Retail crime, such as this alleged bashing of a security guard by two shoplifters, is a big concern to a union representing supermarket staff. Image / Foodstuffs
In support of citizen’s arrest
Carolyn Young of Retail NZ believes “It is highly likely that the risk of violence would increase if …. members of the public attempted to detain offenders” (Feb 27).
If an offence is committed by an “offender”, then this offender should be brought to justice and punished accordingly.
Retail crime is not victimless. We have seen small shop owners beaten and killed by offenders of retail crime.
Even if a large corporate retail chain owns the store, the crime is not victimless.
The large retail chain is forced to increase its prices to offset the losses incurred by retail crime, thus affecting everyone.
This proposed legislation would enable retailers to have two large and imposing and trained security guards (with stab-proof vests) positioned at the exits of stores that they know are targeted by these criminals, and restrain these offenders from leaving their premises (which presently they can’t do).
No one is expecting the checkout staff or a passing member of the public to get involved.
To do nothing is to encourage groups of criminals to continue with their offending. Our justice system is already too soft.
Chris Parker, Campbells Bay.
Student flats
Your coverage of the student flat shockers is comprehensive, but does omit some salient points (Feb 22).
The Residential Tenancies Act has, since its inception 1986, placed an obligation on the landlord to deliver that flat at the start of the tenancy in a clean condition with all its fixtures and fittings in operating condition.
Should this not occur, the tenant has the right to issue a statutory 14-day notice to the landlord to remedy the situation. An application to the Tenancy Tribunal is only the second step, should this notice to remedy not be actioned.
The Healthy Homes legislation deals with the structure and fitout of the property, not its cleanliness. As with most things in life, the customer must be aware of their rights and be prepared to take the correct action if these standards are not met.
Introducing new legislation is pointless if the existing legislation is not being utilised. The introduction of a licensing system for property managers will not necessarily eliminate problems. For many years, lawyers, accountants, health practitioners and teachers have been required to be vetted, trained, and licensed but even then hardly a week goes by without a report of someone from those professions being charged with a misdemeanor.
If you train and license a rogue, you still have someone who will behave badly.
Peter Lewis, Forrest Hill
License the tenants
To suggest that landlords should be registered as a means of overcoming the poor standards of student accommodation makes no sense at all.
Landlords do not make their properties dirty or unliveable; it is the occupants and their inability to look after the property in which they live. Surely requiring the tenants to be registered, following a training course on how to maintain the residence, would make more sense.
We could even consider applying the same rules that apply when one chooses to rent a motor vehicle. Sure, the vehicle must be registered and have a current warrant of fitness, but the person renting the vehicle must also have proof of the ability to operate the vehicle in a responsible manner.
This requires presentation of a current driver’s licence. Furthermore, regarding payment, the renter must also provide a current credit card to ensure that the car rental expenses can be paid. When returning the vehicle, the renter is also responsible for covering the cost of any damage that may have been caused during their possession.
Dick Ayres, Auckland CBD.
Achiever Luxon
I enjoyed reading Fran O’Sullivan’s column (Feb 22). I have been lucky to meet Christopher Luxon twice now and I have had a reasonable conversation with him. I have also listened to him speak: once during the election campaign and the other at a Rotary function.
Luxon is not a David Lange (who I met and toured West Auckland with, so I knew him), although he has wit when listening to him recently in Parliament, like Lange. However, no Prime Minister, and for that matter, no politician before or since, could make a speech like Lange. The closest, for sheer content and structure, are Winston Peters, Shane Jones, David Seymour and Helen Clark.
The theme of Luxon’s speeches, and why I believe historians could well judge him as one of the best Prime Ministers, is that he talks about hope and advancing New Zealand. I am happy to have read O’Sullivan’s column, it is factual and states the facts.
Unfortunately, many columnists (and Fran mentioned two) and politicians are too much “hot air” and never produce positive outcomes.
In the league of achievers, Seymour, Peters, Roger Douglas, Clark, Michael Cullen, Jim Anderton and Bill English have all achieved and are still achieving, in some cases, better outcomes for New Zealand and New Zealanders in their political careers, and Luxon will go down as an achiever as well.
So thank you, Fran, for writing a very fair and critical piece about our Prime Minister.
John Riddell, Hobsonville.
Rich food
Carmel Sepuloni is calling for David Seymour to be sacked over the school lunch programme and we hear children asking about specially prepared meals and meals not turning up on time.
If you want a specific lunch, provide it yourself, it is not a government’s role to provide this. There is one sure-fire way to rectify this: the Government ceases providing these lunches (seems no one appreciates them anyway) and parents can step up and send their children to school with a packed lunch.
Perhaps Sepuloni can tell us why Labour did not allocate adequate funding and have a school lunch programme in place during its six years in office when the tax take went from $70 billion in 2017 to $104b in 2023?
It is a bit rich for Sepuloni to criticise Seymour when her party had ample opportunity to make this a success.
Mark Young, Ōrewa.
Floored thinking
Great to see Sir Sam Neill is promoting wool over plastic fibres (Feb 27).
He’s quite right, synthetic fibres made from oil are “nasty stuff”. Instead, we should be wearing and walking on natural wool.
Nylon clothes and carpets should be completely off the table. They are made from climate-destroying oil and burn easily, giving off dangerous gases.
Synthetic fibre clothes, blankets and carpets also flood our world with toxic micro-plastic pollutants. They’re good for foreign oil industry profits but bad for us and the planet.
We should instead be focusing on producing and using natural wool and hemp fibres. Good for the environment, our safety and our health. It will boost our local economy too.
Jeff Hayward, Auckland CBD.
Privatising power
In Monday’s Herald, Greg Smith urged the selling of the remaining government shareholding in the electricity generators.
In Friday’s Herald we have the CEO of one of those generators, Meridian Energy, telling us “Meridian took a hit for New Zealand during last winter’s energy shortage” with the company taking a loss.
If Greg Smith had his way and flogged off the 51% shareholding held by the government, it would seem highly improbable that the private investors he is managing funds for would have taken that hit.
Even the partial privatisation of the electricity generators has already seen a failure to invest in sufficient, more renewable energy generation, which led to the last winter energy shortage and Meridian taking that loss.
Advocating for more privatisation should be seen for what it is - more opportunities for investment funds such as the one where Greg Smith works, not in the best interests of the majority of New Zealanders.
Neil Anderson, Algies Bay.
When will people realise there is more to supplying a school lunch. If food is needed then supply bread and fillings along with fresh fruit and perhaps even yogurt. Have the children make their own lunch, a skill that is needed throughout life. There is no need for hot meals in containers that need recycling. There is no need for school to buy from outlets when food doesn’t arrive. Go back to the basics that we all grew up on. I am appalled when I read schools are spending huge sums on pizzas. Quicker to head to the local supermarket for bread and fillings.
Linda Beck, West Harbour.
Those who criticise free, low-cost school lunches as “unappealing” cannot be very hungry.
Wendy Clark, Pukekohe.
The ongoing debacle in regard to the quality and quantity of the school lunch programme once again demonstrates that there is no such thing as a free lunch.
Garry Wycherley, Awakino.
Our Prime Minister is no doubt right to celebrate a trade pact with Vietnam, but wouldn’t it have been a good moment to apologise for New Zealand’s participation in the US invasion of their country, which achieved absolutely nothing but death and destruction on an enormous scale.
C.K. Stead, Parnell.
Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau must be confused when she says the Treaty Principles Bill “will diminish the legal, political, and cultural fabric of Aotearoa”. Surely a bill that clarifies that we all have equal rights under the law and we expect the government we vote in to do the governing will strengthen the fabric of Aotearoa?
Andrew Tichbon, West Auckland.
In the past few years, hundreds of thousands of migrants of marriageable age arrived in New Zealand and now we have some 15,000 children and young persons needing education, leaving us short of over 1200 teachers. The solution, it seems, is to bring in migrant teachers. So we are going to solve a problem caused by migration with more migration. “Lions led by donkeys” ... in New Zealand it is sheep led by muppets.
CC McDowall, Rotorua.
One day, they are crying out for more GPs as waiting times for appointments can be weeks and it’s putting enormous strain on overworked doctors. The next day, when it’s suggested that increasing the time between appointments for regular repeat prescriptions would free up doctors to see more patients, suddenly it is going to bankrupt doctors’ practices. It can’t be both, so which is it?
James Archibald, Birkenhead.
Gregor Paul’s “Odd couple” article (Feb 22) details the differences between NZ Rugby chairman David Kirk and CEO Mark Robinson and suggests they may become allies. I do not think so. For someone who does not understand non-political corporate brand protection, Robinson’s days would seem to be numbered. NZ Rugby clearly needs a fresh perspective and I believe David Kirk is the one to rescue our game from the baying hounds with a more appropriate restructure.
Gary Carter, Gulf Harbour.
I think amending the term of government is a worthy cause for debate, but I think there needs to be a practical approach to it. If it’s a National-led government the term should be extended to four years – if it’s a Labour-led government the term should be reduced to two years.
Chester Rendell, Paihia.
It would assist if President Trump provided some verifiable, specific evidence that, on a certain day, and in a certain place, Ukraine “started the war”?
David Lee, Pt Chevalier.
A previous $3 billion ferry deal with Hyundai was cancelled last year.