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Letter of the week: Above, below and against the law
V. Hall reminds us, from their childhood “living in a council flat and …. little money”, that not all poor people commit crimes (NZ Herald, October 11). Sometimes, impoverished criminals have suffered other disadvantages, but many seriously disadvantaged people don’t resort to robbery, etc. So it seems some kind of mindset is a part of the equation. We are familiar with powerful and entitled people who regard themselves as being “above the law”. Apparently, some others see themselves as “below the law” (or off to the side, or something), and similarly entitled to ignore it. I have more sympathy for them than for the “above the law” crowd, but there is still a degree of choice and culpability.
Gavan O’Farrell, Lower Hutt.
Paying for crime
A recent case reported progress through the courts where the accused have been found guilty and are now appealing the process. The cost (without the cost of the prosecution) has almost reached $1 million. The accused pleaded not guilty. There appears that there is no cost (or penalty) to them in taking this position. Currently it takes a year or more for cases to be heard, even for violent crimes. During this time the accused are presumed to be innocent and are usually released into the community on bail. I suggest a solution to help speed up the process and free up the court backlogs. Simply remove the right of the accused to have mitigating factors considered by the judge if they have pleaded not guilty. Let the judge consider mitigation wholly at their discretion. My rationale is that the accused has already shown contempt (in the moral sense if not in the legal sense) by pleading not guilty. By prolonging the legal process with a not guilty plea the resources of the justice system and their victims have been consumed to their exclusive benefit without any cost to themselves. If the right to have mitigating factors and allowances granted is automatically removed when the defendant responds with a not guilty plea and the subsequent opportunity to appeal is also removed on this basis, perhaps a guilty plea may be considered early into the process. This should not defer legitimate not guilty pleas; I trust the acumen of the judiciary to see justice served.
Quentin Miller, Te Atatū Sth.
Weather or not?
Had to laugh at the weather story on Tuesday: “The southerly gusts were keeping temperatures from rising far above October averages, with Auckland likely to hit highs of about 16C and 10C lows from today through to Thursday.” Haha, really, so if it’s not raining it would be a nice day. If it wasn’t cloudy it would be sunny. If I wasn’t here I’d be somewhere else.
Bruce Turner, Cambridge.
Cherry on top
Country Calendar on Sunday visited an amazing farm in Central Otago. Mike and Rebecca Casey have established a unique, fully electric cherry orchard, that uses no petrol, no diesel, and relies almost completely on solar panels to run everything from a golf cart with its own rooftop solar panel, to electric and driverless tractors. They have planted over 9000 cherry trees at a 45-degree angle, before training the offshoots vertically, which provides 15 per cent more sunlight and allows three times as many trees to be planted. Pickers do not have to use ladders. To combat frost, large electric fans have been installed, costing only $9 per hour instead of $150 per hour for diesel motors. They have bought NZ’s first fully electric driverless tractor, which can mow remotely, saving a further $50 per hour in wages and power. Even the irrigation system is piped along the tree lines, providing on demand water to the trees alone. What an amazing story about a couple making an incredible difference in this critical time of climate change, being able to sequester over nine tonnes of carbon per year, running almost completely off grid, and providing free software to other interested farmers. Everybody should watch this programme and be inspired. Poipoia te kakano kia puawai. Nurture the seed and it will grow. Kia Kaha.
Scott Cooper, Tairua.
Forestry policy
Regarding forestry deaths: perhaps, the industry should be mandated to have everyone working around the logging operations and mills to have a $1,500,000 life/serious injury insurance policy. That way widows/widowers would probably be able to keep their home and bosses will have to answer to insurance companies. Maybe this should apply to all industries where tradespeople have a high workplace accident rate.
Randel Case, Buckland Beach.
Vote of thanks
A huge thanks to the amazing Akld City Hospital/Te Whatu Ora neurosurgery and radiation oncology teams who recently operated and continue to care for me after discovery and removal of a glioblastoma brain tumour. A lot is said about the state of our health system; my experience suggests otherwise and encouraged me to ponder whether we should be holding a mirror back on the society we live and the unsustainable pressure this is placing on our health system. The individuals and teams running it are never going to be perfect, but they deserve all the support we can afford them.
Hugo Shanahan, Herne Bay.
Scrum hope
To give the fans some enjoyment, and to watch a faster game, from the quarter finals on, can we rush in a law that it is okay to have the scrums play out like rugby league? That is the front row merely say hi to each other, and the halfback whips that ball straight into the middle row.
Glenn Forsyth, Taupō.
The pipes are calling
Auckland’s ageing sewerage system requires billions to be spent replacing pipework, and here is the council wasting multimillions of dollars on a busway in Botany which will be transporting empty buses most of the day and night. We are facing enormous rates increases; is it not about time the council got its priorities in order?
Bob Wichman, Botany.
Today I received my account from Watercare — the second for October. I did not receive a bill for September. Why is it that electricity companies and other utilities can provide a regular monthly account and Watercare cannot? It certainly does not make financial planning easy.
Greg Cave, Sunnyvale.
The Good Oil? We may have a history of success in motor racing, but this is 2023, not the 20th century. Together with global warming and consequent climate change the good oil is best left in the ground or reserved for essential services. Let’s cheer when New Zealanders can aspire to excellence using alternative energy for better purposes than tearing around a race circuit.
Peter Smith, Devonport.
Anyone who has had the misfortune of phoning Internal Affairs, and being put on hold, are either suffering from illness induced by the catatonic “music” or hung up for fear of suffering from one.
Ian Doube, Rotorua.
Maybe it’s because of the growing popularity of vinyl, but I seem to be hearing a lot of cracked records lately.
Renton Brown, Pukekohe.
With all these conflicts popping up around the world there’s a chance we could run out of bullets and that’s when there will be peace on earth.
Bernard Walker, Pāpāmoa.
Let’s hope referee Wayne Barnes is fit enough to keep up with the forward passes in the All Blacks v Ireland quarter final match at the RWC.
Gary Carter, Gulf Harbour.
Wayne Barnes is refereeing the All Blacks quarter-final game in France. I’m sorry to say, all hope of victory is lost.
Rex Lyden, Mt Roskill.
With all the rhetoric about the Treaty of Waitangi, I wonder how many New Zealanders have actually read it? It is a unique document. No other country was colonised by agreement, not force. It is also a very short document. Why don’t you publish it in the Herald so everyone can read exactly what the arguments are about?
Jeanette Grant, Mt Eden.
I don’t watch a lot of telly, when I do, the only two programmes that appear are The Chase, or Tipping Point, and not much else. Is this what our entertainment choices have come to? No wonder my internet usage is off the scale.
John Ford, Napier.
I’m sure Gwynne Dyer (NZH, Oct 13) is sincere. But he is ill-informed when he claims “Aboriginals have been in Australia for 65,000 years but have never developed agriculture themselves.” He is also mistaken when he claims new arrivals never respected them “because they couldn’t fight back”. They did fight back — and lost. Visit the exhibition of First Peoples Art at the Auckland Art Gallery to see the chronicle of conflict across the length and breadth of Australia post-European settlement.
Graeme Marshall, Takanini.
Lobby group calls out new Police Commissioner over arming his officers.