to help boost their favoured option. If taxpayer money is involved, some may consider it “wasteful spending”.
Questions remain. Are the Warriors and Auckland FC on board with the project? Will there be any bailouts post-development? How close to the action can spectators get for rectangular sports for a better fan experience? Is putting a roof over a large area feasible?
Whatever option the council chooses, it needs to be good, it needs to attract the crowds and it also needs to compete with some of Australia’s best for events. If the project is done half-baked, we risk creating and continuing with a white elephant.
Tristan Cullen, Wānaka.
Teachers work hard
Your correspondent Bruce Turner wishes to know teachers’ salary scales and holidays (HoS, Oct 13). These are a matter of public record and may be Googled.
He then falls into the old trap of envy – “My life is tough; yours should be, too,” – instead of “Why is my life so much tougher than other people’s, and how can I change that?”
Teachers should “shut up and go to work”. Well, they do, for some of the lowest salaries in the OECD, and much lower than in Australia. The teaching day is short (for the students’ sake) but very busy. No teacher could meet someone for lunch, as is common in the non-teaching jobs I did for half my working life.
Most non-teachers have their evenings to themselves, not having to bring work home. Not always, but very often, interval and lunchtime is taken up in whole or part with teaching-related matters, with students or colleagues.
Most teachers are involved in some extra-curricular activity (sport, clubs, debating, drama, etc) after school and at weekends, for which in many other countries they would be paid, but not here. Non-teachers have their Saturdays to themselves, but a cricket team, for example, takes up the whole day.
If the life of a teacher is as attractive as Mr Turner implies, then (a) why is there always a shortage, and (b) why does a troublingly large number of new teachers leave within their first five years?
Mr Turner should be worried for his grandchildren.
Richard Porteous, Balmoral.
OPINION: New Zealand can build a more inclusive and principled national identity.