More common sense is urgently needed in the deployment of the police resources we constantly hear are short-staffed, underpaid, and overworked.
The police need to “hunt where the ducks are” and crimes are being committed, rather than hunting where the resulting numbers demonstrate the outcome does not result in a “return on investment”.
Roger Hawkins, Herne Bay.
Shake-up needed
It appears since this Government came in, the police have become even more invisible.
They only appear in areas where the Government can get maximum coverage for its so-called better policing policy – central Auckland. The rest of the country doesn’t count.
We have had tourists robbed and attacks on mental health nurses. Apart from the highly publicised drug busts and homicides, do our police respond to anything these days?
Our police are under pressure, but these sorts of incidents don’t encourage the public to trust our police to be there when we need them. There needs to be a shake-up.
Tom O’Toole, Taumarunui.
Health prevention
A number of New Zealanders need help to improve their overall health.
So are we training our new doctors to be health doctors for the next decade, or are we still training our doctors to be medicine doctors as in the last few decades?
It is said the pharmaceutical industry has the “ownership of disease” as it makes huge financial gains in making medicines to “treat disease”. But so many medicines only treat disease and do not cure them.
Multiple medicines have many side effects, some as bad or worse than the original complaints. Time to review our training?
Gary Carter, Gulf Harbour.
Unsuitable roads
The week before Christmas, I drove on the Waikato Expressway and Transmission Gully, both built with speeds of 110km/h in mind, and various state highways between Auckland and Wellington.
While I was not doing 110km/h and staying in the left lane, very few other drivers passed at speed. On the other hand, many other state highways with 100km/h (open-road) limits are simply unsuitable in large parts when it comes to driving at the legal speed limit.
If the Government (NZTA) wants to make driving safer, it should drop the open-road limits and set speeds that are appropriate for the state of the road.
This means many more changes to the legal speed limits and should be backed up by speeding fines similar to Australia – about four times our current levels – and failure to pay could result in impounding the vehicle concerned and crushing it for non-payment. And for the “moaners” saying that would be revenue-gathering – no speeding, no fine!
Derek Paterson, Sunnyhills.
Ongoing debate
The extremely interesting, if at times opaque, editorial on the Treaty [Principles] Bill seems to be pointing to future ongoing debates around the issue, giving definite encouragement to David Seymour to keep up the pressure.
It is disappointing to read the gratuitous slap at Three Waters. The so-called “backlash” was driven by the likes of Hobson’s Pledge, media not investigating the co-governance detail in any depth, the demonisation of the plan’s purveyor, Nanaia Mahuta, and white-anting by her own Cabinet colleagues.
It has to be remembered that a considerable number of local councils saw merit in Three Waters and were not put off by what they understood co-governance to be all about. If rivers are not “iconic landscape features”, who knows what are?
Looming around all this is the sense the coalition is going to break the pledge to kill the bill at its second reading. The fear of that leaking out may be why Luxon is dodging Waitangi.
Peter Beyer, Sandringham.
Super team
Another fantastic win for our super cricket team; they beat Sri Lanka in great style.
It was heartening to see so many families enjoying the game, and the cricketers really rose to the occasion. I am sure TV viewers were, like me, glued to the box! Roll on the next game.
Rosemary Howell, Ellerslie.
Viewing sailing
Seems that SailGP is not an Auckland event, but a SailGP event only.
Nothing in the way of course viewing on boats, or any other advantageous viewing, can be purchased from other [platforms] than a SailGP website, and all are sold out.
I’m sure Fullers, Explore or others could put a few thousand fans on the course over the two days.
Peter Dodd, Chatswood.
