In this 2023 New Zealand election there are 487 candidates from 17 parties who are standing for the 70 electorate seats, including seven Māori seats. There are an additional 50 list seats, making up the total 120 seats, before any overhang. Many opinion writershave asked how can we improve the quality of our MPs, and thereby our governance of the country. Options would include all politicians having to sit political competency exams which must be passed before being permitted to stand, and strengthening the would-be politicians’ selection process with set standards for all parties to eliminate the unsuitable candidates. But one standout option would be to eliminate the 50 list seats, the over 40 per cent of our politicians who never face the electorates or voters. New Zealand has been increasingly overrun and bogged down with a bloated administration and a public service which has failed to deliver efficient results for the country. Any efficiency practitioner or change manager would instantly recognise there have to be deep cuts before a proper restructuring can begin. I suggest a good starting point would be the 50 list MPs.
Gary Carter, Gulf Harbour.
A fair go
There are plenty of studies showing how processed foods contain way too much sugar and salt and so are bad for our health. Studies show that laws about safety equipment in the workplace save lives, how a public health “system” is better than relying only on expensive private healthcare, how helping a criminal through care and education rather than just locking them up improves their future. We need a government that is willing to uphold, not weaken the rules and public services that protect everybody and do not bend to pressure from wealthy companies or individuals. We need a government that cares for people who are born into less-wealthy households and lifts them through education and care. Not everyone is able to earn themselves out of poverty. We need a government that does not abandon those people, lower their financial assistance and expect them to somehow better their own situation without any help. Yes, that costs money, mostly from our taxes, but we need to ask ourselves if we want well-run public services, or a tax cut of a few per cent. Slogans about treating everyone the same, whatever their racial background, sound compelling, but if one race has been abused and neglected for decades, perhaps it does need more help. Hopefully our next government will care for more than just tax cuts and slashing regulations.
At least one qualified medical professional had the gumption to go and see in person what was going wrong with the health system, by doing ride-alongs with the ambulance service. Sadly, it was a National MP and not someone from the current Government wanting to try to understand what could be done to help improve the current woeful state of affairs. I’m sure Te Whatu Ora would much rather have had a carefully-orchestrated PR visit by one of its own chosen spokespeople. Shame on them for being afraid that the true situation might see the light of day. Open and transparent they are not!
If you saw someone with a disability being disadvantaged, you’d like to think you would step up and help out. In this country, one of the biggest groups of beneficiaries are those on the Supported Living benefit. These are people with either a permanent disability or those who have put their life on hold to look after their loved one with a disability. Those people, mainly women, work incredibly hard 24/7 and are saving the country thousands of dollars by not putting their love one in a care facility — and the thanks they will be getting will be to live in deeper poverty under a National Government, when they change the index of benefits from wages to CPI. Can you find me a New Zealander who thinks that is acceptable?
G. Edwards, Glenfield.
Inviting chaos
Having success as a businessman has led Christopher Luxon to believe he can manage the very different world of politics and the personnel that the voters offer him. While he and David Seymour have much in common, by including Winston Peters if necessary he has put himself into a situation he is totally unprepared for. Both of these men with their combined following, according to the polls only about 15 per cent, have the power to block anything they don’t like. Moreover, they dislike each other and their demands are so different they can obstruct almost everything. Following the end of the Key Government, the National Party was in such disarray, ploughing through five different leaders, they seemed not to have noticed that Winston, in his role of kingmaker for Labour, could have brought down the Government at any time — and did indeed block some of the policies they would have liked to have implemented. With National’s vote-catching tax policy already being less generous than it first seemed, is he relying on an electorate’s perceived want of change being a good enough reason to invite chaos? Winston thrives on such situations, but will the country?
P. Belsham, Mt Albert.
Israelis inspect the rubble of a building a day after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv. Photo / AP
Last Thursday a Russian rocket struck a store in Hroza, eastern Ukraine, killing 51 civilians — one of many such atrocities. On Saturday, Hamas launched rocket attacks on Israel and infiltrated southern Israel, killing civilians. Both attacks are deplorable. One understands and sympathises with the Palestinian people living under a never-ending siege in Gaza and the West Bank. In 1946 they had 90 per cent of the land and now they have less than 10 per cent, and that is under pressure from illegal settlements. The hard-line Israeli occupation has created the aggressive Hamas but this latest attack will not further their cause. The world has ignored the increasing Israeli army deployment in the West Bank (including the shooting of the Abu Akleh) and now Hamas has overreacted, with disastrous consequences for all Palestinians. One despairs at the unnecessary loss of life, and restraint is needed by all sides. And the US sends more military aid to Israel, adding fuel to the fire and seemingly not understanding the plight of the Palestinian people. Only a just two-state solution will bring peace.
Steve Lincoln, Botany Downs.
Poor excuse
David Blaker (NZ Herald, October 9) claims that criminal offences are linked to wealth gaps between rich and poor. My childhood was spent living in a council flat and we had little money, but we never considered stealing or violence. I’m sorry, but there are those who just take what they want if they don’t have the money, with no conscience or remorse.
V. Hall, Whangapāraoa.
Vote of thanks
A huge thanks to the amazing Auckland City Hospital/Te Whatu Ora neurosurgery and radiation oncology teams that recently operated and continue to care for me after discovery and removal of a glioblastoma brain tumour. A lot gets said about the state of our health system; my experience suggests otherwise and encouraged me to ponder whether we should be holding a mirror back on the society we live in and the unsustainable pressure this is placing on our health system. The individuals and teams running it are never going to be perfect, but they deserve all the support we can afford them. Thank you!
Hugo Shanahan, Herne Bay.
Time for a change
While being distracted by the lolly scramble currently being offered by our politicians, we should take a look at the wider issues at stake in this election. Do we want to go down the future path of being governed by bureaucrats appointed in Wellington, and selected on a racially-divided base? Such is the case for water control and resource management act changes. Now is the time to vote for change.
Alan Jones, Whangārei.
Computer games
According to Rugby Vision, a well-tested algorithm using computer modelling of the four already guaranteed top spot, New Zealand have a 33.5 per cent chance of winning, South Africa 26.2 per cent France 20.6 per cent and Ireland 11.9 per cent. If so and you’re a computer modelling guru, the winner of the RWC is already all over. Mind you, computer modelling on climate change, as with earthquakes on several occasions, has proved a trifle dodgy so it might still be advisable to give the television version a second glance.
Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.
Short & sweet
On Labour
Of course there are no holes in Labour’s tax plans. They would be filled by more borrowing. Nick Hamilton, Remuera
On World Cup
To give the fans some enjoyment, and to watch a faster game, from the quarter-finals on, can we rush in a law that it is okay to have the scrums play out like rugby league? That is, the front row merely say hi to each other, and the halfback whips that ball straight into the middle row. Glenn Forsyth, Taupo.
On Israel
Just five words for the State of Israel that my grandfather passed to me: “You reap what you sow.” H.R. Grenfell, New Lynn.
On Reti
Well done Dr Shane Reti. Judging by the “outrage” from the bigwigs at the Ministry of Health, they are clearly concerned for their future when Reti becomes their minister. Derek Paterson, Sunnyhills
On MMP
Does Luxon find MMP inconvenient? But that’s how MMP is supposed to work. Most New Zealanders do not want someone like Roger Douglas running this country again, ever. Arch Thomson, Mt Wellington
I would hope that we aren’t all in it for a tax cut, we need inflation control. Get money out of the system and pay debt down. Jeremy B.
Don’t know if getting a tax cut is high up on everyone’s voting priority list as people are making out. Instead of worrying about what I am getting, I’m literally voting for what I won’t be getting. Grant P.
Taxes aren’t the problem. It is the spending of them that is the problem. Anything that leaves the poor worse off shouldn’t be voted for. Kirstie P.
Why not introduce stamp duty on all real estate purchases like they do in most other countries. Imagine the income for the Government to dish out on tax relief for renters. Neville B.
Sadly, none of the major parties’ tax policies are based on what the nation’s economy needs. It is all based on how theycan garner (or “buy”) more votes. Alexander M.
What I will or wouldn’t (supposedly) pay, in tax, under different parties isn’t the main point. The party that best manages the economy is what I want. Steven W.
I pay enough tax, I certainly don’t need to pay anymore but equally happy if I don’t get a tax cut. Paul E.
Indexing income tax brackets for inflations a no-brainer if you are seeking a fairer income tax system. It is fundamentally dishonest to characterise these as tax cuts. Colin J.
