Letters: Kiwi drivers, roads, volunteers, police, Christopher Luxon, gangs, and crumpets

A large number of gang members congregate at the Headhunters headquarters on Marua Road, Ellerslie. Photo / Brett Phibbs

NZ driving penalties far too soft
Anthony Williams from NSW is right when he says drivers here are among the worst in the world (Weekend Herald, June 11).
The primary issue is one of inadequate education and we could do a lot worse than adopting the Driver Education programme run in a number of US states. A student driver is professionally taught and, after passing, they can receive their provisional licence a full 12 months earlier.
However, this is too late to address the issue with New Zealand drivers. No matter how many programmes we try, and we've tried them all, our drivers continue with their atrocious habits. Tail-gating, cutting in, running red lights and stop signs and of course, speeding is endemic along with a general lack of courtesy.
Our penalties are ludicrous and we need to be more in line with most other countries. In Western Australia the penalty for using a mobile phone is a tad over $1100 and four demerit points. Here it is only $150 and no points.
The NZ Government's approach is simply to reduce the speed limits causing more frustration while not addressing the real problem. I can only conclude they and the relevant departments have put this in the too-hard basket. We deserve better.
Rod Lyons, Kumeū.

Roads the problem
In response to Anthony Williams' (Weekend Herald, June 11) reference to New Zealanders as bad drivers: Roads are more the problem than drivers. The majority of roads in New Zealand are single lanes with virtually no verges, and passing lanes are poorly spaced, particularly in windy parts with multiple blind corners allowing no escape from slower drivers.
City streets are mainly narrow with three lanes converging into two and two lanes converging into one more common than not. And very few barriers on long stretches of highway allow tired drivers to cross over.
With our cheap and often smooth asphalt road surfaces, apart from being susceptible to breaking up and causing potholes, the smooth surface in frosty or heavy rain has cars slipping and sliding for the unwary driver.
It is too easy for drinkers to get behind the wheel — I remember the case of one driver being fined 50 times for drink-driving. I mean the justice system has to get real wouldn't you think?
Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.

Volunteer week
National Volunteer Week is from June 19-25, with this year's theme "Time to Shine". What must be remembered is how important volunteers are in our society. They deserve to be treated with kindness and respect. They are not slaves and don't ever take them for granted, otherwise you will lose them.
All volunteers shine with their generous hearts and individual talents. They get no money, yet are very valuable because of their good souls. Volunteers care but they also need compassion at times too. They definitely deserve a certificate of appreciation, on an annual basis.
Wendy Joy Baker, Nightcaps.

Downtown police
Auckland's high-density city centre needs its own police station more than ever. With some 40,000 residents the continued reluctance to reopen the closed downtown station puzzles me.
As a city-centre resident, I know how valuable returning to police on the beat would be. The Covid pandemic has hit downtown Auckland hard. Businesses have closed and major construction projects have further disrupted life.
But many people like to live in vibrant city centres rather than quiet leafy suburbs. Auckland's city centre is returning to life and has many new well-designed areas opening up. It is also becoming much more people-oriented.
What's needed is community policing to match. A return to police walking the beat, who get to know the area and the people. That needs a permanently manned police station downtown — something strongly supported by the City Centre Residents Group and local MPs Helen White and Chlöe Swarbrick.
Unfortunately, the police leadership seems reluctant. Area commander Grae Anderson says it's not a good use of resources. On the contrary police on the ground can nip anti-social behaviour in the bud before it escalates. Just enforcing existing public space alcohol bans would do wonders for reducing alcohol-fuelled crime.
It is not as if the police don't have the resources. The Government has invested a lot of extra funding in the police in the past five years. Auckland alone has over 300 new officers. The old Fort St police station was closed in 2013 due to cutbacks under the previous government. Now is the time, with so much rebuilding going on, to rethink that decision.
Jeff Hayward, Auckland.

National Leader Christopher Luxon speaks at the National Party Post Budget Breakfast at Eden Park. Photo / Jed Bradley

No new ideas
So Christopher Luxon and the National Party are suggesting 40 years of social dislocation and disadvantage can be dealt with by anti-gang laws. This is from the man who wants to give more tax cuts to the wealthy and speculates that the additional Matariki holiday should be tied to the loss of one of the existing ones.
What is this gang of wealthy, privileged white people going to haul out next — public hangings or perhaps cutting welfare benefits?
At an intellectual level, the National Party is clearly completely bereft. Has it articulated a single new idea in the last 40 years that isn't just a dog whistle appeal to our worst instincts? Incredible. Beyond contempt.
Greg Innes, Mt Albert.

Sledgehammer approach
National has made it clear it will bring a sledgehammer approach to resolve this long-term gang issue. Passing restrictive laws is simple but enforcing them is another matter as we still have human rights to contend with and the attitude gangs have toward law enforcement.
Assuming some laws are successful, this will not quell gang recruitment. There are numerous reasons why people join gangs and it must be accepted it is mainly disillusionment with where they rate in society.
The emphasis currently is to crush the people in gangs but we should also have programmes that entice members to a better way of life. It is a proven fact that prisons do not solve crime rates.
Reg Dempster, Albany.

Patch posturing
Mr Luxon is posturing when he says National will outlaw gang gatherings and the wearing of patches in public.
I suspect police will not wade into a large group of gang members gathered for a funeral. They didn't attempt to break up the 2000 or more picnicking in the Domain to defy Covid lockdown rules.
The occupation of the grounds of Parliament earlier this year showed how many police and days were needed to eventually control the protesters.
Judith Macdonald, Hamilton.

Disempowering gangs
New Zealand has seen a descent into gang violence, shootings and illegal behaviour on our roads by gangs on roaring motorcycles, with police scrambling to keep up.
Apologists citing "poverty" and "inequality" which if improved would somehow magically have the gangs fade away, need to wake up and see how our communities are living in fear.
A life of crime in a gang is a life of power, intimidation, exhilaration, big money and lots of toys, and the spate of recent ram raids has shown that even our young people embark on this behaviour for thrills and social media attention, not because of "oh poor me, I'm not equal with the Joneses".
Here are some solutions: Firstly, raise the bar for gun ownership, restricting it to farmers and sports shooters only, an amnesty period of a month — then hit the offenders with fines or imprisonment. Secondly, get the IRD to make gangs validate their income and all their assets and if they can't prove it — confiscate the lot. Remember how they got Al Capone.
Thirdly, we desperately need a "preventive presence" of police on roads and in our communities. If we need more experienced cops, bring them in from overseas.
John Clark, Glen Eden.

Short & sweet

On toast
Thank you, Golden Bakery, for producing Crumpet Toast. Another real treat. Gary Andrews, Mt Maunganui.

On Putin
Putin is now comparing himself to Peter the Great. I would have thought that a comparison with Hitler is more apt. Both evil psychopaths, but at least Hitler was more honest in his aims than Putin has been until now. Paul Hicks, Warkworth.

On Warriors
The Warriors captain says his team can't help but think their poor results had something to do with the coach getting axed. You think? R Hampton, Kohimarama.

On port
Memo to Grant Robertson and his port consultants: Can you visualise a 100,000-tonne container ship surfing the Manukau Harbour bar in this sort of weather? The northwest wind has been gusting 50 knots and pushing up five-metre waves during the past week.Mark van Praagh, Hobsonville Point.

On gangs
The Secret Diary of ... Gang Warfare by Steve Baunias (Weekend Herald, June 11) was priceless. On the one hand, Poto, Andrew and Christopher were full of verbal nonsense, and, on the other, the gangs' very few words conveyed exactly what was likely to happen.
Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.

The Premium Debate

Auckland mayoral election's three-way split

There's no way the left deserves the mayoralty in Auckland, but as Hayden Munro says, votes for the right are split. No doubt the hard heads will be across the numbers and ensure that a candidate from the right is successful. Walter H.

This job is so important we can't afford to have Collins, when he has a terrible record of attendance, just as a councillor. Beck has done nothing to save Queen St from destruction and Molloy is not going to get other councillors to agree with him. They need to drop out now, so Brown can come through. He is an experienced mayor, engineer, and gets things done. Stephen H.

As a slightly left of centre voter, I believe that we have had long enough of left-based local government in Auckland. Twelve years is enough. Our system of democracy needs change from time to time. As usual in local politics, the choice is limited. I suppose I would vote for Brown on his previous experience as a "fixer" of malfunctioning organisations. The other two, on the right, simply have a gift of the gab with little substance. Alexander M.

The problem is too many candidates. The left will slide in on a split vote. Again. Ian U.

Take a close look at how this city has devolved under Labour-backed mayors. We need the right to rein in AT, as one example. Tony M.

And don't forget that AT, and the other council-controlled(?) organisations were foisted on us by Act and National. Now that was a good idea, wasn't it? Steve N.