Debbie Green, Mt Maunganui.
Global lunches
Those who find school lunch complaints hard to swallow often hark back to the 1950s and 60s, with memories of marmite sandwiches and free school milk.
It might be interesting to know that Finland was the first country in the world to provide free school meals every day from 1943 to the present day. Sweden provides hot meals to all students – up to 1.3 million a day. India has the largest school meal scheme in the world – free school lunches for children between 6 and 14. Brazil expanded its free school meals to all in 2009, feeding 40 million children. Estonia has had free meals in school since 2002.
Agriculture, dairy and meat are among New Zealand’s primary industries. What an opportunity to erase childhood obesity, nourish our next generation and raise our educational achievements.
Fay Cobden-Grainge, Parnell.
History repeats
As I watched the Trump/ Vance/ Zelenskyy stage-managed sit down in the Oval Office deteriorate, I was uncomfortably transported back to my childhood, sitting in a darkened cinema watching a black-and-white newsreel from 1938. The Prime Minister of the UK, Neville Chamberlain, waving his piece of paper and announcing “Peace for our time”.
Both Trump and Chamberlain have the dubious distinction of being leaders of nations that have been hoodwinked by European despots. These despots – one German, one Russian – having gained power and influence, corrupted political systems, thus increasing their power and invading their neighbours in undeclared wars. Both these despots wore uniforms and suits, and their assurances meant nothing. At least Chamberlain was a dignified and courteous man who was attempting to do the right thing – but we all know how that turned out.
Unbridled ambition has to be unflinchingly resisted, and giving the Ukrainian people the means to resist the Russian invasion on an equal military footing is the least we can do.
Hugh Barker, Hamilton.
Trump’s stance clear
Several of your Monday correspondents miss the point on the Oval Office contretemps. Didn’t the Ukrainian ambassador tell her boss that Donald Trump campaigned and was decisively elected on a “no foreign wars” platform? Imagine the outcry if, after his first high-stakes meeting with a European leader, Trump had reported that he had agreed to become militarily involved.
Trump is a “transactional mercantilist” and it is no wonder that a commercial deal on rare earth extraction was his first priority. Trump is also right in believing that mega-mining infrastructure by US companies is of itself a deterrent to Russian aggression. The subtext is that Trump wanted to send Zelenskyy to London with no doubts that the old “Leave it to America” playbook is well and truly closed.
Rob Harris, Masterton.
Ranges off limits
I was intrigued by a letter in your February 28 edition praising Auckland Council’s CBD beautification projects and encouraging patience amidst the ongoing construction. The letter notes that once the projects are completed, the result will be a beautiful city adorned with trees and greenery, a place we can be proud of and love walking around.
The irony is that Auckland Council has closed the Waitākere Ranges to the public. While I am lucky to own a small piece of private property, city-goers who follow me will discover that Auckland Council has closed the majority of walking tracks. They will encounter wire fencing, exclusion signs, limited parking, and chaos – particularly on public holidays.
While our city centre has endured years of construction to create a greener environment, our Waitākere Ranges have faced eight years of closure due to an unquantified risk, construction of boardwalks, staircases, and bridges that urbanise a pristine wilderness, and council failure to deliver a promised track plan. We must also have a region to be proud of and love walking around.
Ken Turner, Waitākere ward councillor.
