Can anyone explain why general practitioners aren't being used in the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out? Photo / AP, File
It is very obvious that the Ministry of Health has an entrenched bias against New Zealand's general practitioners.
These GPs, throughout NZ, have the skills and client details to effectively contact and administer the Covid-19 vaccinations.
But will the ministry use this vehicle? No chance.
They would prefer to waste time and money training new people to administer the jabs. The result is that the public has no clear direction (at present at least) where they might obtain the jabs.
Somebody in the Ministry of Health needs to explain.
Bill Boyle, Ōrewa.
Callous arrogance
The callous treatment of a New Zealand octogenarian by the Australian-owned bank Westpac (NZ Herald, May 20), and the frequent overcharging of groceries by Australian-owned supermarkets in New Zealand (Herald, May 18) indicate an attitude of carelessness and arrogance towards New Zealand customers.
Supermarkets mostly get away with incorrect charging because they know customers often don't check the charges at the check-out or don't have the time or resources to return later for a refund of a few dollars.
New-Zealand owned supermarkets and banks are, in my experience, proving much more trustworthy, professional and consumer-friendly.
Barry Nesdale, Bethlehem.
Managing money
Many women are as good or better at managing money than their male partners.
I thought the days had long gone since a bank manager rang my husband at work and asked if he realised that his new wife could sign cheques.
Pamela Russell, Ōrākei.
Limited reprisals
I respond to the cartoon (NZ Herald, May 19) which quotes "an eye for an eye". This is a quote from the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Torah).
It was not an instruction to exact the full damage suffered from the attacker, or more, as was the current practice among the nations of the day. This is the common understanding today and that which the cartoon is based upon.
It set an upper limit on the reprisal, which may be less, but not more, than was suffered. If this had been practised by both parties in the current war, there would have been no war, whatever understanding of fault and cause there might be.
G Keith Overend, Bellevue.
Rates rises
Your article "Rates rise bombshell" (NZ Herald May 19) appears to suggest that rising property values convert directly into rising rates.
Auckland Council sets the rates for any given year, independently from property values. For 2021/22, starting in July, we have introduced a 5 per cent rates rise. Next year it will be 3.5 per cent.
If you own a property in Auckland and its value has risen by the average amount for the city, your rates for 2021/22 will rise by 5 per cent.
Whatever the value your property might have risen, if that rise is the average for the city, you will pay the average increase of 5 per cent.
If your property value has risen higher than the average amount, you will pay a little more. This can happen if you have added to the value of the property or if you live in a "hot" suburb.
Conversely, if you live in a suburb where values are rising more slowly than average, your rates rise will be a little lower than 5 per cent.
The variation in both cases will be small: just a few per cent. There will be no "bombshell".
Desley Simpson, chair, Auckland Council Finance and Performance Committee.
Editor's note: The rates rise noted in this letter has been amended from 5.5 per cent to 5 per cent on request from the letter writer.
Priorities bumped
The Auckland Council has $450m shortfall in its budget. Here's a simple solution:
Has it ever occurred to them to tell Auckland Transport that $100m spent on speed bumps might be considered a "nice-to-have" rather than an essential in straitened times.
This is a council talking about closing libraries and selling parks. To fund speed bumps?!
Indeed, the council should tell Auckland Transport that, unfortunately but necessarily, their budget is cut by $450m and they must live within it.
If they can't then someone should be found who can and will.
David Morris, Hillsborough.
Retain services
Auckland Council's 10-year recovery budget proposes a 5 per cent rate rise, to be maintained for three consecutive years.
What really matters is that, if we are going to pay more, we want to see value for money. The council also proposed in the 10-year budget the highly undesirable downsizing of its involvement in community and cultural facilities, with no visible improvement in its dismal record in protecting urban trees. Libraries, halls, parks, community centres, are facing the possibility of direct sell-off or being reduced to "ghost services" online.
I would much rather pay a rates rise and know I can use a real park, a real hall and a real library than to be faced with a sell-off of the "family silver", similar to what happened nationally in the 1980s and 90s.
There is such a thing as a social contact. If the council increases rates - and they must do this equitably - then we, the actual owners of the family silver, must have quality access to it.
Denys Trussell, Newton.
Lucky Aucklanders
So Auckland ratepayers are up in arms at the rates increase. You should try living in Tauranga.
It has been suggested our next rate increase will be 16 per cent. Our rates are already as high as Auckland's, without half the services.
Having lived in Auckland until four and a half years ago, we never realised how lucky we were. Great rubbish collection with a variety of bins and we considered our rates to be reasonable for what we received.
In Tauranga, we've had to buy black council rubbish bags and pay for recycling and garden waste to be collected – mainly because we are older and thought it wise to be collected rather than continually taking stuff to the transfer station. We eventually got a bin from the council for glass.
From July, we are paying extra in our rates for recycling, garden and kitchen scraps. We actually didn't want the kitchen scrap bin as we already have one to put into a worm farm that we own.
Aucklanders need to stop complaining and realise that other parts of the country are a lot worse off than they are.
Christine Frayling, Ōhauiti.
Ranging wider
There are two recurring headlines in the Herald that seem to be going nowhere: congestion on Auckland's roads and Auckland Ports.
Combine the two problems and you finish up with a bridge (or tunnel) linking the Manukau Heads with the Waitākere Ranges. You then finish up with a port in a remote area of Auckland directly opposite an international airport and a much-needed motorway link completely bypassing Auckland.
Is this the far-sighted solution to the ports and congestion problem we need?
Alfred Behr, Swanson.
Downtown traffic
Tony Waring (NZ Herald May 1) believes putting more buses on the city roads and forgetting light rail will make us better off, get us moving.
Has he taken the inner city bus link which goes up Queen St? A possibly great service. However, when we went on this bus four times during the Auckland Writers festival, it took ages, at walking pace, as there was a traffic jam all along Queen St.
If there was a dedicated lane, we would have been able to whizz up to the Aotea Centre. If we had light rail, the problem of hold-ups should go as there would be no competition with cars.
Putting more tyres on our roads just encourages hold-ups when cars use the same roads. The new design to make the streets more public transport-friendly is well overdue. We have to make passengers feel public transport is the fast and efficient way to travel if we are to meet our emissions target.
Frankie Letford, Wynyard.
Check-out abuse
In the past couple of years, I have witnessed - and even intervened in - several incidents where supermarket check-out supervisors have been subjected to appalling, personalised verbal abuse.
In each instance, it has been from young men, unreasonably irritable about the fact they have to wait to have their purchase approved or being unable to activate a Winz payment card. On each occasion they were buying a box of beer.
One of the women told me that such abuse "no longer upsets me because we get it all the time. It's part of the job."
It shouldn't be.
Matt Elliott, Birkdale.
On hackers
Under the proposed centralised health model, New Zealand's entire public health system could in the future be brought to its knees by a similar attack. Duncan Simpson, Albany.
On Taiwan
I am waiting for updated comment from David Seymour around forming a bubble with Taiwan. Gil Laurenson, Eastern Beach.
On Gaza
Interesting to see how Iran gets the blame for supplying rockets to the Palestinians. The US has, without any restrictions, always supplied unlimited highly sophisticated armaments to Israel. Vince West, Milford.
On vaccine
Hard-working parents built New Zealand and raised today's children. "Boomers" are now rated along with prisoners to receive their vaccine sometime this year. Erik Marjo, Milford.
The people who refuse to take the Covid vaccine and get the virus should have to pay for their treatment. J Longson, Kawerau.
On Hosking
Hosking is threatening (NZ Herald, May 20) to move to Australia should the present Government continue to disappoint, if not enrage, him. Do we dislike our neighbour that much to allow this to happen? Paul Madigan, Takapuna
On nuclear
Brian Leyland (NZ Herald, May 20) suggests a debate on nuclear power. We can't even cope with farting cows. Not sure this discussion will get past the cowshed gate. John Ford, Taradale.
Fire crews were called to the scene around 7.30pm.