Free to care
Firstly, I would like to thank the Government and the health team for their leadership during this difficult time. I also think that the guidelines they give to us are very clear and easy to understand.
My concern is that inadvertently it is the people who are following
these guidelines who are suffering the most. People like Brian Tamaki and his followers are punishing those who are willing to make a sacrifice for others. They carry out their actions in the name of freedom but do they have any understanding of what freedom is?
Biblically, freedom is being given the opportunity to do what is right, not doing what we like. With freedom, there is always a corresponding action of care and responsibility. It does not matter if we are in level 2 or level 3 or even level 4, if people refuse to follow the guidelines, all people are at risk of catching this deadly virus. If people claim a Christian ethic, they should always do what is best and right.
Reverend Mark Beale, Wattle Downs.
Reverse the lockdown
We were told on Saturday night and again on Monday that Super Saturday was a great success and Auckland especially turned out in huge numbers right across the city bring the totals to 89 per cent first vaccine and 71 per cent fully vaccinated. Then from the Beehive podium on Monday afternoon, Auckland was dished out a reward of two more weeks in lockdown and told to work harder at following the rules while we wait for some areas of the country to get their vaccine numbers up. Meanwhile, the "boundary" around Auckland remains in place with no indication the Government has any idea of how they will go about removing it.
What should be happening is that those vulnerable, under-vaccinated areas around the country should have boundaries placed around them to protect them until they get their vaccination levels to the Government's unspecified "very high level". Meanwhile double vaccinated Aucklanders should be given back their hard-earned freedoms similar to the rest of New Zealand in level 2 including travel to most of the rest of the country.
Patrick O'Rourke, Sunnynook.
Asset values
It is not altogether surprising the consumer price index (CPI) has finally caught up with the fact that inflation in New Zealand is rampant and has been for some time.
The CPI is good at measuring the price of cabbages but makes no attempt to measure movements in asset prices.
Robin Hood and his merry men (aka Adrian Orr and the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee) have been merrily "robbin" income from trading bank term depositors over the past few years, by steadily reducing the official cash rate (OCR) in response to a perceived low inflation environment. Such interest income, which would normally accrue to depositors has then (via the trading banks) formed the basis of a "subsidy" to borrowers, who have been encouraged/able to borrow funds at minimal interest rates, the justification being that this will stimulate the economy.
An unintended consequence of this strategy has been an unbridled escalation in asset prices (particularly housing and shares) and there is current concern that some overcommitted borrowers may face hardship when interest rates rise.
A (belated) solution would be for the OCR to be replaced by a hybrid measure that appropriately weights the CPI and an asset price index that measures movements in asset prices.
John Olesen, St Heliers.
Police role
Are New Zealand Police still crimefighters? Is it now the role of the police to observe and monitor crime, while recording it for statistical and insurance purposes?
People brazenly breaking the law in full view of the public and police must be arrested and brought to account.
If not, citizens are entitled to ask themselves, why should I follow the law, when there are no consequences if I do not?
Cheryl Cutfield, Remuera.
Windows closed
Microsoft touted its Windows 10 as, "The last operating system you'll ever need," when it was introduced at end-July 2015. Now they're introducing Windows 11, announcing that they'll stop supporting Windows 10 in a few years. Lack of support means no more security updates, a necessity. Upgrades to Windows 11 are free as long as a downloadable Microsoft program finds your PC eligible.
In my family, six out of seven PCs fail Microsoft's upgrade test due to slightly older chipsets. Worldwide, maybe more than half of an estimated 3 billion PCs might fail Microsoft's test because their chipsets are somewhat older and not replaceable. This will mean a huge cost to consumers and the environment.
The US and EU (hopefully joined by our Commerce Commission) are currently examining the monopoly behaviour of the tech giants. So far, it looks like they're leaning toward regulating rather than breaking up the behemoths. If so, they could well start by requiring Microsoft to make the tweaks required to Windows 11 to allow its use with older chipsets. This would hugely benefit consumers and the environment.
Robert Myers, Auckland Central.
