Labour’s newly-released policy to axe GST from fresh and frozen fruit and veges will be transformational. Photo / Paul Taylor, File
GST policy move set to make a difference
Labour’s newly-released policy to axe GST from fresh and frozen fruit and veges will be transformational in many ways. Firstly, the average New Zealand household will be $5.63 better off after doing the weekly grocery shop. This will be a huge help to families struggling with the cost of living crisis. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, lower prices will encourage people to buy more fruit and vegetables. This will translate long-term into a healthier population. One would imagine anyone eating an apple would be better off than consuming a packet of potato chips. Indeed, if consumption goes up then this will help the growers, who are also battling to make a profit on the farm. Guessing economists like Brad Olsen and others quick to deride the policy as “silly” didn’t think of this? Their only concern seems to be the difficulty in implementing this in tax terms. However, Australia has had this policy for years. Experts there say removing the GST exemption could lead to 90,000 extra cases of heart disease, stroke and cancer. Even with cheaper prices, few Australians currently meet the recommended daily intake of fruit and vegetables. One would hope that the policy has been proposed to help ordinary mums and dads keep their families healthy. The more cynical will say it it a last-ditch attempt to swing voters their way in the forthcoming election. It certainly could affect the outcome and National might wish that they had thought of the policy first. Glen Stanton, Mairangi Bay.
GST off? Yeah, right
So Labour would remove GST from fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables. Does anyone really believe the saving of $4 to $5 a week would actually encourage people to buy more fruit and vegetables? “Yeah, nah.” Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.
Storm in a tea cup
What a storm in a tea cup over removing GST from fruit and veges. Four dollars per week savings doesn’t even amount to one cup of coffee. Such a paltry saving is an insult to the average New Zealander who is struggling with the cost of living. Add to this the massive cost of supervising the scheme to ensure it is not abused and the cost of running the scheme will be greater than any savings to the average family. Surely Labour could have come up with a more meaningful election bribe? Jock MacVicar, Hauraki.
Taking GST off is easy
There has been a lot of nonsense written about how difficult it is to remove GST from some food items. It is in fact quite simple. Every item that comes into a supermarket must have at some stage of the process been entered by hand at a computer terminal to create a database. It becomes one line of code to identify GST. Modern technology then takes over producing the bar codes. Graham Hill, Parnell.
Climate of change
I will judge party policies against criteria involving climate, health, education, cost of living and crime. Of these, I see climate as the most important. I see the removal of GST on fruit and vegetables as having some effect on climate and, although I admire the simplicity of our tax system, I support this change. Now I want some good chefs to show me how to cook it all. Keith Duggan, Browns Bay.
Hauraki Gulf is dying
What an indictment on this once-beautiful, clean, green city of Auckland. The east coast beaches are used to dump sewage every time we have heavy rain. This is getting worse as the population keeps increasing but it has been a problem for many years, and each year, excuses are found for doing nothing. Now the Hauraki Gulf is dying with the continuous onslaught of pollution. The Gold Coast population has increased faster than Auckland but they have pristine beaches and clean water. Vince West, Milford.
Ignore over-65s at your peril
Political polls which leave out seniors, the over-65s, simply because they don’t have cellphones or cellphone technology, do so at their peril. There isn’t one senior who hasn’t received huge benefits from Labour’s winter energy and cost-of-living payments and will be very reluctant to give those cost-of-living updates up, as did the beneficiaries of regular increases in the minimum wage, which would be negated if the National Party should take office. For that reason, like it or not as they make up one in six of the population and much as happened in the last election, a landslide victory to Labour is inevitable unless scores of thousands of voters, like the National Party leader, have very short memories. Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.
Roads to nowhere
Many will concur with Dushko Bogunovich, Simon Wilson and others who question the ludicrous promises to spend very many billions of dollars on tunnels, trains, bridges and massive roading projects. There’s so much uncertainty about our ongoing “climate meltdown” and the needs/costs it will inflict, including the loss of much tax revenue. It is nonsense to formulate election policy that goes beyond the next three-year term and the daily grind of keeping public services ticking over and people safe, employed, housed and fed. The long-term exception might be policies that better guard our sea and land borders (and sovereignty?) in the face of increasing food and water insecurity across the globe. Aspirational economic growth is not the answer to the wealth gap or to our survival. Instead, we need sustainability in all aspects of our economic activity while we repair damaged environments, adapt to new conditions, and look after each other. B. Darragh, Auckland Central.
I’ll get on my knees and pray
Claire Trevett’s article in the Weekend Herald on Winston Peters’ and New Zealand First’s rise in the polls was spot on in her use of lyrics from the old Who classic Won’t Get Fooled Again. However, she left out the line from that song which sums up the situation quite nicely: “Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss”. James Armstrong, Meadowbank.
Don’t build in flood zones
Neil Ericken’s opinion piece on engineering ourselves out of flooded areas is only part of the solution. It does not highlight the important alternative of not building in flood-prone areas. It takes the same approach of geo-engineering ourselves out of the climate emergency and carrying on with our extravagant lifestyleand ignores the major issue that we have to change and live with nature, not fight it. The Auckland Council has released its flood-prone maps and, based on these, urgent planning changes are needed to determine what is made green space and what can be built on. This is the first priority for all political policy-makers. Kit Howden, Mt Eden.
NZ food cheaper in UK
I did not need my news feed from the Australian Broadcasting Commission to tell me food prices in this country are at a 34-year high and we are in a chronic situation but when they told me it is possible to buy New Zealand onions in the UK for less than here, there is clearly something rotten, not in Denmark but right here. When Tesco has to include the cost of the shipping, I find it difficult to understand how this can be, when there are plenty of onions grown across in France. Could it be our onion producers are happily subsidising consumers? Surely the supermarket duopoly is not price-gouging? Perhaps the new regulator would like to comment? Rod Lyons, Kumeu.
Not my planet
I’m not surprised at the National Party pushing for new roads as an election promise; but for Labour to also suggest more roads, and in tunnels no less — goodness me — what planet are they living on? Not mine. What part of reducing emissions has not yet sunk in? Linda McGrogan, Taupō.
BlackRock suits
BlackRock is a very apt name for the organisation trying to buy into NZ. It’s dark, not transparent, menacing and no one knows what lies beneath it. Garry Wycherley, Awakino.
On drug crime
An article in the Herald on August 11 described the shocking state of crime in Ecuador with a paragraph we might see as relevant. “Ecuador, once a relatively safe nation, has been consumed by violence related to narco-trafficking in the last five years.” Sound familiar? Graham Steenson, Whakatāne.
We’re too small
National is spot on. Auckland has neither the population nor economy to build the proposed state-of-the-art underground light rail network cities such as Melbourne and Sydney. Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.
Northern sides turgid
Anyone who made the mistake of watching England against Wales on Sunday morning will be filled with pessimism for the Rugby World Cup. It was like watching two Second XVs on a training run. Turgid understates it. D.B. Hill, Auckland Central.
Two-track mind
Thanks to Gavin Baker of Glendowie for his advice (NZH, August 11). I can assure him I haven’t a one-track mind. I have always strongly advocated for the rail line to Hamilton to be both double-tracked and electrified. Russell Armitage, Hamilton.
David Kirk: His extraordinary life and how NZ can rebuild its mojo
Wage rises without increased productivity are the sure path to ruin. Increased benefits and minimum wages without productivity are dragging our economy ever downwards. John K.
Anyone can be an entrepreneur. All you have to do is look for the positives and not the negatives. When you fall down, you get back up. William H.
What a fantastic story we need more like David Kirk. Chrissie C.
Our younger generation are being largely locked out of accruing capital thanks to monstrous rents, house prices and stagnant wages, therefore it’s rather hard for them to be entrepreneurs. Luke P.
We might not all make it to the board room, but we can all do well. If individuals do well, the country does well. Walter H.
If Labour could learn not to be paternalistic, they might be a lot more sensible. Donald A.
He hits the nail on the head. NZ needs to find its mojo again, we need a change of direction for our country. Murray S.
What a great insight into a great person and great New Zealander. Graham A.
Great series of articles, nice to learn more about inspirational Kiwis such as David. Kath H.
It’s time to stop demonising the successful and forcing them out of the country. Mark M.
Ian Dallison details to Parole Board the money woes that left him 'wound up'.