Roger Hall's Kiwi classic Gliding On is a perennial reminder that the public service is not always a minister's best friend. Photo / Warren Buckland, File
Bureaucratic obstruction
The Opposition leaps on any scrap of intel (leaks), no matter how inconsequential, as an object of major concern to the nation. No Government business is allowed to be enacted, in the face of these overblown, “manufactured” grievances. Disruptive staff issues in her ministerial office could have justified Kiri Allan’s reported outbursts. Richard Prebble has stated he experienced those same obstructive and manipulative tactics by Parliamentary civil servants when trying to extract reports and documentation they didn’t agree with. I have seen this in action within the Auckland City Council. Councillors have huge difficulty in getting their decisions properly implemented - reports not written as asked for, delivered late, with no time for amendments - and, more often than not, written with the officers’ own objectives insidiously paramount. Like Allan (and Prebble) I’d be angry too. Wouldn’t you? In fact, we should all be. We need to look beyond the accused ministers, to the aggravations and obfuscations they are very likely being confronted with every day. There are two sides to every issue. Are we being allowed to consider both? Certainly not by the Opposition, that’s for sure. Clyde Scott, Birkenhead.
Cabinet overload
Labour desperately wants to limit discussion about Kiri Allan’s demise to expressions of sympathy and acknowledgment of what a tough job MPs have, rather than any analysis of its part in her implosion or any examination of the shambles that is the Labour Cabinet. Yes, I too regret to see a gifted person in such distress and that a promising career has been terminated. But Labour is so short of talent, it has been forced to put its limited resources into portfolio overload, resulting in the poor ministerial performances, sackings and personal failures that have become the norm. Labour now says its mission is to ensure Allan receives all the help and support that she needs. Commendable indeed. But in light of the fact that they demanded too much of her in the first place, then permitted her to return to work too soon after too short a break, it is all just another case of too little, too late. Worksafe New Zealand should be investigating the Kiri Allan case. William Gardiner, Cable Bay.
Reality bites
I am disappointed there does not appear, at least in the Prime Minister’s view, sufficient talent in the current Government to assign another MP to the Justice Ministry. Worse, with both Police and Justice reporting to the same minister, there is at least the perception of a conflict. In politics, perception is reality. This sort of ministerial assignment is the sort of action one might expect of Donald Trump or Benjamin Netanyahu; I would hope this country would never sink so low. Rod Lyons, Kumeū.
Male domain
The story by Katie Harris about “Trans people avoiding health system during pregnancy” (NZ Herald, July 27) reminded me that in Afghanistan there has long been a group of young women who heroically, but perhaps under duress, adopt the traditional clothing and gender expression styles of Afghani men. They are called the Bacha Posh and the changes they make to their appearance and manner allow them, in their patriarchal society, to move freely outside the home. They can financially support their needy families by finding paid work in jobs that otherwise are entirely the prerogative of men. And they may enjoy social status and modes of expression and access to the public domain that would be denied to them if they were recognised as women. In Aotearoa New Zealand we have a parallel category - women who name themselves Trans. Like the Bacha Posh they adopt masculine clothing and manners. This allows them to access most if not all the privileges males in our own patriarchal society have as of right. When such women are giving birth it is profoundly traumatising for them to find themselves suddenly stripped by their caregivers of their strenuously cultivated, socially enforced, masculine privilege. Janet Charman, Avondale.
Principle’s office
Your columnist Claire Trevett (NZ Herald, July 26) deprecates as petulance the decision of the Revenue Minister, David Parker, to resign that portfolio - presumably in protest at the Prime Minister’s nakedly opportunistic abandonment of a fairer tax policy which the Government had implicitly promised. Principle rather than petulance in my view. The only questions are: why has he taken so long to do it, and why has Robertson not joined him? “I’m a team player” seems to imply that a naked quest for power, at any price, is somehow justified if enough people wish to do it. Trevett, losing sight - as political columnists are wont to do - of the main idea, implies the PM’s duty is to stay in power. What’s the point of that if he has abandoned his principles and his supporters? R Porteous, Balmoral.
Trodden path
In response to Claire Trevett’s opinion on David Parker’s decision to stand on principle to tax wealth in Aotearoa, what is politics for if not to try to put principles into practice? It seems the Labour Party has very few, if any, principles left as it pursues a National-light path towards power. To what end? Ron Miller, Grey Lynn.
Seconds out
Can someone tell me why the blatant time-wasting by the Philippines’ goalie, so bad the crowd chanted out the seconds as she repeatedly exceeded the six-second rule by a massive margin, was not considered an infringement, while the most minuscule of offside encroachments by the Football Ferns was so harshly punished? Rules are rules, as apologists for the unsporting Aussie cricketers are quick to point out. Doug Hannan, Mount Maunganui.
Fee-for-all
Thank you for exposing in such gruesome detail the dealings of major accounting and legal firms with the Auckland Council. Can you now tell us what they actually did for their excessive fees and if any of it was useful? The council should embargo any further dealings with all of them. What a shameful affair. Russell O. Armitage, Hamilton.
Adding it up
Auckland Council spends $100, 000 each day on legal and accounting fees. At $300 per hour, that is 333 hours at eight hours a day for 42 staff, fulltime. Can it justify that cost? I doubt it. Bob Wichman, retired councillor, Botany.
Late to cry
It takes two people together to bring a child into this world. Had Prebble recognised this fact when he was a minister in Government, and taken steps to hold parents responsible for the misdeeds of their children, there would be far fewer children creating problems today. It is too late for him to pontificate from the sidelines now. That horse has bolted. Rajah Perera, Hillsborough.
Slowing traffic
Public consultation on slower speeds around schools does not allow for general views, it expects a personal interest in each area. Of course, everyone wants children to be safe. What we don’t want is for children to think roads are safe. They are not. All children have a home to go to and live in and it will not have a special speed limit outside it. And they have weekends and holidays. They have to be taught to be careful and responsible. Schools and parents need to preach awareness; no earbuds for music when crossing roads; no texting when crossing roads; no running across. Schools need to monitor behaviour outside the school before and after school hours, they probably already do. We have regulations about passing school buses and many existing school speed restrictions. We should avoid making children more blase. Further, the proposal suggests that a more restricted speed around schools may cause parents who currently drive children to and from school to allow them to cycle or walk. Highly improbable, stranger danger is the catalyst for car use and anyway, the entire route is unlikely to fall within a school zone. Graham Carter, Herne Bay.
On politics
New Zealand politics seems to have caught up with American politics of several years ago – that it is hard to justify a vote to either of the two big parties here. Glenn Forsyth, Taupō.
On St James
We cannot afford to refurbish the St James at this time. We do not have the money. End of story. Geraldine Taylor, Remuera.
On Seymour
By insisting on a debate in Parliament, Act Leader David Seymour has proven he is callous, and unsympathetic and will do anything to score points for his right-wing philosophies. Let’s hope he’s never in charge of mental health. Rex Head, Papatoetoe.
On roads
Perhaps it might be an idea to employ an engineer with Roman heritage to design us a gold standard bulletproof roading system? Dave Miller, Ōtūmoetai.
On vaping
If we’d followed Australia in banning nicotine vaping products without a prescription we wouldn’t be in the situation we’re now in. But we knew best. Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.
On football
Eden Park; joyous playground. The Cake Tin; grim battleground. Go the Football Ferns. John Mellor. Albany.
Govt’s seismic borrowing is coming at a huge cost
This is a great series of articles from Jenee. And it shows clearly the very precarious economic situation New Zealand is currently in. Yes, we had Covid and immediate related costs. But the Government made it much worse than necessary: Denmark’s inflation was over 8 per cent last year. As per June this year it is down to 2.46 per cent. Why not here? Why didn’t and doesn’t Robertson compare us to successful countries? The Government clearly borrowed way too much, spent way too unproductively, and interest rates went too far down for too long. And now we are paying the price. Alexander G.
Under Key, debt rose from $43.5 billion to a forecast $79.8b in June 2012. That’s nearly doubling. Under Key, debt rose by $27 million per day. Under Key, the poorest 40 per cent of the population had their housing costs rise substantially and faster than their incomes, particularly if they were single, on benefits, or had insecure and poorly-paid work. Let’s have some balance. Jason P.
For balance, in 2010 and 2011 a major city was significantly damaged and needed to be rebuilt. Nick H.
We have been badly served by politicians for the past 40 years. Since MMP it has been worse, as we have all these nobodies pushing their own philosophy and the interests of the majority are not being addressed i.e. crime, democracy, economy, health, education, and infrastructure. It’s as if the politicians don’t understand why they are there. Linda C.
We do not “have to decarbonise”. If the cost of doing so is to put the nation into penury then given our 0.17 per cent contribution to global warming, it needs to be postponed. The cost is not worth the benefit. Marcus A.
Police have asked for help from the public.