Auckland physician and clinical educator Art Nahill wrote convincingly on the urgent need to take pressure off our emergency wards. Photo / Jess Husband, File
The article in Art Nahill (NZ Herald, April 21) was both refreshing and topical. It's blindingly obvious to most of us that prevention is far less expensive than cure when it comes to healthcare (even to our ancestors, hence the adage "A stitch in time saves
nine"). It's no surprise that poverty is the root of many social issues, from health and poor education to suicide rates and crime.
So, why are our policymakers very reluctant to make sensible decisions which can reduce costs, improve productivity, increase incomes? One significant reason is pressures from commercial lobbies to minimise actions such as a sugar tax, fast food advertising or even school cafeteria menus. The other reason is politics. Even this Labour Government makes a significant difference between helping the working poor and non-working poor. Helping beneficiaries costs votes. Our unemployment benefits are one of the lowest in the OECD, so poor that even the CEO of Business NZ has called for improvement.
Minister of Health Andrew Little has made one bold move by scrapping the DHBs. Let's hope that he will make a few more.
Kushlan Sugathapala, Epsom.
Remembering well the glamour, fun and buzz of Queen St as a shopping destination in the 1960s, I am struggling to relate to the concept drawing of Auckland Council's proposed makeover endorsed by Simon Wilson in his opinion piece (NZ Herald, April 23).
I cannot fathom the need for wooden boardwalks and concrete tubs of plants, both high-maintenance choices, which when inevitably neglected for lack of further funding will degrade the narrowed road area even more after a few years of Auckland's weather.
In my experience of dealing with Auckland Council-supported developments, it pays to be highly suspicious of the concept drawings produced to promote schemes of a radical nature.
Restricting access to the shops in any shape or form will not bring business booming back to Queen St.
Coralie van Camp, Remuera.
We have heard from failing businesses continually during Covid as they struggle to stay viable under changes worldwide. I am sad to learn that O'Connell St Bistro (NZ Herald, April 23) has closed after 24 years of service.
But I am amazed it has stayed afloat so long when paying $230,000 rent annually.
Landlord greed is rampant in central Auckland and, as Simon Wilson so eloquently points out, their greed contributes to the dismal state of Queen St.
Cheryl Taylor, Balmoral.
One of your correspondents says we should choose trade with the Anglosphere (NZ Herald, April 23) rather than with China. Fortunately, the Government is wise enough to understand it is a false dichotomy.
Our economy is very complementary to China's and we are one of the few countries commanding a trade surplus with China, which has grown to be our biggest trading partner.
It is also the biggest trading partner for Europe, the USA and Japan.
Much of the recent 20 years growth in NZ and the world has benefited from our wide trade relationships including with rapidly growing nearby markets in Asia.
It is unwise to posit your world such that, because you have befriended one country, that excludes good relations with another.
This of course is utter nonsense. Fortunately our Government has proven more visionary than that.
Frank Olsson, Freemans Bay.
Michael Sommerville (NZ Herald, April 26) posits that hate speech should be considered one of our "freedoms", under "freedom of speech". These are the "freedoms" he says our servicemen and women fought for on our behalf.
I believe they were also fighting against hate speech, and would be today.
The Government's new hate speech legislation is designed to protect all of us. We are not "free" to drive on any side of the road we wish. People get killed if they do.
People get killed by hate speech. Example? Christchurch, for one.
Bring on the legislation. I want the "freedom" to not have a hate-speech advocate as a neighbour. Or anywhere in the country. Or the world.
That's the kind of "freedom" I believe our servicemen and women fought for. Not the "freedom" to support hate.
Clyde Scott, Birkenhead.
Leighton Smith is clearly right to criticise journalistic groupthink, which prohibits "diversity of thought" and substitutes "advocacy for objectivity" (NZ Herald, April 22).
The more I learn about "diversity", the more I realise it's about us all looking different (which is fine with me) but thinking, speaking and behaving the same (which is unnatural and extremely dull).
The lack of interest in facts is seriously alarming: moral relativism is bad enough, what I would call "reality relativism" is completely unworkable. Please keep publishing Smith's articles: the new power badly needs the truth spoken to it.
Gavan O'Farrell, Lower Hutt.
In reply to Sam Clements' letter (NZ Herald, April 22): yes, for the reasons succinctly given, there is indeed a pressing need for comprehensive planning at a national level about New Zealand's assessment and management of risks – both natural and man-made.
An analysis of the current situation, written by Sir Peter Gluckman and Dr Anne Bardsley, has just been published by Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures at The University of Auckland.
Its aim is to focus the minds of decision-makers on the strategic necessity of making risk assessment and management a top priority in New Zealand .
See www.informedfutures.org to read a copy of the report which is currently being discussed in Wellington.
Mattie Wall, Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures
Last month the Herald published a letter I wrote on Auckland's tree woes as the lead letter, with the heading "Auckland's Chainsaw Massacre".
It gets worse. A clerical error by Auckland Council during the transition to the Unitary Plan in 2016 left a previously protected pōhutukawa in Eglinton Ave, Mt Eden off the register of protected trees.
Tree Council representatives have been advocating for the tree to be relisted, but with no success. There are fears the present owner will cut down the now unprotected tree to develop the site.
Officials say the tree protection can't be reinstated without an expensive plan change, which they are unwilling to do. This is outrageous: council must be able to fix its mistakes.
Mayor Phil Goff told me the council is doing all it can to protect Auckland's trees. I'm asking the mayor to sort out this council error promptly.
Reinstate the Eglinton Ave pōhutukawa to the list of scheduled trees and, at the same time, get to work on the 570 nominated trees still awaiting consideration to be added to the register.
Helen Geary, St Mary's Bay.
On groupthink
Leighton Smith's conclusion (NZ Herald, April 22) that newspapers are not allowing a diversity of opinion is somewhat undermined by my reading his opinions in a newspaper. Dennis N Horne, Howick.
On bumps
Is there no one in Auckland's Council finance department who thinks the publicised cost of each of the hundreds of speed bumps in Auckland is absolutely outrageous? Janet Boyle, Ōrewa.
On buses
Bus drivers command our admiration for the way in which they manoeuvre their leviathans through Auckland's congested traffic. I am not a bus user but bus driving must be one of the more stressful occupations. Peter Clapshaw, Remuera.
On fortune
If anything could have been done to underscore how lucky we are, it must have been our unrestricted privilege to attend Anzac services. Jackie McCabe, Kaitaia.
On MPs
In view of the recent decision by Andrew Little to reduce the number of DHBs in NZ, it may also be an opportune time to consider reducing the number of drones in the Beehive. I'm sure 60 MPs would be adequate for a country of this size. Chris Tompkins, New Plymouth.
On Covid
This nasty parasite without a brain has managed to recruit humans to ensure its survival. I received a pamphlet in my letterbox today urging me to question the use of vaccinations in our fight against the current pandemic. How clever is that? Larry Tompkins, Waiuku.
On Blues
Albert Einstein's definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. The Blues have now been doing the same thing for 18 years. Neil Hatfull, Warkworth.
On MIQ
Regarding the ballooning total of unpaid MIQ fees, is the Government just being kind or kind of stupid? Jeffrey Langford, Belmont.
'It’s been a tough year and now we feel like we can breathe.'