Countdown supermarkets will be rebranded as Woolworths.
Supermarket rebrand
The Countdown/Woolworths rebrand could help consumers if it is truly transformational, rather than just a repaint of old stores and wider use of the parent company’s stationery and signage. In recent years, both supermarket chains have sought to suppress all opposition by presenting a bewildering array of products designed to shut out independent delicatessens, liquor stores, butchers, greengrocers and even pharmacies, with the Government’s Covid policies giving them free rein in many of these areas. This has undoubtedly increased supply chain and inventory costs and the prices and availability of most basics (when did you last see toilet paper on special?). We would all be better off with a tighter product range, and Woolworths can use their Australian house brands as the foundation for this. They could also safely drop their loyalty schemes, which are more about gathering customer information than providing any genuine savings. Phrases such as “refreshed loyalty programme” and “everyday rewards” are simply replacements for the current “great price” or “everyday value”, which actually means full retail, never to be seen on special. Drop the cynical marketing and the thousands of unnecessary product lines, and Woolworths might have a winning formula. On the other hand...
Duncan Simpson, Hobsonville Point.
KiwiSaver and rent bonds
I have yet to hear how National and/or Act are going to alleviate the most urgent problem of our day, which is inequality, so corrosive for any society. About 1.5 million New Zealanders do not own a house and are paying more than 40 per cent of their income to the half a million NZers, landlords, who own their own house plus at least one other. Those hundreds of thousands of renters will find it difficult to ever own a house of their own unless whoever’s in government steps up with policies to help them. Instead, National has announced its intention to ensure inequality extends well into the future by encouraging young people to hand over their retirement savings to those very same landlords. This diminishes young people’s hope of one day having a comfortable retirement. Where is the party promising to level the playing field with policies that favour tenants? Is it the well-off sector that needs help, or is it the poor?
Susan Grimsdell, Auckland Central.
STV better than MMP
Various correspondents have voiced concern about MMP. Even though I voted for that option in the referendum, my concern now, after many elections, is that list candidates do not have to front on the hustings. They slip into Parliament almost unnoticed, and only once there does their woeful ignorance and lack of real-world experience manifest. Public election meetings hold a crude but effective blowtorch to the vain and entitled. STV is a far better system, and I wonder if the Royal Commission, if reconstituted now, would again foist on us the canard that MMP has turned out to be?
Rob Harris, Dannevirke.
Consultants and contractors
Australian Labor Senator Deborah O’Neill is grilling consulting firms (KPMG, Deloitte, PwC and EY) in a public inquiry on their role in government contracts following the PwC scandal. Former public services commissioner Professor Andrew Podger told the inquiry: “I think there has been a serious erosion of capability in the public service over the last two decades. Excessive use of consultancies undermines the use made of the public service, and the public service then doesn’t invest in its core activities as much.” Australia spent $606 million on the top four consultancies in 2021/2022, a 12-fold increase in the last decade. In New Zealand under the Labour/Greens Government, in 2021/2022, public service organisations spent a total of $1.2 billion on contractors and consultants. This was an increase of 32 per cent on the 2020/21 spend. There is little doubt that New Zealand has similarly undermined our public service and there should be calls for a public inquiry into the use of consultants and contractors by the current New Zealand Government. The next government owes this inquiry to the public.
Gary Carter, Gulf Harbour.
Leaders need to get real
Simon Wilson has succinctly summed up the “quick-fix” mentality that both political parties seem infected with (NZ Herald, July 18). Both leaders are so focused on being liked (i.e. elected), they’ve forgotten how to be effective. The former prime minister sealed the fate of the current prime minister by refusing to implement a CGT at the height of Labour’s popularity and power. As for National, they seem only capable of latching on to the most current flashpoints (crime, populist tax tinkering, pothole repair) and rolling out mundane policy proposals designed for a term in government, not long-term progressive plans within sustainable budgetary frameworks. I’m unsure how efficient a $500m pothole repair will be when those smoothly sealed roads wash away under the deluge of climate change destruction. This year has been a time of unprecedented suffering because of inflation, humans laying waste to our planet through climate change inaction and filling our over-burdened hospitals by ironically proving the estimation of medical researchers that as much as 90 per cent of illness and disease is stress-related. Both leaders urgently need to get real. New Zealanders are intelligent and resilient, and they need and deserve a Government which has the courage to develop long-term policies to resolve some of the most serious challenges we face.
Mary Hearn, Glendowie.
Freedom of choice
Readers (NZ Herald, July 19) received not just one, but two treats from two master wordsmiths. The article by Sir Roger Douglas surprised me. He was one of the founders of Act. It now transpires that he intends to take his vote elsewhere. Act will not be pleased, because Sir Roger has stated Act is a party that only represents the wealthy. That statement could cost the party a lot of votes. The other wordsmith, Richard Prebble, as usual has made some observations which will already be clear to most people. The health system is in a mess. Inflation is hurting people. Several Labour ministers have managed to shoot themselves in the foot. But the flip side of the coin is that here in New Zealand, we are privileged to have so much freedom of choice. We are not at risk from an overly powerful army or secret police. We are all entitled to vote and our elections are not corrupt. NZ has always faced challenges, but migrants from other countries are still happy to come to NZ. Our next government will have their hands full, but in the past NZ has overcome natural disasters and wars, and in the future, we will still be better off than those countries tormented by civil strife and war and starvation.
Johann Nordberg, Paeroa.
Approaches to crime
As Chris Luxon and David Seymour vie to be the toughest on crime and decry the Government, neither seems aware that longer sentences and boot camps have been tried before, yet recidivism remains and numbers of boot camp graduates end up in jail. For people like themselves, such interventions would probably work - losing all privileges and the esteem of friends is a significant deterrent. But the present youths who transgress have no privileges to lose, and their friends would be locked up with them. They lack positive role models, and with relatives doing time, such circumstances are just part of life. But crime means victims, so why wait until damage is done without realising that children are not born criminals, but live in the same deprived conditions? Within their communities are people who can see the problems, and there are many reports of such people organising and running programmes to help. To harness, support and develop such efforts to engage the young early would be far more effective and humane than spending $190,000 a year on locking them up once they have wrecked shops and traumatised owners. So, while the present miscreants deserve their punishment, we must not have the next generation doing the same.
P. Belsham, Mt Albert.
Turning back the clock
It is interesting how with the passage of time, history becomes full of “facts” that are far from what was reality. Such is the case with the teaching of science in New Zealand and calls from some to return to the good old days when the sciences had a tightly prescribed curriculum which every teacher would have to follow. I started teaching science and physics in 1963. For neither was there a detailed curriculum to follow; I can remember a very broad syllabus statement for both, each on a single sheet of paper, which defined areas teachers were expected to cover. For Year 11 science and physics, the curriculum was defined by the exam prescriptions. In 1991, after an intense consultation period and with high levels of support, the Board of NZQA proposed the introduction of subject standards which would clearly define for each subject what students needed to show they had learned and what they could do with that knowledge. Teams of teachers in science and specialist subjects were brought together to write the standards and, in the process, consult widely with their colleagues. The standards were statements for assessment; however, in the absence of anything else, they inevitably, like exam prescriptions, became the curriculum. In 2007, a new curriculum for schools was introduced with achievement objectives for each subject; in senior schools, these very closely followed the standards already in use in schools. Learning objectives were now more clearly defined than they ever had been. To turn back the clock and return to the good old days would in reality return to a very ill-defined curriculum, for any subject.
David Hood, Hamilton.
Travel charges
Yes, cars are polluting, expensive and inefficient, as several correspondents have commented, but as a primary source of transport in Auckland, that is not going to change anytime soon. Non-polluting inexpensive and efficient transport may come to this city, but it is not going to solve our needs completely as it will never cope with such a widely dispersed city, and in the meantime, we are left to cope with what we have. Our only option is to adopt a way to make us not only reduce our travel but also spread it over the entire day, and most major cities have addressed this by either implementing a congestion charge (London, Stockholm) or a toll to travel (Sydney, New York). A congestion charge is somewhat challenging to implement, and the satellite/transducer approach also has privacy concerns. Until these can be permanently resolved, I suggest the number plate recognition system recording on and off times is comparatively simple and has been running successfully in New South Wales for several years. It could be implemented on all motorways and bridges just about by lunchtime. Anyone who has patronised a parking building in Auckland is familiar with this approach. Further, the charges could at least partially be used for fixing the parlous state of our roads outside the motorway system; maybe even for a second harbour crossing, as was done in Sydney?
Rod Lyons, Kumeū.
Benefits from public transport
I‘d like to suggest to Al Corkin (NZ Herald, July 18) and others like him that trains and buses can be preferable to privately owned cars when commuting to work. Change is always difficult, but in my years of commuting on public transport in Auckland to two different workplaces from two different locations, I found many positive benefits – a brisk walk to and from the station/bus stop, being able to read or plan on my way, no difficulty finding parking, arriving at work feeling more relaxed, and the satisfaction of exercising and doing my bit to reduce CO2 emissions at the same time. It does require more planning, but please give it a try - you might like it. Depending on where you live, using buses or trains can work, and having worked and commuted in London, I found our services can work just as well. If it does not work for you, please try car-sharing to reduce emissions.
Karla Rix-Trott, Raglan.
Working from home
I found John Ford’s comments about working from home (NZ Herald, July 18) most interesting. Travelling each way daily could prove a bind and unnecessary cost. Concern over self-discipline is also a factor. The outgoing among us may feel too contained. Of course, for many jobs, there isn’t a choice. Commercially, however, imagine the savings, with excess offices sold or leased until needed for further growth. Apart from long-term benefits derived from easing pressure on public infrastructure, we will also be contributing to the goal of a healthy planet.
John Norris, Whangamatā.
On brands
If the numbers for Countdown to rebrand are to be believed, that is about $80 for every person in New Zealand. I wonder who will be paying for that?
Alan Johnson, Papatoetoe.
Countdown is to spend $400m rebranding its stores to Woolworths. To recover the cost, they will only need to add $1 to 400m grocery items. We, the customer, probably won’t even notice.
Bob Wichman, Botany.
On tickets
The letter from Juliet Leigh (NZ Herald, July 18) concerning Fifa ticketing is sad but so true. After booking and paying for three tickets late last year, even now, I am doubtful I will be able to gain entry to the venue as I have nothing to show for my booking and payment.
Robyn Nielsen, Half Moon Bay.
On the Warriors
New Zealand is a sporting nation, and as such, we like to think of ourselves as fair-minded. On Monday, July 17, I noticed that there were three and a half pages devoted to the test and only half a page was dedicated to the Warriors’ great effort at the same stadium the following night. I am a fervent union fan, but I do watch rugby league and I feel it does not get equal time, or even close to it.
Murray McMillan, Mt Albert.
On the games
It is time the Olympics and Commonwealth games have a sole venue, as neutral as [is possible]; with the host given the option to add their own local flavour when it is their turn to host. It is clear that the expense over four years in a different locale is not viable.
John Ford, Napier.
On new motorway
The very recently opened and much touted new motorway between Puhoi and Warkworth is in danger of being damaged by a landslide. There are already cracks showing in concrete barriers. Apparently, [Waka Kotahi] NZTA knew there was a problem but believed the motorway had avoided the area. What a joke this country has become.
Janet Boyle, Orewa.
I hope we won’t be hearing that the blame lies with Labour regarding problem slips on the new Puhoi Highway. National gave the go-ahead for this project in 2016, so all the studies regarding possible faults must have been looked into.
Sue Gallahar, Mangere East
On ram-raids
I have no sympathy for owners of vape shops, dairies and other retail stores selling cigarettes who have been ram-raided, given that all these products are bad for people’s health. We don’t need or want vape shops, and we are trying to become smoke-free within a few years.
Paul Carpenter, Rotorua.
On Parliament
So the leader of the Opposition utters in Parliament seven relatively innocuous words - “Don’t worry, we’ve got years of this” - and the people who are running our country descend into a state of derision and ridicule. Is this what we pay our politicians handsomely for?
Steve Clerk, Meadowbank.
Have we walloped inflation? New Consumers Price Index out.
The short answer to Liam’s question is NO. We’ll need to see what impact the reintroduction of full fuel taxes, RUCs and public transport fares will have.
Steve N.
So, the rate at which costs are going up is slower than it was a couple of months ago. Wow! So, in other words, things are still getting more expensive, they’re just not getting as expensive as fast as they were.
Lucas B.
Most people don’t understand that when inflation drops, it does not mean prices drop, it just means prices aren’t rising as fast. So don’t expect any relief in your wallet.
Raven D.
Wow, is no one here able to say anything positive about this Government under any circumstances?
Susan H.
They are all Act and National voters. This is part of their campaign. If there were any brains among them and they did their research, they would find that Labour-led governments have proved to be equal or better managers of the economy.
Carol H.
The 19-year-old disappeared without her wallet or mobile phone.