NZ First MP Shane Jones says immigration should be debated and mandated 'rather than opening up the options, unfettered, and everyone comes here from New Delhi'. File photo / Tania Whyte
Your columnists Teuila Fuatai and Alexander Gillespie are right to raise the question of immigration and population policy (NZ Herald, March 10) in the wake of the comments by Shane Jones.
Our little country has put on an extra million people over the last 15
years mainly by immigration, without debate, rationale or justification. The strain on public infrastructure is evident for all to see.
A component of this has been the path to residency via education which has thrown up employer exploitation, courses of questionable quality and value, and fraudulent documentation.
We are lucky that this "perfect storm" has not yet spawned the politics of xenophobic populism evident in the US, the UK and Europe under comparable circumstances.
There has been a policy vacuum here, and the comments of Shane Jones, regrettable as they are, should not prevent us from addressing it.
Peter Davis, Kingsland.
In 2015 some 600,000 people died in France from flu.
In 2009 in the US, 91 million caught Swine Flu, of which 245,000 were hospitalised and more than 12,000 died.
The WHO estimates that between 290,000 and 650,000 people die every year from flu. According to medical professionals, the coronavirus symptoms are hardly felt by 99 per cent of the population with only a minute fringe - mainly the elderly and those with pre-existing condition succumbing.
Are all our financial markets and businesses going to collapse from now on each time a new strain is discovered? While one understands the need for caution, surely we aren't going to be decimated by every mutation that happens to occur?
Paul Vermaak, Beach Haven.
The laboratory workers are really savvy. What better time to strike than when they are most needed and can hold the Government to ransom.
There's no use striking when no one will listen and only receive a deaf ear for their complaint.
They are proving to be a vital part of the health system right now and all public eyes are focused on coronavirus results and testing for a vaccine solution.
Wealthy business people are quick to take advantage of markets, so why not the ordinary workers who keep the country running and always pay their taxes? No one complains about their selfish actions! It sometimes pays to walk in the other person's shoes.
Marie Kaire, Whangārei.
In 1374, in Aachen, Germany, throngs of people started dancing - dancing until some of them collapsed from exhaustion. Legend says that this strange behaviour spread as far away as Madagascar. Other similar occasions of mob behaviour have been recorded. Closer to home, if you start yawning then a person near to you may feel the impulse to yawn; if you start itching yourself nearby someone may also feel inclined to itch.
What these behaviours may have in common is referred to as "social contagion" (or "collective hysterical disorder"). Your behaviour could have a mirrored and social effect.
Currently, concerned about coronavirus, if you wash your hands and demonstrate safe behaviours then you are likely to influence, or "nudge" other people towards safe behaviours. However, if you demonstrate unsafe behaviours, and worse, you directly encourage other people, then we can have irrational situations such as people dancing on down to shops and loading-up on toilet paper.
The link between toilet paper and protecting yourself from coronavirus consequences is about as strong as damp, perforated single ply. In November 2019, a company called Tork invested $23 million dollars in additional, sustainable toilet paper production in Kawerau.
Sometimes people wonder about "mob-rule" and other such behaviours, we'd like to think that it couldn't be us. How many rolls did you buy when last shopping?
Mike Schmidt, Sunny Hills.
Like your correspondent Malcolm Grover (NZ Herald, March 10), I also am pleased that I had the opportunity to do Latin.
Sure, it was a discipline, as was learning French, but it is the foundation of our language.
When singing in choirs it was a big help knowing how to pronounce words when required and certainly helps when doing crossword puzzles, watching The Chase, etc, to be able to figure out meanings.
So Latin is entirely relevant today.
Ann Palmer, Tauranga.
Watercare's spokesperson Maxine Clayton (NZ Herald, March 10) completely avoided Mark Hanson's assertion that the joints currently being used on the water pipes have just a two-year life span.
She treats the Herald's readers as mushrooms (keeping them in the dark and feeding them manure).
I challenge her, or indeed anyone at Watercare, to actually address this issue with a statement of fact.
Bill Boyle, Orewa.
While doubt may be cast against claims that Watercare's new plastic pipes boast a 100-year lifespan (NZ Herald, March 10), this in fact may well be true, going by a recent book, The Fascinating History of Toys and Games Around the World.
In the chapter strangely titled "Early Period/Late Period Plastics", it appears plastics developed in the early part of the 20th century are still going strong in not only toys, but car parts - such as dashboards. That is more than 100 years ago. Plastics have been getting a bad rap lately and, as the chapter states, the invention of plastics as an alternative to ivory in the 19th century probably saved many horned and tusked animals from extinction. Plastics were promoted and widely used as alternatives to timber/wood in Save the Planet/Trees hippie" movements in the 1960s/70s. Perhaps not all plastics are bad. As George Orwell might have said, "All plastics are equal, but some plastics are more equal than others."
Anne Gifford, Mission Bay.
Instead of fixing things that aren't broken - like regulations affecting hairdressers and cattle stops - why doesn't Simon Bridges focus on things that actually affect people's lives?
How about some meaningful consequences for those lowlifes who assault our frontline emergency services and medical personnel as they try to simply do their jobs?
Fiona McAllister, Mt Maunganui.
I was so disappointed to read that Mike Scott threw his vegan Trumpet away (NZ Herald, March 6). I have eaten a few of these wonderful morsels, and it seems such a waste.
Especially in the world we live in today, that is rapidly being driven into the abyss through capitalist production and over consumption by the privileged classes.
One sliver of hope arose in me, however, when I saw that Mike was concerned about the ants who may try and eat this treat. Opening up the question of ants is so important in a society that is experiencing rapid insect decline due to biodiversity loss, the scale of which we have never seen before.
But I wonder, could Mike not also consider the victims of the dairy industry - the calves who die in unfathomable numbers in New Zealand every year for dairy milk Trumpets?
As we move toward the apocalypse, the only time we should throw vegan Trumpets out is never. Let's get things in perspective. The upcoming demise of life on Earth as we know it should be at the forefront of all public discourse.
Lynley Tulloch, Pollok.
It is unfortunate for Aidan Crabtree (NZ Herald, March 11) to believe that electric cars are most suitable for those that should be on public transport when nothing could be further from the truth.
A $15,000 second-hand EV, such as a Nissan Leaf, is perfect for those with commutes such as from Drury to the airport, Glen Eden to Manukau or Ranui to Glenfield. They have the range, the comfort and none of the noise or pollution of yesteryear's cars. And they can be recharged at home overnight on off-peak tariff electricity, with no need to visit charging stations.
Second-hand electric cars are currently the perfect second family car or about town run-about, which for most enlightened folk quickly becomes the main family car, with the old fossil drinker being left in the drive for holidays and weekends away. And for those wealthy enough, there are new long-range electric cars on the market in NZ that will tow your boat from Auckland to Taupō, with no need to re-charge en route.
Russell Baillie, Mt Eden.
On adverts
Wouldn't it be wonderful to have at least one night a week free of fast-food ads on TV? It may even help with our obesity problem. Jock Mac Vicar, Hauraki.
On Watercare
A response to a letter from Mark Hanson was from "media stakeholder liaison advisor" at Watercare! What exactly is that? John Pollock, Pakuranga.
On university
Auckland University's ban on academic staff officially speaking beyond their subject expertise contrasted nicely with its own Professor Stuart McCutcheon lambasting the effect of Covid-19 travel bans in yesterday's Herald. Stewart Hawkins, St Heliers.
On Covid-19
Thanks to coronavirus, when I went to Grand Harbour last weekend, I got a table immediately and the service was even better than usual. Staying away is hurting yourself as well as these outstanding establishments. Neville Cameron, Coromandel.
On wages
I don't think the Prime Minister understands that increased wages will ultimately result in higher retail prices, so there are far more losers than winners. A J Petersen, Kawerau.
On terminal
Forget about a free trip to Melbourne to see how things should be done. I suggest the Mayor, Councillors and Auckland Transport staff need to take a trip, preferably walking uphill with a heavy bag, to see how it should not be done. Gillian Dance, Mt Albert
On burnouts
Seeing more evidence on our roads in recent times of wheelies/burnouts, it seems to me to be a very dangerous combination of high-octane cars and low-octane brains. Renton Brown, Pukekohe.
One issue seemed harder to agree on than most - how big the crowd was.