Letters: Plunket, wind turbines, cafe hygiene, unruly tourists, and public transport

Jabbie Tijing of Rotorua gives a Plunket bear a hug. Photo / Stephen Parker, File

Letter of the week: Jude West, Takanini
It is deeply disappointing to hear the news that once again Plunket is struggling to fund its baby and child health care support programmes. If Aotearoa is to successfully reduce its appalling child abuse record then Plunket is one of the most effective solutions to achieve this. The advantage of having qualified Plunket nurses visit the homes of all new babies on a regular basis means support and encouragement can be offered where necessary. Regular Plunket contact needs to continue till each child begins school.
The Plunket nurses develop a strong bond of trust and friendship with members of all families they visit and care for. This relationship is vital for the well-being of all children so they grow and flourish to their full potential. Plunket needs increased funding not less.
Our tamariki deserve the best care possible.

Powering up
Your article "Low-energy wind turbines" (Weekend Herald, August 27) is a lesson for us all. Get some references before paying out on any large project. All is not lost for Marcel and Sandra Hannon, however.
The windmill towers, cabling, and electronics are all in place. The only problem is the vertical windmills that generate only 250 watts. Those vertical windmills should be replaced with three-blade, horizontal windmills with a diameter of at least 2.5m in order to get 1000 watts; 2.88m diameter wind turbines rated at 2000 watts will cost less than $1500 each. The $10,662 held back should cover the cost of the upgrade.
Expect your 2000-watt Chinese wind turbines to actually generate 1000 watts and you will not be disappointed. I am a retired professional electrical engineer and would be happy to assist with the upgrade at no charge for my efforts.
John Caldwell, Howick.

Sudden exposure
Tessa Moeke-Maxwell's letter (Weekend Herald, August 27) describing general hygiene at a cafe affirms to me that we can't be protected from every bacteria, or virus, all of the time.
If we obsessed ourselves with every risk of infection from nose rubbing to a slight cough, from the odd fly or dust mite; we would end up having no immunity to anything exposing ourselves to more harm.
But wait, have we not been doing this for the past two years? it is time we threw caution to the wind, rallied up some common sense, and moved on.
John Ford, Taradale.

Tinker's cuss
Hearing that the leader of the travelling group from England who caused such chaos during their 2019 summer holiday in New Zealand had died (Weekend Herald, August 27) brought back memories of their behaviour that left most Kiwis astounded.
It was one thing to have our own behaving badly but quite another to have tourists carrying on with such blatant disregard for our country and we were united in our indignation.
But among all the mayhem what was really memorable was the little boy with the big Bunnings hat on his head who was so cheeky.
Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.

Russian leaders
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev had more honesty, integrity and decency in his little fingernail than Russia's current, so-called leader Vladimir Putin has in his entire, useless body.
Gorbachev was a true statesman and will be sorely missed.
Who will miss that thuggish, megalomaniac Putin, when he finally meets his maker?
Not too many, Ukrainians, Syrians and Georgians, I would consider.
And yes, I hope that the Russian ambassador reads this letter, and chokes on his borscht.
John Watkins, Greenlane.

Uneasy rider
As an almost 80-year-old who is still driving, I prefer to go into the city on public transport.
Until recently this has been good.
Two weeks ago, I went to see the ballet at the Aotea Centre. I took the train in, making sure beforehand the time of the last train.
The ballet finished at 10pm and I walked down Queen St to Britomart. To be met by no train. I was told there was a bus outside going to Newmarket. My car was at the Ōrākei train station. I went to my usual bus stop but was told the last bus had gone. I had to pay $34 for a taxi to collect my car and drive home.
Today, I went into the city to the Writers Festival. The bus was due at 10.56. It never came and the following two were cancelled. I drove to the train station but was unable to get a car park so I had to drive into the city.
This is atrocious service especially for an old lady left downtown late at night.
How can people be expected to use public transport if it is so unreliable? It appears Covid is the excuse for everything. Not good enough.
Joyce Hood, Remuera.

Basic skills
So now the national coaching staff has to teach the national team how to catch and pass and ruck. One would have thought they would have mastered these basics as part of their entry ticket.
Maybe it is time to put the older retainers out to grass; sustain some losses on the way to building a new breed that the national coach can call his own.
While we are about it, why not rebuild the top table at rugby headquarters?
A. D. Kirby, Pāpāmoa.

Happy Father's Day
Most commercials shown on television are remarkably banal, and with constant repetition become boring as well. There are even some commercials where it is difficult to know just what is being advertised.
Congratulations, then, to Noel Leeming for a hugely entertaining commercial featuring a very loud little boy and noise-cancelling headphones.
This commercial makes me laugh and is effective.
Brian Marshall, Mt Eden.

A quick word

If I may, I utterly reject and absolutely refute the premises of the Prime Minister's absolute refutations and utter rejections. Mike Wagg, Freemans Bay.

Before Mr Luxon starts hanging his hat on the tough-on-crime hook maybe he should give old mate Crusher Collins a call and have a chat about how her "crush their cars " scenario played out. J McCormick, Gisborne.

Manukau is a stupid location for the Lantern Festival. I've gone every year since 2010. With some who don't drive or no car who rely on public transport and with no trains on the Shore, how are we supposed to bus that far? Helen Lowe, Albany.

New Zealand's foreign policy on Ukraine has squashed any hope of making a deal with Russia to bring back the body of Corporal Dominic Abelen. My condolences to his family. Tiong Ang, Mt Roskill.

Bruce Cotterill (WH, Aug. 27) is understated when he writes "the current Government doesn't care too much what the public thinks about Three Waters". This Government doesn't care about what the public thinks on any issue. Ian Doube, Rotorua.

Has anyone else noticed that the Auckland dams are now 100 per cent full? Is this a first? Gregory Cave, Sunnyvale.

The first test Christchurch has hosted for six or seven years; I don't think they should have any more. Phil Chitty, Albany.

The most remarkable thing about Ian Foster is his ability to endear his employers to him, regardless of his performance. Ian Brady, Titirangi.

Ian Foster did not play against Argentina, 15 All Blacks did, and sadly, on the day, the better team won. Gerald Payman, Mt Albert.

How about the All Blacks stop "taking the positives" out of their losses and start working on the multitude of negatives that have plagued the Foster tenure, like the poor passing, catching, tackling, line-running, decision-making, etc, etc. Matt Elliott, Birkdale.

We should give credit to the team that wins, not moan that we didn't. Richard Carey, Manly.

Yet another fail for the self-proclaimed most open, honest and transparent government ever with Health NZ holding all its meetings, confidentially without the public or the press able to attend. Mike Baker, Tauranga.

If the managers at Auckland Transport had to stand for re-election they would lose their deposits. Nick Hamilton, Remuera.

Paul Bloxham, HSBC economist (WH, Aug 27); No, NZ didn't have just one short sharp lockdown at the start of the pandemic. This time last year, Aucklanders, Northlanders, and parts of the Waikato, were in lockdown again for nearly five months, ending mid-December. Pam Dougal, Long Bay.