Hats off to our fashion doyens
Your photo of Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi wearing hats to Parliament confirms my suspicions - we have entered the Age of Silly Hats. The fashion leader was, of course, Shane Jones, followed recently by Kelvin Davis.
I look forward to further innovations - perhaps
a sombrero by the Greens as a nod to global warming?
I agree with your correspondent Kate Gore ( NZ Herald, February 11), the wearing of hats indoors is universally accepted as bad manners. Like the wearing of sunglasses in the absence of rain, wind and sun, it makes no sense.
John Billing, New Plymouth.
Covid comparison
I see Mike Hosking is back on his anti-Labour path again. We only did so well in the Covid-19 battle through luck and circumstance, apparently.
Now quarantine is a shambles (NZ Herald, February 11) and we should compare ourselves to Australia which has seven times the death rate per million and 14 times the total of number of cases, when the population is only five times bigger.
This is not a "competition" against other countries, but trying to do the best for people. Hosking should, like many other grizzlers, get some perspective and look at what we have done well.
Quarantine is complex and there are bound to be some problems, but I don't think Australia and Scott Morrison should be our marker points.
Garry Bond, Hastings.
Carbon contradiction
As just announced, New Zealand will be ending part of its renewable geothermal power generation because of minute greenhouse gases within the steam emitted.
There are, however, 474 new coal-fired power stations presently being built around the world - the majority by China, where the UN sends part of New Zealand's annual $1.2 billion Paris climate accord monies.
How can all this possibly make any sense, especially for a now-fragile New Zealand economy because of Covid-19?
Hylton Le Grice, Remuera.
Dream houses
All the talk and theories about how to solve our housing crisis and no one has answered the question about who will build all the new houses?
Try getting a tradesman at present.
The logical answer is that building costs will go up because of a lack of builders.
Checkmate.
Jock Mac Vicar, Hauraki.
Truth to power
New Zealand could speak up louder about the composition and powers of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which has signed only 139 countries to the Rome Statute, of which just 118 ratifying its role prosecuting war criminals.
The ICC commits signatories to its jurisdiction but is missing many of the big powers such as the US, China, India and Russia who refuse international scrutiny of so many human rights' crimes.
Yet Australia, NZ, Afghanistan, Botswana, France, Georgia, Liberia, Nauru, Slovenia and Zambia are some of the participants.
So many brutal leaders and dictators hide behind their handpicked and well- paid Supreme Courts and Electoral Commissions who chose cronyism over fair justice.
Besides reentering the Paris Accord, NZ should request the US to restore its global position and join the ICC as a signatory.
Rob Buchanan, Kerikeri.