The Beehive and Parliament Building, Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Politicians and their values
The new Government describes itself as “anti-woke”. The dictionary defines “woke” as referring to people who are informed, educated and conscious of social injustice and racial inequality, people who are socially aware and empathetic.
Surely every decent New Zealander aspires to be that sort of person? What does it say about the incoming MPs that they scorn such values, and what hope does that give us for the prospect of achieving a better, fairer, happier society?
Susan Grimsdell, Auckland Central.
Rain to blame
It seems amazing to me that the New Zealand cricket team could score 401 runs in a 50-over World Cup game and still lose by 22 runs. The team batting second gets an unfair advantage if they know that rain is on its way.
All they have to do is increase the run rate until the rain arrives, then finish the game when the rain stops. No wonder Pakistan asked New Zealand to bat first.
John Turner, Pukekohe.
Redraw the map
Barack Obama has mentioned: “Nobody’s hands are clean.” A good admission? But will it solve the problem, created long ago by the West in giving non-contiguous areas for Palestine, with Israel in the middle of it?
Unless that geographical mistake is rectified, the animosities, hostilities, fighting will not stop. Both the Israelis and the Palestinians need viable areas, with airports, harbours, and scope for development as independent countries.
Israel has managed all that by force and keeping the Palestinians away or under control of entry/exit. But it is untenable in the future, as it has been until now. The time is ripe now to redraw the map.
S. Mohanakrishnan, Auckland.
Coalition prospects
In response to Dr Alan Papert (NZ Herald, November 6), I recall very similar words being said about the coalition that Jacinda Ardern put together with Labour, New Zealand First and the Greens in 2017. It lasted and so, too, will this.
One must remember Chris Luxon has had extensive business experience and will have had many difficult situations to deal with. This new coalition is just another situation for him to deal with.
Janet Boyle, Orewa.
Riveting spectacle
Has there ever been a more triumphal and riveting spectacle of international cricket than the current Cricket World Cup? And what a contrast with its close cousin the Rugby World Cup. Cricket, for all of its complex and arcane rules, is remarkably free from rugby’s hemisphere-driven division over its laws, its refereeing and the vexatious scrum and tackle controversies.
Cricket crowds are huge and engaged, rugby crowds are more fractious and invariably become confused over on-field rulings. Rugby has a lot to learn from cricket, which well before horse racing in the 18th Century was titled the original “Sport of Kings”.
Larry Mitchell, Auckland.
Green approach
K. Taylor (NZ Herald, November 4) mentions the necessity of the Green Party talking to Christopher Luxon as to a coalition with National being a relentless voice for the environment. What is not mentioned is that the Green Party has largely abandoned any realistic environmental concepts for those that will cause economic chaos in New Zealand.
Further, the Green Party’s policy of a wealth tax (which has incidentally been abandoned in most countries that have tried it) is so draconian that very many ordinary hard working New Zealanders would be so affected that their yearly income would be fully taken up paying the wealth tax. Accordingly they would need to annually sell assets for living costs. Farmers, for instance, owning their valuable properties with probably a mortgage, have only livestock to sell, with a resulting diminishing stock numbers annually. Total madness.
Appealing to voters who want change for change’s sake, punitive taxes, and the altruistic young, the Green Party is these days nothing more than an ultra-left failure compared with earlier times.
Hylton Le Grice, Remuera.
Good and bad
Fifa has trampled its own bylaws to accommodate a Saudi Arabian bid. Its rotation policy, whereby each continental confederation has a turn to bid for the cup meant it would be Africa’s turn in 2030, South America in 2034 and Europe in 2038. Only by cynically shoe-horning all three confederations to co-host the 2030 Cup could room be made for Saudi, a member of the Asian Confederation, to host in 2034.
Secondly, to avoid the problem of white-elephant stadiums after a World Cup, member associations “must propose a minimum of 14 suitable stadiums, of which at least seven must be existing stadiums”. This was recently altered to four existing stadiums which, surprise, surprise, is what Saudi Arabia will have after hosting the Asian Cup in 2027.
Despite these flagrant transgressions, and all of the other objections listed in your Saturday editorial, a World Cup hosted in Saudi promises to be a fantastic spectacle. In purely football terms, last year’s tournament in Qatar was the best-ever World Cup, and there is no reason to think that Saudi will be any different.
Peter Jansen, Mission Bay.
Scoring tries
All credit to the Springboks for winning their fourth Rugby World Cup.
However, according to Phil Gifford in Sunday’s Herald, the Boks have only scored two tries in all four World Cup finals they have won and those two were in the final against England in 2019. Also, the All Blacks have been the only team to score a try against them in a final.
This shows that the Boks know how to win finals rugby by using mind-numbing defensive tactics. This includes having seven forwards on an eight-man reserve bench and using rolling mauls as a potent attacking force. Surely this is not good for the game? Rugby should be about scoring tries, not capitalising on opponents’ mistakes and kicking goals. No wonder people are turning away from the game.
Bernard Walker, Papamoa.
Kiwis superior with oval ball
The best country at rugby in New Zealand versus Australia has always been New Zealand. For example in the Rugby World Cup recently, New Zealand almost won the final, while Australia did not even make the playoffs.
But Australia has always been the very best of the two in league, until New Zealand’s record 30-0 win over the Kangaroos on Saturday night in Hamilton, where for the very first time, Australia did not score even a solitary point. Why?
Maybe New Zealand is the best team at both games from now on. It is time.
Murray Hunter, Titirangi.
Flaw in Nats’ worker approach
Tim Allen can’t get workers for his construction company (HoS November 5) and we probably all know why.
My generation had wives, kids and mortgages in our early twenties and it was harder to turn down work, however undesirable it was. People of that age now — prime construction worker age — are largely unencumbered, and with National saying they will do away with fair pay, why would anyone apply for work?
Allen should explain his and many other employers’ problem with National’s proposals to the PM-elect.
Mark Nixon, Remuera.
Energy reset
The Inside Story by Jamie Gray (Business Herald, November 4) gives voice to murmurings energy players make on how our new Government coalition will reset the energy sector’s focus.
It is something many of us will await with baited breath, especially those involved in trying to explain what will happen to our world, our country, if we don’t take heed of what we have to do — stop the use of fossil fuels. But the article is not about this. Instead, the energy sector is making positive noises regarding the reintroduction of oil mining prospects again and looking at the use of oil as a backstop.
There seems to be a concentration on how they can continue as normal with this change of political thinking that puts implications of climate change on the back burner. The comment by Meridian Energy chief Neal Barclay supports this view when stating how “this Government will take a fuel-and technology agnostic approach to achieving its climate change targets”. In other words, stand in a safe spot and do little. Scientists would say we don’t have time for this.
Emma Mackintosh, Birkenhead.
On Winston
We understand Winston went to the dentist who told him he needed a crown. He replied “at last, someone who understands me”.
Robert Bicker, Gulf Harbour.
On Guy Fawkes
I’m so glad we celebrate an English king’s escape of assassination from over 400 years ago by annoying our neighbours and terrifying our pets.
Huw Dann, Mt Eden.
On communication
If David Seymour can’t get an appointment set up with Winston Peters ... then we, the silent majority, can’t hope for much co-operation between the trio destined to rule our lives for three years.
Rob Buchanan, Kerikeri.
On advice
The American economy is doing well. I suspect Joe Biden has good advisers that he listens to. My sampling of the adult population in New Zealand indicates poor knowledge of simple percentages and of big numbers. I hope our advisors are knowledgeable, numerate and that the Government listens to them.
Keith Duggan, Browns Bay.
On baby Ru
The simple answer to the death of infant children such as Baby Ru is to make those responsible liable to receive the death penalty.
I bet the number of child fatalities would drop overnight.
Bruce Woodley, Birkenhead.
He was caught trying to trade gift vouchers for sex with a 14yo, police say.