Letters: Nicole McKee’s perceived gun reform bias; the terrible situation of the missing Marokopa children

The mother of the three missing Phillips children, Cat, is “relieved” the youngsters are alive after seeing them in a video for the first time in almost three years.

Take aim at coalition’s tail

The Government’s decision to appoint Nicole McKee to take responsibility for gun law reform needs to be reviewed.

Her appointment (like the swiftly-reformed interest deductibility for landlords) is a flashpoint for opposition groups, and one with which I have some sympathy.

The Prime Minister’s office defends her appointment by quoting Nicole’s legitimacy for the role because of the Cabinet manual, declared interests, etc. But none of this is enough to allay concerns that her strong association with pro-gun lobby groups may impact the direction she takes in recommending new legislation.

What is “appropriate” according to the manual is not necessarily “politically astute”. Christopher Luxon should know that perception is reality, and Nicole’s perceived bias is guiding large parts of the public’s opinion forcing the Government to continually field rear-guard attacks, which distract them from the real work they should be doing.

This appointment may have been engineered by the Act Party. If so, then the more important conclusion is that once again, the tail is wagging the dog.

Nick Rowe, Greenlane.

Fugitive father

Seeing the images of the three children that have been taken in to the bush by their father got me wondering just how this whole terrible situation is impacting on them (NZ Herald, Oct 10).

To be living in the bush for three years, not seeing or talking to another human being, having to go with your father whether you want to or not‚ knowing that you can’t get away, because you can’t make it out on your own, surely must be having a bad effect mentally on these poor little children.

It has dragged on for nearly three years now, and looks like it is still no nearer to coming to an end. What else can be done to get these children back to their mother, and to education, Christmas, birthdays, a warm safe bed to lie in, and friends to connect with and grow up with.

How about getting the Army to help, now the police have some idea where he is, perhaps a helicopter or two to sweep the area. I feel so sorry for these innocent children, who are the victims of this man. He is supposed to look after them, nurture them and provide a warm place for them to live, not to keep making them trudge through thick bush. They never know where they will end up for the night, only to have it all start again, when he feels he needs to go deeper in to the bush to escape being caught.

As for the people who may have helped him, they should be locked up with him when he is caught, and hopefully that won’t be too far away, for the sake of these children, and the family who love and miss them.

Diane Jones, Ōmokoroa.

Intensification crisis

It is frightening that the Government/councils are attempting to solve Auckland’s housing crisis with intensification, but have put little thought into the flow-on effect of crowded schools and roads.

Every suburb in central Auckland is affected. Building more classrooms and increasing school rolls means less common areas like playgrounds and sports fields. The plan for the Three Kings Quarry site is 1500 new homes and the project advertising includes the close proximity to Three Kings School. The plan for the Carrington site in Mt Albert is at least 4000 new homes - how many school-age students do these two projects equate to?

There was a plan for another secondary school to be built in Epsom in the early 2000s to cope with the population growth. Infrastructure like schools and hospitals must follow housing growth.

Jo Morgan, Sandringham.

Solar power

Simon Wilson is a fan of rooftop solar (NZ Herald, Oct 8). Unfortunately, rooftop solar is about twice as expensive as solar farms because retrofitting a few panels on 10,000 homes is not very efficient.

Also, in most cases the orientation and vertical angle are not optimal. The same applies to batteries: Short-lived lithium-ion batteries are nearly twice as expensive as grid-sized flow batteries, because the latter last three times as long. Neither does rooftop solar relieve Vector’s lines network because in case of only two successive overcast winter days, the network must supply these houses as well.

As for Germany, they are planning for 20 new gas-fired power stations to make up for the vagaries of solar – including Wilson’s “balkon-kraftwerke”.

K.H. Peter Kammler, Warkworth.

Cult of secrecy

The recent loss of members from the End of Life review committee is not surprising (NZ Herald, Oct 9). There has been a lack of information for the review committee so it can do its job.

Not only that, but the so-called ‘safeguards’ claimed by the Ministry of Health are empty of meaning when there are no independent witnesses required under the End of Life Choice Act. In addition, Section 36 provides significant criminal penalties for disclosing information about deaths by euthanasia or assisted suicide.

This cult of secrecy suggests that there is something to hide. Considering also the many other weaknesses in the act, it should be repealed.

Richard Harward, Onehunga.