The Very Hungry Caterpillar is more than a mere literary parable for some Kiwi kids. Photo / Getty Images
Hungry mouths
The front page article, (NZ Herald, October 17), reflects the desperation schools are witnessing in families struggling with increased living costs, with the most critical and immediate need being food. Bless these schools and Kids Can for filling that vital social service gap. You are to be commended for recognising that empty tummies can’t learn.
The Government also deserves some kudos, as based on their Child Poverty Act 2018, the analysed data used by Stats NZ to measure child poverty indicates that there was a decrease in children living in material hardship. However, statistics can also reveal some inadvertent facts which may partially account for Kids Can seeing the increase in the number of children needing food support this term.
Having emerged slightly comatose from reading through Stats NZ material hardship data, here are some facts the Government should heed for future policy development.
Year-end 2021, a child in a rented dwelling was seven times more likely to experience material hardship than a child living in an owned dwelling and doesn’t take into account the detrimental effects of overcrowded and sub-standard housing.
Additionally, whilst the annual average gross household income was up 4.5 per cent, the average weekly spend on rent increased 5.4 per cent. When you’re already on the economic precipice and about to fall off the cliff, that makes a big difference.
These children are the future of Aotearoa. None of them should be lying on the floor too hungry and exhausted to learn.
Mary Hearn, Glendowie.
Pity the children
“Kids lying on the classroom floor” (NZ Herald, October 17) about children sent to school hungry is a classic example of the family elephant in the room - the issue that avoids being tackled head-on.
Murdered and beaten women, drug takers, both young and old kids murdered or maimed–the sorry list goes on.
Generally, the criticism is aimed at institutions, not the root cause which would often go back to some failure in the immediate or extended family. Lots get written about “caring families “and how precious the deceased or injured were but those unfortunately are words, not deeds.
What has happened to the caring society? Have we lost our moral compass? Newspaper headlines say an emphatic “yes”.
It is surely an indictment on our secular society that, on a moderately wealthy and well-educated island, we still have Monday’s headlines.
Tony Sullivan, St Heliers.
Unaccountable apathy
An education software startup, Orah, has signed up 300 schools globally (NZ Herald, October 15) on its platform but “the founders say their product could also help state schools in New Zealand as they grapple with rising absenteeism and mental health challenges – but the Ministry of Education has not even responded to multiple approaches”.
Why has that now become such a common refrain?
Desperate pleas from crucial industries and professions for tools to help retain talent in New Zealand so we can have world-class services, fall on deaf ears. We stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine but can’t process visas for the refugees we promised to take. The Ministry of Health rejects local software solutions to streamline Covid contact tracing. Auckland Transport’s decision-making doesn’t bear scrutiny and it won’t respond to letters calling out dangerous traffic light phasing changes.
People are voting with their feet – Sir Ray Avery the latest, but other Kiwis are making substantial philanthropic donations abroad where they perceive things can get done. We can’t afford this.
The quality, decision making and effectiveness of our institutions has regressed to mediocrity.
Does this feel like the environment our Government was elected to create?
Andrew Harmos, Parnell.
Party time
New Zealand politics definitely could do with a centrist party that could work effectively with either left or right as required. In Germany (under MMP) this has worked well in moderating policy swings. However, this concept is based on the long-standing and religiously adhered to convention of the minor party entering into a genuine government formation attempt with the party winning the majority vote. Only if this fails, will alternatives be canvassed.
In NZ we have the regrettable history of NZ First (in 2017) running a kind of two-way auction and taking over the process without any consideration for the constituency vote. As a result, the party is no longer considered centrist but more a radical maverick by many. Is it time to legally tighten up the rules around government formation?
Lucas Bonne, Unsworth Heights.
Airing grievance
In 2003, a research levy was proposed on farming for research into reducing its climate change emissions. The farming lobby and National complained and vigorously opposed it. In 2008, the rest of the economy went into the emissions trading scheme whilst agriculture was exempt.
The John Key National government did nothing for agriculture emissions for nine years. Two decades later, a new scheme to address agriculture emissions is proposed, and more complaining and opposition from elements of the farming lobby and the National Party.
Climate change hasn’t been resolved in those 20 years, Things haven’t gotten better, but we hear the same general complaints and opposition.
R George, Hamilton.
Roundabout way
The innovative mayor of Carmel, Indiana (pop.100.000) has introduced more than a hundred roundabouts, more than any other American city, because they slow down traffic and make t-bone collisions less likely.
As a consequence, the city’s death rate from traffic accidents is one-fifth of all other cities in America. Also, because cars do not get stuck at traffic lights, they increase road carrying capacity, allowing the city to grow without widening its roads. In a few places it has even narrowed them. In particular, the one that goes through the centre of the city was reduced from five lanes to two.
Worthy of some thought for Auckland perhaps, be it on a larger scale, considering currently we seem to be hell-bent on removing them.
Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.
Enriching inclusion
It is disappointing to see (NZ Herald, October 17) New Zealand First reheating its tired old tropes – and strange that they see inclusion as separatism. Suppressing the Māori way of being is much more akin to apartheid than embracing its capacity to enrich us all.
New Zealanders who feel threatened by Māori culture continuing to live and evolve in its own land should manage their own insecurity. Dealing with it by insisting that only one way of operating in the world is legitimate is not only oppressive – it’s boring.
Michael Smythe, Northcote Pt.
Gone postal
The recent low voter participation in the recent local authority elections is entirely predictable. It is a postal vote and there are no postboxes or offices anymore. There used to be two boxes near me and more further away. All gone.
Our local Post Office (St Heliers) is gone as is the “agency” which took it over. There used to be a postbox in the main street – relocated to an obscure location on a side street without notice. No one knows it is there. How about the library? Sorry, closed for renovations. No wonder some people don’t vote. If this was the US, there would be claims of deliberate disenfranchisement.
Voting has to be convenient. People should not have to go miles out of their way to return a ballot. Running down postal services to virtual nil when you rely on a postal ballot is anti-democratic and is not serving the citizens of the country properly. Shame on NZ Post and the minister responsible for postal services.
June Brookes, Glendowie.
Bard decision
I have some advice to those in government and in the Education Department who wish to deprive our schoolchildren of the literary mastery of the “Bard”.
William Shakespeare’s writing not only opens children’s eyes to the beauty of the English language, but also to his insights into human nature.
“The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones”.
John C. Smith, Warkworth.
Hold the line
Wayne Brown has done hospitality a favour, just quietly. The cell phone black spots he decries are just what the doctor ordered and should be encouraged.
In these increasingly rare places, one looks for a cafe and a quiet table, no strident ring tones and loud, fatuous chatter, no shouts of “sorry, you’re breaking up”, just a cuppa, a muffin and the morning paper.
Bliss.
Dean Donoghue, Papamoa Beach.
Change the script
Creative New Zealand has pulled funding for a Shakespeare festival because it focuses on “a canon of imperialism“, even though there was no empire during the time Shakespeare’s plays were written. Obviously, government funding for Fboy Island is “more relevant to the contemporary art context of Aotearoa in this time and place and landscape”.
The Minister of Arts and Culture, Jacinda Ardern, has declined to talk to Creative New Zealand about its decision. Perhaps she should review the guidelines the government set for the allocation of funds.
Katherine Swift, Kohimarama.
Mere words
The Shakespeare Globe Centre (NZ Herald, October 18) has definitely seen better days. I wait with bated breath to see if it will be funded.
Perhaps it’s a foregone conclusion, maybe the funders were being cruel to be kind?
Was it simply too much of a good thing?
In my heart of hearts, I really hope they are supported, Shakespeare still seems pretty relevant to me.
Huw Dann, Mt Eden.
On emissions
Our farmers say they are the world’s best and what makes them that? The climate. You’d think they would want to help. Gale Gibson, Sunnyhills.
What next? Will the Government decide to tax the emissions from the team of five million? Graham Fleetwood, Botany Downs.
Our world is dying in front of our eyes and all people think about is travelling, tourism, and their entitlement to it. Z. Schmidt, Waiheke Island.
On Shakespeare
“Why, this is very midsummer madness,” would be an apt response to the news Creative New Zealand has cut its funding of The Shakespeare Globe Centre. Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.
To paraphrase Marcellus in Hamlet, Act 1, scene 4, there is something rotten in the state of New Zealand. Glennys Adams. Oneroa.
Sorry, Hamlet but you are not to be. Your summer of discontent has arrived. Garry Wycherley, Awakino.
If they are going to be consistent, those who are concerned with the “canon of imperialism” in this country should also seek to ban rugby (union and league), cricket, soccer and netball among many other things. Roger Hall, Takapuna.
Finance Minister in Washington DC says to brace for a tough 2023
Things were always going to be bumpy as soon as New Zealand put its trust in Robertson/Orr. There’s no need to blame outside factors. The damage was done domestically. Justin L.
So Grant has spent a week overseas and all he has to report to us is a watercolour world overview that we can and have read in the business pages at any time. It looks like any MPs that are entitled to travel are using it up this past eight weeks because they know they won’t be able to use it next year. Roy H.
Maybe Robertson could convince the rest of the government to resign and call a snap election so as to allow people with proven financial management skills to take over? Allan M.
We have someone with proven financial skills ready to take over? Mark V.
Far from reassuring to know we have a socialist government who has no idea, in charge of the purse strings for another year. Bruce C.
Having read Fran’s article, why do I get the feeling of impending doom when I consider Labour’s overt direction to the Reserve Bank and the disaster that has ensued? Jan C.
Legislation banning the display of patches in public came into effect last week.