Jon Lamb has some praise for police after a nasty incident recently. Photo / Dean Purcell
Too often the media carry negative articles about our police with little or no balance of the good they do.
I would like to recount a story that happened recently that displays their professional and the speed with which they responded.
My therapist was due to visit me when
I got a text from her saying that she was being assaulted in her home. She asked me to call the police on 111. The response was immediate. I gave her address and talked through the situation as I understood it. In a matter of minutes, I was talking to the squad car that was on its way to the address. They arrived about 10 minutes after my initial call.
They made an arrest on site and took the offender away. They left a female constable with the victim who made sure that she was coping and that she was able to function normally and, as she lived alone with her children, had support. At all times, the team was professional and caring.
Since the incident I have been contacted and asked to make a statement and to send screen shots of the texts.
My thanks to Sergeant Shaun of the Mt Wellington Police Station and his team - they acted with urgency, care and professionalism.
Jon Lamb, Freemans Bay.
Last August, National Party leader Simon Bridges was furious that his $113K taxpayer-funded expenses for limos and hotels had been leaked to the media. He arranged for an inquiry to locate the source of the leak. The fall-out with Jamie-Lee Ross was devastating on many levels. On Tuesday, Bridges gleefully revealed information that had been leaked to him about the Budget. Bridges' attempt to gain political points by releasing this information, shows he has no principles on leaked information. The true character of the man has been revealed.
Peter Jamieson, Titirangi.
Huntly is burning Indonesian coal because New Zealand coal mines cannot supply a seasonally fluctuating demand that increases very rapidly in dry years. It is too expensive to have a very substantial mining capacity that can ramp up production very rapidly sitting idle for most of the time.
Now that the Government has massively discouraged gas exploration and existing gas supplies are running down rapidly, we can expect to see Huntly burning more and more coal. Even then, the risk of a dry year shortage will steadily increase.
If the Electricity Authority set up a separate market for dry-year reserves it would allow Huntly to cover the annual cost of maintaining a stockpile of 1 million tons. If this happened the coal demand could probably be met by a New Zealand mine that, because of the cushioning of the stockpile, operated at a fairly steady demand. This would result in a major reduction in the coal price.
If the Government wants to reduce coal consumption it must encourage gas exploration – including fracking – and provide incentives for storing gas in existing underground reservoirs for use during a dry year. Wind and solar power do not provide dry-year reserves.
Bryan Leyland, Pt Chevalier.
Thank you for your recent insightful articles on Theresa May (NZ Herald, May 27). My husband and I were visiting the UK two years ago when Brexit first reared its, increasingly, ugly head.
The vitriolic British press were baying for Mrs May's resignation and every day seemed to be numbered for her. Every newspaper had daily headlines of her expected resignation. Each day we couldn't believe she had lived to fight another day. Her tenacity and guts seemed to defy the situation.
When we came home six weeks later, the situation just continued. When she fronted up to the press her face seemed to age but her resolve seemed strengthened.
Reading your articles, it seems that, unlike most people, criticism rolled off her and compromise was not in her tool box. Her lack of friends and supporters who could advise her were clearly one of the key components missing and her personal ambition appeared to be of utmost importance to her. It certainly explains a lot.
Susan Wilson, Surfdale.
Thank you, R Anderson for your letter (NZ Herald, May 28) regarding the loud train announcements.
Before these announcements began, I experienced wonderful relaxation and enjoyment during my frequent train rides, mostly up and down the Southern Line. I looked forward to my happy time of reading, studying, meditating, praying, contemplating the universe, etc.
Ever since these excessively loud, booming and frequent announcements began, I have been unable to do any of the above. Every railway station gets its own blast of announcements, both before and after the station. Some of these announcements are merely telling us to read the Auckland Transport website, or similar. Many tell us to "Press the green button when lit", and "Mind the gap when exiting".
After hearing this hundreds of times, I certainly know to "press the green button" etc. Must we all be subjected to this raucous blaring before and after every station (as in my case) all the way to Papakura?
I am not objecting to the (much softer, gentler in tone) te reo announcements. I am objecting to the very loud, intrusive, indeed raucous, English-language blasts over the train intercom.
At the very least, could we readers and contemplaters of the universe have our own clearly labelled "no announcements" carriage, so that we could sit back and relax in peace?
Jennifer Birch, Ellerslie.
I think it is admirable that moves are afoot to restore this fishery (NZ Herald, May 28), and I appreciate that things like runoff and silting are major problems to solve. However, there may be a few simpler methods to improve fish stocks that could be implemented.
The first big snapper spawn happens when the water warms up, normally in December. Commercial fishermen know this, and that is when they target spawning fish, thus taking many breeding fish from the water. Perhaps a blanket no-fishing season could be implemented around this time to give the spawning fish the best chance. Another option would be to put a maximum size limit on snapper as well as a minimum to protect the largest best breeders. I think this is done in Australia to protect barramundi stocks. Both of these options could be easily implemented.
Bill Morgan, Whangārei.
Morgan Owen states (NZ Herald, May 14) that it takes 10kg of plant foods to grow 1kg of meat. Leaving aside that the meat will be nutritionally more complete and concentrated than most plant foods, most of the plant crop fed to animals is those parts inedible by humans and removed by processing, as well as grass that humans cannot digest. Scientists from the UN's FAO office have calculated that only 14 per cent of livestock fodder worldwide uses grain and other human-edible foods, requiring 2.8kg of grain to produce 1kg of more nutritious meat.
George Henderson, Huia.
"Voters seek new blood in fractured EU" (NZ Herald, May 28). Nationalist politics are on the rise again. How long before the outbreak of another European war? New blood on old battlefields.
Will it be 1914 or 1939 all over again? You can send your own young people to the slaughter this time, Mr Farage, but don't expect Aotearoa to rush to your aid. These days we're into multicultural sanity here.
Arch Thomson, Mt Wellington.
I have stopped reading the letters to the editor each morning as it's not a good start to the day. No one is happy, everyone wants more or better, better footpaths, better politicians, better transport, more hand outs, why can't people just be happy with what they have?
New Zealand is the real lucky country, we have a superstar prime minister whose world is a stage; we don't have detention centres just very full prisons thanks to our super efficient police force who are great at catching miscreants; we don't have a cooling climate thanks to the hot air blowing from the US of A; we don't have a ballooning natural population increase because we have many single-sex schools, in other words Sexit not Brexit; and we have men (and women) of God aspiring to be politicians. Isn't it great to be alive in New Zealand in 2019?
My depression has gone since I stopped reading the letters to the editor.
Graham Fleetwood, Mellons Bay.
On leaks
The National Party got hold of some of the Budget documents and chose to make it public. It would appear that the only reason was self interest.
Richard Alspach, Dargaville.
It is now up to Simon Bridges to the right thing by all of us and inform the police of how he received the document.
Peter Kelly, Glendene.
Does Simon Bridges not know that receiving stolen goods is a crime?
Tony Millett, Takapuna.
On Sage
I think a sum of money should be allocated to silence Eugenie Sage in defence of job retention in the regions.
A J Petersen, Kawerau.
On guns
It is ironic that all vehicles are numbered and licenced, each dog is numbered and licenced, yet guns are exempt.
Marie Kaire, Whangārei.
On misogyny
We hear a lot about misogyny these days but little about misandry. A bit selective, is it not?
John Clements, Orewa.
On Bridges
Who's trying to make a name for himself repeatedly, and not getting anywhere? Ask Simon Bridges.
Rex Head, Papatoetoe.
On Christians
From the Reformation onward, Christian communities accepted that dominating the politics of the nation was inconsistent with the Christian faith.
John Marcon, Te Kauwhata.
The 19-year-old was found in a remote area in the hills of Upper Hutt.