Consider new ferry options
With the Government currently reviewing options and international expressions of interest in replacement Interislander ferries, consideration ought to be given to re-establishing the Wellington-Lyttelton ferry route and a new Whanganui-Nelson ferry route with rail-capable ferries, together with a new rail line between Nelson and Blenheim.
Creating these two new direct ferry routes between the main destinations where freight and people travel between the two islands would increase resilience should a natural disaster or failure of one of the routes occur.
Consideration should also be given to Richard Prebble’s recommendation to relocate Wellington’s container port to Napier. This would reduce costs by creating a new, better-located ferry terminal in Wellington. Containers would be put on rail between Wellington and Napier along the currently under-utilised Wairarapa Line to Napier.
Isaac Broome, Pukekohe.
Literacy and numeracy criteria
I note that the 2024 NCEA literacy and numeracy test pass rates are in the news.
That is not surprising, given the importance of success in these to our young people’s future lives. What I would like to know are the answers to these questions:
- What do students have to do to pass; do they have to answer all questions correctly, or only some?
- Do they have to attain a specific mark?
- Are the questions of the same difficulty?
- Are the results adjusted or scaled?
We have a long history of developing tests designed to ensure a failure rate; if this is not the case in these tests, how is this happening?
David Hood, Hamilton.
The good guys no more
We post-war kids grew up thinking Americans were the good guys. They posed as such often enough in countless films, TV shows and comics. It’s an ingrained stereotype that was difficult to shake off – until now.
Good guys would have been out on the streets denouncing their appalling President weeks ago. At the very least, Donald Trump’s public humiliation of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his betrayal of Ukraine should have been the last straw. But no, nothing.
So Americans are not the good guys anymore, and perhaps they never were. Trump, with a ridiculous ego, is their kind of guy.
Ron Hoares, Wellsford.
Ratepayers and America’s Cup investment
Once again, we, the ratepayers and taxpayers, are being urged to invest in hosting the America’s Cup regatta.
The argument for this is based on the $2 billion return Barcelona apparently received on its investment. We are not told who actually received the $2b dividend. Obviously, a lot of businesses did very well, which is nice for them but not so great for the ratepayers.
Public money should be allocated only because increased economic activity generates higher tax income. The council contribution should come entirely from Wayne Brown’s proposed bed tax.
Barcelona is not bidding to repeat the experience. Auckland should be careful.
John O’Neill, Dargaville.
Woeful Blues
The Blues have gone from champs to chumps in a very short time.
On Friday night, the Brumbies humiliated them. The only thing that wasn’t an embarrassment was the 21-20 scoreline.
In reality, the Blues were flogged. Their scrum was overpowered, their lineout was a disaster and I lost count of how many times the Brumbies stole their ball at the breakdown. They certainly won’t be back-to-back champions. Maybe too much pre-season hype and they believed their own publicity? A lot of player reputations took a dive.
Jock Mac Vicar, Hauraki.
Plastic contaminates food
Burning injury risks apart, food heated (cooked or covered) in plastic may be unsafe to eat if it is contaminated by chemicals leaching out of hot plastic.
What is wrong with serving sandwiches or wraps which don’t need to be cooked? Why can’t schools provide a selection of breads/wraps and fillings on site, and ask adult volunteers to oversee the lunch-making process?
Giving control to individual schools might lend much greater efficiency to a cumbersome and costly off-site system.
Barb Callaghan, Kohimarama.
Reduce toilet flush
With Auckland’s dam levels now a worrying 12% below the historical average and water restrictions looming, it must now be time for domestic toilet cistern manufacturers to reduce the half-flush to a quarter-flush.
Indeed, enough water to flush away the average pee? We’ve had river stones in our cistern for years to reduce the full flush, but I expect these don’t reduce the size of the half-flush.
C. Johnstone, Grey Lynn.
