Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison 'grip and grin' in Sydney during their annual bilateral meeting. Photo / Penny Bradfield
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison 'grip and grin' in Sydney during their annual bilateral meeting. Photo / Penny Bradfield
Opinion
Holiday reprisal
As Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is not budging on policy to continue to deport Kiwis with criminal records back to New Zealand, even those who have lived most of their lives in that country, then Kiwis should simply holiday in countries other than Australia. About 450,000Kiwis take holidays each year in Australia representing almost 40 per cent of holidaying Kiwis. So if a percentage took their holidays in other countries instead, this could hurt the Australian tourism sector and bring pressure to bear on ScoMo to make him realise he cannot continue to deport their problems here. Far better this than Simon Bridges' idea of deporting Australian criminals back to Australia who have offended here, particularly given there are only 16 Australians in NZ prisons. Surely the Leader of the Opposition could have found this out before coming up with such a crazy idea? Paul Carpenter, Rotorua.
I would like to respond to your writer Greg Adamson, who made some valid points and some not so valid points in his letter (NZ Herald, March 2). First of all he is asking all of us to turn a blind eye to the inhumane way that many NZ citizens are treated in Australia. Also, should we turn away and ignore the situation when we see people being denied the rights that other taxpayers enjoy in Australia? New Zealand citizens pay their taxes in Australia but they are denied access to social welfare when they need help. Contrast that to the way that Australian citizens living in NZ can receive social welfare if they need help. If most of the NZ citizens living in Australia returned home to NZ it would hurt the Australian economy. It would also reduce the intellectual level of the populace remaining in Australia. The good news, however, is that NZ would benefit because we would receive thousands of well educated people who would be prepared to work hard tackling the jobs which employers cannot fill as we get on with the task of moving NZ forward and onward. Johann Nordberg, Paeroa.
Due to pressure from China, Taiwan has not been represented at the World Health Organisation since 1916, when Tsai Ing-wen was elected President. Taiwan is also excluded from WHO emergency meetings on the coronavirus. In January, the World Health Organisation declared the virus to be a public health emergency of international concern. By excluding Taiwan, Beijing is undermining the formation, implementation and management of global health and security measures. is not enough simply to have "smooth channels" of information. Taiwan needs not only to receive information directly and first hand but also to contribute the results of its own research. Taiwan has a sophisticated medical system and has developed different responses to the virus than that of China. Taiwan is excluded from the International Civil Aviation Organisation, despite being one the leading travel hubs in Asia, with over 46 million passengers passing through every year. Air New Zealand also flies there. Precise, immediate, accurate transfer and analysis of information on the disease is critical for world health safety. It is critical that petty politics be put aside for the greater good. Stuart Vogel, Mt Eden.
80 years later
England, 1940: Bombs dropping, people all around losing their homes and many deaths, Hitler likely to invade any day, food shortages and everything rationed. The people kept calm and carried on. New Zealand, 2020: One man catches a bug akin to the flu resulting in panic shopping. We must be a very different breed to the old English stock. Vince West, Milford.
Take leave
Now is the time for employers to play their part in containing the spread of the coronavirus by being generous with paid sick leave entitlements. Legislation requires that workers receive just five days paid sick leave per year on completion of six months' employment. If a worker is off sick in the first six months, they have no right to paid leave and when they do qualify, their entitlement may instantly be used up if they suffer, for example, one of the common viral illnesses, leaving nothing for the next 12 months. Parents who must stay home because their children are unwell tend to run out of sick leave even sooner than those without young children. Although many employers grant 10 days per year, even then, workers frequently use up their entitlement and come to work sick because they cannot afford leave without pay, A few enlightened employers - I gather Victoria University of Wellington is one - allow staff unlimited sick leave, which demonstrates an understanding that everybody in an organisation benefits when someone who is ill stays away from work. If this were the norm, workplaces would be far healthier, not to mention more productive. The Ministry of Health should also instruct DHBs to extend unlimited sick leave to all employees. When public health services lead by example, perhaps other employers will follow suit. Andrea Dawe, Sandringham.
Cyclists or water?
I find it disturbing that Auckland councils supposed "controlled" organisation, Watercare, is warning ratepayers to limit their use of water. For Auckland Council to be able to ruin the centre of the CBD and our main arterial roads by building cycleways, costing literally millions of dollars that will never be used in numbers that justify the cost, while at the same time Auckland Council cannot adequately provide water, one of the necessaries of life, to all their customers and ratepayers seems to shout that Phil Goff and his councillors have their priorities seriously wrong. It is now time for Auckland Council to perform for those who pay their rates and need open roads and who just want to be able to navigate safely around central Auckland rather than the half of one per cent of the total population who might want to ride their bicycle twice a week (during the weekend) when it is not raining, cold, windy or when the buses are on strike. When will we get honest responses from Auckland Council about the numbers of actual cyclists as opposed to percentage growth. Everyone knows that if there are just 10 cyclists taking two trips a day, (to and from the CBD) then a 100 per cent increase still means only 20 actual individual cyclists. An $800,000,000 budget will provide unlimited water for all Aucklanders for all time. Roger Hawkins, Herne Bay.
Classical studies
The express intention of the Ministry of Education in its proposed changes to the year 11 curriculum is to deliver (to quote its own newspeak) "a broad foundational education" in which "every student gets 'fair and equal access to the full range of quality pathways'". And yet, by proposing to deprive students of Latin and Classical Studies, the doyens of the MoE have already limited a student's "access to the full range of pathways" before these changes have even been introduced. Classical Studies offers students an introductory course in the origins of Western Civilisation (the art, literature, philosophy, and science of the Greeks and Romans, if you like the whakapapa of Western Society, which can not be squeezed into an already crowded envelope like History. Latin offers students a sort of primer in the nature of language itself (especially the inflected languages which are not necessarily European) quite apart from the fact that 60 per cent of English is derived from Latin. What could be more "foundational" than that? Ted Jenner, Remuera.
How Auckland City could have ever agreed to have the City Bus Terminal at this site (NZ Herald, February 28) is unbelievable. It is up the hill from nowhere. There is no bus connection to its front door. It is impossible to drive in and off-load passengers and luggage. It is a dirty, broken down, worn-out facility. The toilets have a partially kicked-in door. The walls are usually always covered with smutty graffiti. Auckland needs a central bus terminal handy to the ferry and railway terminal. What is going to be done? Gillian Dance, Auckland Grey Power.
Terminal embarrassment
Thank you for Simon Wilson's article (NZ Herald, February 28) explaining why Auckland, the main tourist gateway to New Zealand, has such a dreadful long-distance bus terminal. I have used many bus terminals in Europe and the Auckland one is the worst I have come across. Aucklanders should be embarrassed that visitors get such an impression of the country. I had assumed it was just another case of Auckland getting its planning decisions so wrong, which it has a history of. To the cost of the rest of the country. But I now know I was wrong. It was quite an intentional decision. A rather shabby and cynical move by SkyCity, aided and abetted by the Auckland Council, to make the bus terminal as unpleasant and inconvenient as they could, in the hope it would go away. Get your act together Auckland Council. Give the city a decent bus terminal. Russell O Armitage, Hamilton.
Emmerson's way
Emmerson's view on February 28.
Emmerson (NZ Herald, February 28) must have been watching the same TV news depicting queues of Chinese lined up for coronavirus masks followed by queues of Kiwis lined up for Wednesday $42m Powerball draw so I was delighted to see how cleverly he linked the two and how he added Simon Bridges into the mix. On reflection, in reality, hasn't he got it the wrong way around? China in fact are making every possible effort to track down, chase and eliminate the coronavirus. Gambling as represented by Powerball is an addiction that chases the susceptible dreamer and Simon Bridges is, in fact, creating and chasing his own hell every time he opens his mouth. Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay
Yes, we do
Every day on my way home from work I drive past Destiny church and I am greeted by a sign displaying Brian and Hannah beaming down at us all from on high. Beneath them is the caption: "You deserve more". As I wend my way past, I wonder to myself "do these people have any sense of irony?" Jeremy Coleman, Hillpark.
Short & sweet
On NZ First
Shane Jones appears to be unaware that Christmas is over, as he continues his manic spending spree. The price paid by Labour to form a government is too high. Neville Cameron, Coromandel.
On buses
Is there any chance of Auckland's Council re-painting their buses a bright colour so the public can actually see them coming? Frank Jones, Thames.
When the chips were really down, our alliance with America was vital and was our protection. It still is. Harold Coop, Remuera.
On grammar
A member of the New Zealand Grammar Police (Herald, February 28) has rightly called me out on my use of "almost definitely". I will almost certainly choose my words more carefully in future. John Watkins, Remuera.
On coronavirus
Why are there queues at supermarkets? That is not the New Zealand way. We used share and care in times of crisis. Véronique Cornille, Devonport.
Equally important, in my nursing training, as hand washing was drying the hands thoroughly. Just saying. Glennys Adams, Oneroa.
On rugby
Like Guy Nicholls, I record all rugby games and fast forward all scrums x12, to allow for the usual three resets, and lineouts x6, to allow for slowly walking to where the ball was kicked out. So, like Guy, "I have more time in my life" as I can watch the whole game in 40 minutes. Murray Hunter, Titirangi.
