Former US President Ronald Reagan. Photo / AP, File
Taking control
One of the greatest speeches of all time was delivered by US President Ronald Reagan, when leaving after eight years in office. It has particular relevance for NZ at this time. Talking of the relationship between government and its people, he said that “the people tell government what to do, and not the reverse. The government is the car, the people drive it, and give instructions where to go, by what route, and how fast. We should also never forget that as government regulations expand, then liberty contracts.” With increasing undemocratic policies, rules, regulations, and seemingly uncontrolled government spending of taxpayer’s hard-earned income, we in NZ are fast losing our freedoms and our long-established multicultural way of life. A system that has been so admired around the world. As a nation, surely it is time for us to once again base our actions, not on the latest fashionable political impulses, but what is proper and necessary to regain our historical freedoms of enterprise, self-expression, and democracy, with everyone equal under the law.
Hylton Le Grice, Remuera.
Drugs available
I’ve been a myeloma patient for 25 years and am probably the longest-surviving patient in the world. I’m on weekly chemotherapy - Bortezomib & dexamethasone. That Daratumumab is not yet available here (NZ Herald, November 21) is of no importance to patients in the early stages of treatment. The reason is straightforward - there are a good half dozen effective drugs and drug combinations available to patients before they might have to move on to Daratumumab. The chances are very high that the subject of your article, Nichola Oakenfull, will die with myeloma rather than of myeloma.
David Nicholson, Karori.
Heaping abuse
Our young people who abuse the law are, in many cases, themselves the victims of abuse. National’s brutal kneejerk boot camp reaction only piles on even more abuse. The only “reprogramming” worth working on is to get their names on daily school attendance systems.
Peter Beyer, Sandringham.
War footing
I grew up in London during the Second World War. Most families were cared for by their mothers. For six years many mothers throughout much of the world were single parents. Bad behaviour in children was frowned upon by all. Children were not less loved but mothers and grandparents kept a firm watch and a firm hand. Children were a precious commodity and everyone’s hope for the future. Now, in this much freer society they are indulged, do as they like and many of them appear to be seriously unhappy. Perhaps adults require parenting lessons and kids definitely need to go to school every day. Police on the beat and truant officers would be a great start. For the older kids, boot camps would be even better.
Patricia Watkins, Kaitaia.
Impoverished policies
It’s abundantly clear that neoliberalism, adopted worldwide in the 1980s, has resulted in ballooning wealth inequality, with ugly societal consequences. NZ is no exception. The rich have got much richer; at the other end, we have seen the emergence of an economic underclass trapped in poverty from which escape is virtually impossible. Rife with dysfunction, drug and alcohol addiction, abuse of every sort, mental health disorders, self-perpetuating parenting failure, abysmal housing, malnutrition, hopelessness and alienation (all virtually unknown in 1970s NZ). It is little wonder that children born into this world are on a fast track to crime. White collar criminals who cost the country vastly more, have known no such privations, indeed they are typically from the well-to-do, National’s base. They are the real scumbags since their offending is driven simply by greed. Nevertheless, National singles out for opprobrium the damaged 12-year-old miscreants created by the vortex of misery visited on the poor by decades of government economic policies, especially National’s. Decreasing inequality is the solution to this problem, not punitive boot camps. But National opposes every government initiative to do so – CGT and fair pay legislation among them.
Philip Dashfield, Lower Hutt.
Sustained growth
The IMF’s warning of a looming recession to APEC’s delegates must come as a surprise to no one. But low growth isn’t all bad. China’s previously sustained 10 per cent growth translates to a doubling of production and resource use, waste and emissions every seven years. Clearly, this exceeds planetary boundaries. Low growth is good for avoiding extreme weather.
Ian Swney, Morrinsville.
Slowly fleeced
I see AT and the NZ Transport agency are doing their best to add weight to the cost-of-living crisis NZ is facing. Their adamant and ideological drive to lower speed limits will affect the cost of many things. Couriers are already saying prices will need to increase as deliveries will take longer and there will be fewer of them. Trucking companies are thinking along the same lines. Each trip will take longer and at even one less per day will affect their and their customers’ pricing. Who pays for all these poorly thought-out ideological changes? The public and consumer. I suppose it is also easier to lower speed limits than to actually repair roads.
Graham Hansen, Howick.
Over-compensation
Roderick Mulgan (Herald, Nov 18) correctly deplores the erosion of free speech against minorities. Once a minority group gains recognition that it has long been marginalised, the tsunami of self-righteous over-compensation can be unstoppable. Your job can be at risk if you don’t just give up and shut up, especially on social media. What’s put on the net stays on the net. Inevitably all these cause celebres burn themselves out, but their stupidity can be insufferable. Some are eventually seen as truly absurd, like the Salem hysterical belief in witches conniving with the devil. Some just fade into obscurity like Senator McCarthy’s obsession with Communist spies infiltrating America. Some achieve real progress in spite of, or perhaps because of, the extremism adopted by fringe fanatics such as trigger-happy employers. While each one is burning bright the best you can do is stay clear of the flames. News media excepted.
Jim Carlyle, Te Atatū Peninsula.
Whistle-stop
Can World Rugby and their referees please insert a simple new rule? If an action does not impede the flow or direction of the ball, then it is not a penalty. Stick to this simple rule and we will see a fast-flowing, uninterrupted game. Judging by the faces of the players of both the All Blacks and England, there was a lot of confusion around the referees’ calls.
Matt Morton, St Heliers.
Proportion, please
The drawn match with England completed the All Blacks’ 2022 year. There is the usual anguish after drawing a game they were seemingly well in control of, as well as the expected criticism and recriminations. By my reckoning, England has played the All Blacks in the UK 25 times with the home team winning only five times. The weekend draw was the second tie. Only twice in 15 matches in NZ has England prevailed. I understand each contest is new, a one-off, regardless of venue, personnel, and history but maybe amongst the unhappiness there should be some appreciation of the astonishing record of our top rugby team against a hugely advantaged opponent.
Peter Nicholson, Ruatangata.
Drawing excellence
Congratulations to Rod Emmerson on his well-deserved success at the 34th annual Australian National Cartoon Gallery Awards. His incredible talent also resulted in him winning Cartoonist of the Year. Brilliant.
Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.
On cricket
Advice for BlackCap selectors after yet another Finn Allen failure - go get Guptill. Renton Brown, Pukekohe.
On Peters
No one gets to lie to me twice, says Winston Peters. Well, Winston - I trust you, I trust you. Steve Culpan, Remuera.
On youth
Boot camp for repeat offenders, but what is National’s policy for first-time youth offenders and ram-raiders who are caught? Warren Prouse, Papakura.
On Twitter
Musk’s Tweet: What should Twitter do next? Me replying: Sell it to Trump. #missionover. S. Mohanakrishnan, Mt Roskill.
On rugby
Ban the halfback from kicking the ball, or at least red-card him. For the sake of the game, please do not let this abhorrent practice find its way into women’s rugby. Bary Williams, Sunnyhills.
How long has it been since we heard a referee call “advantage over” during an All Blacks match? Peter Judge, Wharewaka.
Once interest rates rise over 5 per cent, anyone with a loan on their house should get their KiwiSaver funds out and pay down their debt as soon as possible. If my KiwiSaver manager was anti-oil or coal investing, I would kick them to touch. I want the best possible return on my money. I don’t want woke managers using my money to push their agenda. Peter B.
I had to close my KiwiSaver three years ago and boy did the Government make it nice and easy to get my money out. I just about had to prove that I was fighting street dogs for food before they finally agreed to release my money. Being on a disability benefit absolutely guaranteed that this saving was going to need to be used immediately; no one can possibly live (in Auckland, especially) on a benefit. As one tiny example, Auckland City rates now take nearly 30 per cent of net benefits paid. Then try buying food. The minute it looks like taxpayers have to draw down KiwiSaver funds for day-to-day living, then something is wrong. Rates should be mandated by government to not be allowed to exceed 20 per cent of pensioners’ “income” and local governments by law be obliged to reduce rates on those over 65 to no more than 20 per cent of superannuation. After all, if pensioners get to 65, chances are they have paid a lot of both income tax (incl GST) and council rates. Rates are the main problem. Roger H.
I’m an accountant, an ex-treasury manager in international banks, yet despair at how my low-risk KiwiSaver accounts have lost money over the last year. Markets fell, as did my KiwiSaver. Understandable. But markets have now recovered, and with interest rates rising (favourable for low-risk funds), my fund continues to go south. Clearly, the managers are idiots. I say to anyone that has a decent amount of cash in their fund(s), take it out and get into property which is a buyers’ market. Property might well fall further, but building costs will not fall, which underpins the cost of a build and therefore the market. Glenn P.
If you have got to 65 and “paid a lot of tax” then you’ll have earned sufficient income to have saved for your retirement. If you’ve blown it, it’s not really up to younger ratepayers to subsidise you. If Auckland has become too expensive for you then consider moving to a cheaper area. Too many people in this country simply bury their heads in the sand when it comes to retirement planning, and then blame everyone else. Gavin L.
OPINION: New Zealander reflects on delivering speech at St James' Palace.