Letters: Freedom versus responsibility, reopening borders, CBD crime and Afghanistan

Anti-vaccine protesters holding signs, declaring they are not anti-vaccine. Photo / Bevan Conley, File

Air raid sirens blaring

Derek Cheng, the Herald's assistant political editor, has written (NZ Herald, August) that refusing the Covid vaccine is like keeping your lights on during a bombing raid.
This wartime scenario reminded me of something written by Viktor Frankl, the Austrian psychiatrist and neurologist who survived Auschwitz. In his short, harrowing memoir entitled Man's Search For Meaning, he wrote that there should be a "Statue of Responsibility" on the western seaboard of the United States to balance the "Statue of Liberty" on the eastern.
If an individual's freedom to choose is elevated above his responsibility towards the collective society, then "freedom" comes at a huge cost. The bombers win. But where responsibility is viewed correctly, and freely chosen, we are all safer.
Responsibility for what? To look out for our collective safety, especially the more vulnerable in society, and to use solid science above superstition, facts above fiction.
There is no doubt the "bombers" will come. We have a window of opportunity to prepare. Collectively, individuals making the responsible decision to be vaccinated will result in a much more robust collective (and personal) freedom.
Dr John Kyle, Ōrewa.

Uncharted waters
I am not sure what people expected from the Government announcement (NZ Herald, August 13) on opening the borders. There is clearly no magic wand that will miraculously return us to the situation of 2019.
Some business people would seem to have the most compelling reason to travel overseas well ahead of tourists or people like my wife and me who have had to postpone indefinitely our post-retirement OE. To compare the proposed self-isolation with the situation in March 2020 is ridiculous. At that time mass testing was impossible, there was no contact tracing system, masks and even hand sanitiser were almost impossible to buy and there were no MIQ facilities as most hotels were full of foreigners desperate to return home. Most importantly there was no vaccine. If we are not to stay in splendid isolation for many years a cautious approach to opening up is essential – with one proviso – anyone who wants to travel must be fully vaccinated.
Greg Cave, Sunnyvale.

Soft targets
A thousand assaults (NZ Herald, August 13) in the Auckland CBD in six months - a 63 per cent increase on last year.
Also, a huge jump in cases of cars speeding to escape police.
Are there more criminals in the CBD? Definitely. Are the police going soft on crime? Possibly.
Were the police told to go soft on crime? Likely. If so, by whom? I don't think I need to answer that.
Why? Four years ago the current Government, in one of their first policy announcements, made it clear that prisoner numbers had to reduce markedly.
It is no surprise that prisoner numbers have, in fact, reduced.
Just join the dots.
Steve Clerk, Meadowbank.

Key navigation
As this Government's failings in health and education begin to manifest, Labour supporters revert to the same tired mantra that it's somehow the fault of the previous National Government (NZ Herald, August 13). But the reality is different.
Compared to Helen Clark's Labour government, John Key's National practically doubled the education spend from $7 billion per year to $13.3b and hiked health spending both in per capita terms and in total from $13b to $17b per year.
All this, while successfully navigating New Zealand through the worst international financial crisis in 100 years.
John Denton, Napier.

Sorry chapter
The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates declared, "The greatest way to live with honour in this world is to be what we pretend to be." Such a sentiment fits honoured institutions as well.
University of Auckland library is currently removing what it deems "low use material" to a warehouse for storage. Entire floors and disciplines are being judged subjectively by someone in a back room against "relevance" and "use". Whether it's ancient works or postmodern art, "use" flattens the field. The focus is now on "high-use relevant materials available for immediate browsing". Other materials are to be "requested via the catalogue… usually supplied within 24 hours".
Members of the public, taxpayers and ratepayers, use the University of Auckland library. They will no longer have access to the entire catalogue. Students have lost the ability to browse shelves to extend their information drive.
Removing accessibility of books from an institution such as a university library is a movement towards pretence. Are higher-learning and its books now subject to popularity, "use" and "relevance" tests?
If free access to warm, dry, fit-for-purpose housing is a gauge of our national well-being, then free immediate access to books measures our universities' health.
Russell Hoban, Ponsonby.

Afghanistan revisited
When Alexander the Great marched into Afghanistan, he quickly observed and made a statement, you cannot win a war here; and withdrew his troops.
It has taken the Americans 20 years to come to the same conclusion.
What a pity the American military did not take any notice of the greatest military commander of all time.
John Turner, Pukekohe.

All aboard
Before any more money is spent, whether on light rail or trams (NZ Herald, August 16), public transport, in general, has to be made desirable.
Not having a car, I use it all the time and often have a bus or a train carriage all to myself. I see buses going by virtually empty. The schedules are excellent, everything is excellent, but people are not using public transport.
I urge planners to take a fraction of the proposed spend and invest it in making public transport free for a period – at least six months, preferably a year. I guarantee patronage would increase overnight.
The benefits would be immediate - congestion eased, emissions reduced, people's transport costs going down. Then, the true needs would become clear.
It could well be revealed that we don't actually need any further services, whether light rail or trackless trams.
It's worth remembering that what we spent on the America's Cup would cover the cost of free public transport for five years.
Susan Grimsdell, Auckland Central.

Train in vain
The Te Huia Hamilton to Auckland train is a prime example of how inadequate the evaluation of some public expenditure can be in New Zealand. The so-called business case was approved with monthly costs of $640,000 and projected revenue of $80,000 i.e. a monthly loss of $560,000.
The actual achieved revenue has been less than $40,000 per month to date. A loss of $600,000 per month.
The politicians who approved this waste blame lack of patronage, which is blatantly incorrect. If every seat was occupied every trip, the revenue would be $160,000 per month i.e. a loss of "only" $480,000 per month.
These figures do not include any allocation of the $98 million spent to establish the project. They are based on numbers provided by the promotor, the Waikato Regional Council.
The claim about environmental gains is likely to be as flawed as financial ones with the large amount of energy required to power the steel monster for 30 passengers on board.
The business or environmental case would have not gone past square one but for the political expediency around a "feel good" factor and would have been far more beneficially spent on other government functions.
Lindsay Smith, Hamilton.

Banking on success
Buried at the end of the good news story (NZ Herald, August 12) regarding the ASB posting a $1.3 billion profit is the additional news that the CEO Vittoria Shortt has received a $970,000 increase in pay, according to the reported figures.
The second paragraph also noted that a year ago, she - along with other bankers and commentators - were predicting a negative OCR. And now we're looking at increases. Such foresight.
And, for this, a nearly $1 million per annum increase. Well done.
My local branch of the ASB, where I used to do business, has closed. Well done, again.
David White, Pāpāmoa.

Tee time
The Prime Minister's frequent appearances on TV during the current pandemic have brought into prominence a pronunciation issue that seems to be widespread in the English-speaking world. According to the Prime Minister we live in a "communidy" and need to get "vaccinaded" in order to achieve "immunidy". Doctor Bloomfield, among some others of us, still lives in a community, etc. So I propose a movement to Save Our T - SOT, fully aware of the irony that some will pronounce it SOD
Alan Jenkinson, One Tree Hill.

Short & sweet

On isolating
Maybe a fine of $20,000 for those who breach home isolation conditions would deter the small minority who are unable to be trusted. Sheryl Wales, Fairview Heights.

On wildfires
Why aren't we ready for wildfires? Because we don't want to burn to death. Andrew Montgomery, Remuera.

On All Blacks
Though the Wallabies have not won in Auckland for many years, we should remember the All Blacks have never won in Perth. E. Field, Hamilton.

On trams
I see a really nice picture of a trackless tram that may be used to go to the airport via Dominion Rd (NZ Herald, August 16). Surely the present double-decker buses we already have would do the job, using the existing bus lanes. Michael Walker, Blockhouse Bay.

On vaccine
If the Government really wanted to eliminate Covid, it would order booster vaccines now. Wendy Tighe-Umbers, Parnell.

Why is it that 60 million Britons have been vaccinated (twice), while we struggle to vaccinate our tiny population? Rex Head, Papatoetoe.

The Premium Debate

Kabul falls

Hard to imagine that the Taliban philosophy has become more moderate after 20 years of B-52s dropping in on them. False hope was given to the Afghan people that their ancient feudal country surrounded by Islamic nations was going to make a sudden, successful evolutionary leap. What a money pit this has been with untold human sacrifice. Simon R.

The lesson in this is to appreciate the limits of Western intervention, and the dangers of destabilising countries in the first place (the US arming and funding the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the 80s). Twenty years of a US occupation that killed tens of thousands of civilians and the corrupt government it propped up was toppled in days. What an absolutely damning indictment of the US empire. Steve E.

What an appalling situation for those who assisted our troops over their time in Afghanistan. When pleading for safe passage when our troops were withdrawn a few months ago, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern denied their request to come into our country as refugees. Every other country is bringing out these brave people, even without visas. The Afghans who assisted us are subject to a meeting of Cabinet. Disgraceful. We should have had a RNZAF 757 on the runway at Doha a week ago. John H.

We would have been getting the same military advice as the Pentagon was giving the White House. Any takeover might take 18 months. US, like Australia, has left stranded its far larger supporters too. And we would have had to work with them anyway. Hector O.

Afghanistan is about to revert to the uncivilised and backward rule of the Taliban and women and girls will again be treated as lesser beings. Can we rely on the US as an ally? Probably not. Ian U.

There doesn't appear to have been any thought to an exit strategy. If anyone's human rights need defending it's these poor people. Kath H.

I'm surprised if anyone is surprised at this. I thought it would take a few more days for the Taliban to take total control of the country, but it did seem inevitable once foreign troops were withdrawn. Once again, we see the futility of puppet governments. They collapse very quickly as soon as the foreign troops propping them up depart. Pretend elections don't make it a democracy. Ed W.