Letters: Director general of health, climate inaction, Parliament protest, and Marsden Pt

Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield has apologised over testing delays after the country was swamped with Omicron infections. Photo / Robert Kitchin, Pool

Overall success
How easy it is for critics of the Government to leap on any issue with the complex and evolving Covid pandemic.
Dr Ashley Bloomfield has done a good job overall and saved thousands of lives with a very successful strategy. But there are always going to be mistakes in a deadly pandemic. We learn and adapt.
Neither Christopher Luxon nor David Seymour has any responsibility or accountability for keeping us safe. So to pile on for the sake of scoring political points shows a good deal of cynicism.
Yes, they can shout and point fingers but that is not helpful. I appreciate they wish to grab any political traction they can but we need to keep perspective and reason to the fore in this difficult time. There are quite enough indignant protesters having self-serving tantrums as it is.
This is a health emergency with which the Government is coping extremely well. Time to notch down the political warfare.
We are all in this together.
Jeff Hayward, Auckland Central.

Democratic expedience
The world seems to be deteriorating rapidly, but sadly we seem unable to change that. There are solutions to our problems and we could change the trajectory of climate change, but it seems increasingly unlikely.
We live in the best form of political governance there is. It is called a democracy. That means we have the ability to choose, but herein lies the problem. Currently, we must choose to go through the inconvenience and a bit of sacrifice to stem the "steadily closing window of opportunity" to deal with climate change.
Fossil fuel companies knew about this in 1977 and predicted its course accurately, but decided on a policy of disinformation. Now we all drive lifestyle vehicles and our predominant form of transport is road transport. We all still choose for ourselves and our short-term needs, which is almost always not in the interests of the planet and future generations.
Current catastrophes have not overridden our concentration on our immediate wants and we continue as normal. Unfortunately, in a democracy, governments tend to follow the people's will, and will unlikely lead us to actually save the planet and future generations. Virtual signalling is as good as it gets it seems.
Niall Robertson, Balmoral.

Descent into chaos
I am a septuagenarian. Never, in all my days, have I ever seen such disgraceful behaviour by so-called "peaceful protesters" involving my fellow New Zealanders.
I watched an hour of live-streaming, filmed from the balcony of Parliament.
The bunch of ferals who the police had to deal with are conspiracy theory/anarchists and were there to incite the mob to violence, aiming to overthrow the democratically elected Government and looking for an outlet for violence.
I am in awe of the police who showed such restraint amidst the chaotic scenes I witnessed.
Sue White, West Harbour.

That's oppression
The anti-mandate protest must surely pale in comparison to the dreadful situation in Ukraine.
Do the protesters not realise how pathetic all their barmy, selfish claims about "freedom" seem to the rest of us, especially those facing the possibilities of the use of nuclear weapons in Europe?
In my opinion, if they think they are oppressed in New Zealand, they should try living with the threat of nuclear war, the destruction of their lives, homes, and everything they hold dear.
Sue Rawson, Papamoa Beach.

Trust cost
Hardly a day goes by without a letter about the price of fuel. Same old, same old - petrol is too expensive. Blame the oil companies, the Government, or whoever. I say it's too cheap.
Cheap hydrocarbons have allowed us to construct a way of life that the planet cannot sustain. It has become an addiction that threatens humanity's future.
We have never paid the full price for oil and coal. Those resources took hundreds of millions of years to lay down and in the process created the planet we enjoy today. We take and use them without paying their true cost. We discard their residue without paying the cost of disposal.
Instead of thinking about alternatives, we bang on about is the iniquity of rising fuel prices. This response is driven by self-interest. The fears of those who cannot imagine a redesign of our cities, supply chains, personal transportation, and our way of life are stoked by big oil, coal, those whose businesses are dependent on today's model and placated by successive governments.
Today's model will pass - the only issue is when. Will it be while we still have choices or will we wait until our descendants are left without?
Geoff Prickett, Waikanae.

Point break
I for one, am totally amazed at the lack of discussion regards the impending closure of the oil refinery at Marsden Point.
The Federal Government in Australia has evaluated the effects of the closure of that country's two remaining refineries and has resolved to subsidise continued operations until at least 2030, or until an effective solution can be found that guarantees continuation of supply.
Our Government should be looking at a similar subsidy here to keep Marsden Pt going, at least until a real alternative to current supply issues can be found.
Nigel Bufton, Pauanui.

Two actions
So far there has been much rhetoric from the West and the imposition of sanctions. But nothing done so far will save Ukraine, nor hurt Vladimir Putin badly.
I accept that no other country wants to send soldiers into this conflict, but there are two things that should be done immediately.
Surely we can provide Ukraine with more meaningful weapons to defend themselves effectively.
And please block all of Russia's oil exports - this will really hurt Putin. Western European countries are very dependent on Russian oil and gas. Biden's America can reverse its earlier decisions to limit US oil and gas production, and increase its local production including an ability to supply to Europe.
God help us but even He is probably thinking that we should be helping ourselves.
Steve Clerk, Meadowbank.

Genuine aid
To fail to act now is to permit Russia to continue carrying out war crimes on the innocent children and people of Ukraine.
Most Western leaders have attended meetings; brought in detailed sanctions (not comprehensive enough, but detailed) and Boris has done tons of interviews.
Beyond some cliche comments by our Prime Minister (mostly words, not substance) we continue to wait for details of our sanctions on Russia.
Words are not actions. Why is this Government delaying?
In the meantime, Scomo has offered real financial aid to Ukraine. This Government has thrown play money at it. Ukraine needs hundreds of millions.
Adina Thorn, St Heliers.

Expensive waste
For those of us already trying to reduce waste, Auckland Council proposes increasing rubbish collection charges by as much as 123 per cent without any incentive to decrease wastage.
The 2023/2024 budget discussion papers indicate each household will pay a uniform $375 a year. Currently, North Shore householders pay $142 a year for recycling and inorganic waste, plus charges for tags or bags. A tag for an 80-litre rubbish bin costs $2.85. A two-person household may take six weeks or more to fill an 80-litre bin. Say nine collections a year, adding up to $25.65 for a total waste collection cost of $168.35 a year.
Part of the council's proposal is a bin for food scraps costing $71.28 a year. Even on tiny sections, many have vegetable gardens and compost systems, so will pay this charge for no service.
The council's own 2012 waste plan showed user-pays reduced waste while unlimited bags or bins increased collection volumes. The proposed system has no incentive to minimise waste by putting out the bin infrequently. Putting it out every week costs no more.
The whole plan is a load of rubbish and looks like yet another rates grab.
Jon Addison, Milford.

Pretty vacant
As on many Auckland streets, there is a house on ours that has been empty for over a decade. I guess its "value" will have more than tripled since the time of its purchase despite it being an overgrown eyesore.
I feel it is far past time city councils took stock of such properties, demanding sale to the Crown after a certain time period unless immediately restored to habitable condition and rented.
There are many Kiwi homeowners who have been compelled to sell their occupied properties for public development, so why couldn't this be done?
Juliet Leigh, Pt Chevalier.

Short & sweet

On protest
If the police had done their job from day one perhaps it wouldn't have come to this and we probably wouldn't have seen all the other copycat illegal occupations around the country. L Mallon, Te Atatū.

The problem in Wellington was the tacit support protesters thought they had from the Opposition parties, Christopher Luxon and David Seymour, who were out for point-scoring. John Davison, Manurewa.

Jacinda Ardern states, "...this is not how New Zealand expects people to protest". I say, "this is not how New Zealand expects to be governed". J. Porter, Taradale.

As the PM covered in her media briefing, we now must all think about how we move forward from mis- and disinformation swallowed by our parents, children, colleagues, and friends to retrieve our cherished Kiwi democracy. Janette Anderson, Paeroa.

On Peters
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy went from a stand-up comedian to a politician while Winston Peters went from politician to stand-up comedian. Rex Fausett, Auckland Central.

On Goff
I have been wondering whether Mayor Phil Goff is going to fulfil his promise to provide a venue for test cricket to be played in Auckland before he leaves office. John Turner, Pukekohe.

The Premium Debate

Questions over protest

The question you do not address is what was the catalyst for this protest in the first place. You put a lot of emphasis on misinformation. But wasn't the problem that there was only one version of information allowed and that was the Government's version and anything else was heresy. It was all Big Brother stuff with their dictatorial approach and acting, certainly for the last 12 months, way beyond their mandate that created the conditions for what subsequently happened. Alan R.

There's an irony that people suspicious of the UN and globalism get their "information" from the world wide web. And from supposedly reliable "independent" online media, rather than the world's mainstream media with so much study and research behind them. Margaret W.

Yes, there were some nutters in the group and no one condones the violence. There were, however, people with genuine grievances. People who had lost their livelihoods through the mandates. Ardern couldn't even acknowledge those people. Steve P.

I am not a protest supporter; the violence and disregard for others in this protest was a very sad event in NZ history. Jacinda Ardern wants a review of the handling of the protest. I hope though this will include the initial belittling and vilifying of the protest by Ardern herself, Michael Wood, and Trevor Mallard and the lack of involving skilled negotiation efforts in the first few days. It may possibly have turned towards a more peaceful situation - instead, they most certainly poured oil on the fire which only brought the various protest sides closer together and strengthened their aim. Potter O.

We'll never now know what might have happened if Labour had simply met with some of the protesters' representatives. Instead, the spin machine moved into action and all protesters were painted as nutcases and Trumpites when clearly that was not the case early on. I don't agree with violent protest and this one lost control, it's a shame valid concerns have been lost. Kath H.