Is the sun setting on the mighty Ports of Auckland? File photo / Jason Oxenham
How can spending billions to build road and rail infrastructure to unload goods from ships in Whangārei and then move the goods to Auckland possibly make better economic sense?
It needs to be recognised that Auckland is a working city as well as being a place to
live, it can't all be parks and entertainment. No working, no living.
London currently ranks third in the UK, In terms of number of containers, after the ports of Southampton and Felixstowe
The Port of Melbourne is the largest port for containerised and general cargo in Australia.
Sydney's Port Botany is one of Australia's largest container ports.
Port of Brisbane is the shipping port and coastal suburb of Brisbane.
Show me a major coastal city in the world with a harbour that does not have a major port facility.
Auckland needs a working port to function effectively.
Rail in New Zealand hasn't been economically viable since the combustion engine became readily available and yet a big part of this proposal relates to rail. If petrol is on the way out, it will be replaced by road-going vehicles that use another power source, not by rail. Yet some people persist with the delusion that somehow rail freight will make a comeback.
What has happened to common sense?
Steven Bryce, Pakuranga.
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Here we go again, arguing about school zones (NZ Herald, November 13). Parents should be able to choose to send their children to their local school or the school of their choice.
For Chris Hipkins to say that children do better at "richer" schools is a disgrace. Some of the best teachers work in low-decile schools.
The reason children are perceived to do better in richer areas could well be that parents in those areas value education more and assist their children to not only have high attendance rates but a positive approach to learning.
All teachers try to bring the best out of their students.
Katherine Swift, Kohimarama.
I remember being taught at school that statistics was the science of mis-using maths to prove relationships. A good example is the attempt to argue that, because the number of suicides has increased in those countries in which voluntary euthanasia is lawful, its legalisation was the or a major cause of that increase (NZ Herald, November 12).
There is a range of reasons for suicide including health, family and social pressure, stress and cyberbullying to mention but a few and each of these affects different ages to a greater or lesser extent. I doubt that those considering suicide for any of the above reasons seriously decides whether to go ahead or not on whether to do so would be legal or illegal. Surely it would be better if our lawmakers and those concerned with our mental health analysed wherever possible the factors that influence suicide and take action to alleviate or remove those influences rather than fall back on that over-common practice of the few using the law to tell the many what to do.
Gerald Payman, Mt Albert.
David Seymour answers the question of whether making it legal for people to seek help in easing out of this world increases the incidence of suicide. His answer quotes the outcome of Parliament's 2016 Select Committee into the topic. That Committee, having evaluated the research, produced "a resounding no", with Health Ministry officials indicating that there is no evidence for the belief that suicide does increase.
Belief is what it is, and that is reinforced by Dion Howard's admission that what he calls evidence is in fact anecdotal. That's another term for "opinion". David Seymour quotes what has actually happened elsewhere in the world, while Dion quotes his own opinion. I know which one gets my respect.
Susan Grimsdell, Auckland Central.
It was interesting to view the Parliament voting chamber on TV. The debate was over the right to end your life, and I doubt if there was 12 politicians in attendance.
How can members make a decision on such an important matter if they do not hear the speakers debate on the subject?
I wonder what they were doing that was so important?
They obviously have made up their minds, and don't believe they need to hear anybody else's point of view. How arrogant.
Bob Wichman, Botany.
"Beauty is truth" wrote Keats.
I am deeply saddened by the seemingly ineluctable removal of many beautiful trees and shrubs, along with their history, across our urban landscapes. Not only avian and other life systems adapted to/by them are being destroyed; gone are the vision and craft remains of gardeners and botanists. Gone too will be the psychological uplift that so many folk are given, as seasons change.
Every week, I mourn the removal of a row of flowering cherries which, until recently, lined an entry to Salisbury Park in Herne Bay.
My guess is that those presently holding the policy reins have not had their eyes opened to botanical splendour, nor do they realise how much its absence affects daily life.
I can only hope these truths could become beauty.
Juliet Leigh, Pt Chevalier.
I am privileged to own one of the most stunning exotic trees in Auckland. It is a giant copper beech and is reputed to be in excess of 130 years old. There is nothing more beautiful than to experience the start of spring each year as the bare branches turn, in a matter of days, into rich red-brown foliage, there to remain for the following six months.
Most native trees, with the exception of pohutukawa and few others, tend to be both slow-growing and a very bland variety of green. There is room for all.
The Tūpuna Maunga Authority needs to learn that diplomacy and compromise will ensure that it takes the wider community with it. Even worse it is ratepayers money that is being used to further its ideologies on Mt Albert and elsewhere.
When faceless bureaucrats operate in such a dogmatic manner they need to realise that, while they may eventually win the battle, they will be widely despised for doing so
Denis Drumm, Mt Albert.
As a married couple we have enjoyed our double superannuation for years. We can live fairly comfortably on that. Well, we can pay our bills on time and replace worn out appliances (sometimes) and eat basic foods.
Our budget doesn't stretch far enough to go to restaurants or have holidays, watch Netflix, get new curtains and furniture, buy the clothes we really want or pamper myself at the beauty salon.
Soon, I may face the prospect of having to cut our fortnightly payments in half, if my husband goes into care. I'll still need to pay the same rates, house insurance, telephone account, electricity etc ... on a single person's superannuation, and maybe a little more, but not enough.
Then I'll need to shop strategically, or more strategically than before. I don't know if I'll be able to eat healthy food, or turn the lights on at night.
I definitely won't be able to replace worn out electrical goods, so I'll be scrubbing clothes with a brush and Sunlight soap, drinking Coca-Cola instead of coffee, washing dishes by hand, hanging clothes on the line, and getting fish and chips or salads because my stove is out of order. Well, it could happen, couldn't it?
Ailsa Martin-Buss, Glen Innes.
As someone who has lived in many cities around the world and used overhead transport systems, I applaud
on Sky Cabs (NZ Herald, November 11). They are low-cost to build and operate, quiet, electric-powered, very efficient, aesthetically pleasing and use modern technology, including some Kiwi invention.
Their use in Auckland would see a dramatic reduction in transport woes and they could be used for transport to the airport along the proposed light rail route without causing major reduction in road width. If hung under the harbour bridge, they would provide a much needed alternative way of traveling from the North Shore to the CBD. The possibilities are endless and it amazes me that this form of transport is not at the forefront of transport planning.
Rick Aitken, Tauranga.
Eric Strickett (NZ Herald, November 14) is quite right that controlled burn-offs in the cool season, every year, is a preventative of massive forest blazes fuelled by the build-up of material on the forest floor. Mr Strickett should also have mentioned that this was common practice in Australia until neo-pagan Greenies with far too much power, insisted that this was mankind unnaturally tampering with nature. The same goes for clearing "breaks" of sufficient size around housing.
All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing. Good men are remaining silent about the facts because they fear the consequences for themselves, of opposing the evil. The progressive, feminist icon Germaine Greer puts many to shame, in having the courage to repeatedly speak out about this, incurring the shunning and slanders that freezes even the majority of centre-right politicians in their tracks. Shame on them.
Phil Hayward, Lower Hutt.
On generations
Our "silent" generation began anti-nuclear, and anti-war protests long before the "boomers" took over. We were the change generation, the movers and shakers of our time. Bruce B Owen, Bombay.
The children who are having a go at boomers may find that their parents are quietly laughing at them by spending their children's inheritance. Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.
On trees
"I speak for the trees," said the Lorax, as he surveyed an ocean of tree stumps leading off into the distant horizon. John Watkins, Remuera.
Our early settlers sadly destroyed a lot of native species of both flora and fauna trying to recreate a little England in the south seas. It is long overdue to reverse the process. A J MacKenzie, Rotorua.
On ports
Putting Winston Peters and Shane Jones in charge of Ports of Auckland plan is putting the foxes in charge of the hen house. John Roxburgh, Mission Bay.
On Lyons
I just love how down to earth and clearly Peter Lyons expresses his ideas, such that mere mortals like us understand his point. Colleen McMurchy, Onehunga.
On choice
It is appalling that so many MPs had obviously not bothered to read the End of Life Choice bill. But at least we now know who you are. Glennys Adams, Waiheke Island.
As a doctor I'm disappointed. However, I'm comforted that it is restricted to those with a terminal illness with less than six months and the public hospital waiting list will soon blow out to nine months. Matthew Farrant, Whangarei
I, the expert, want the right to say "yes" for me. It is humane to release the tortured soul.
Richard Ghent, Freeman's Bay.
Motorists are advised to follow diversions and expect delays.