Once Were Warriors, starred Rena Owen as Beth and Temuera Morrison as Jake. Photo / Supplied, File
A New Zealand film based on poverty, alcoholism and family violence in the home. A film made 27 years ago. The same problems are still there in our family homes, if not at a worsened level.
I was shocked to hear that this Government has allocated another 25 years to addressing these issues in the family home. In 2014, it was estimated the cost to taxpayers was up to $7 billion per annum and, in the following 10 years, could reach a cost of $80 billion.
We are at that point now and 27 years on from "Once Were Warriors" things are no better.
I wonder if this Government is not just fobbing off another lengthy period of time to once again do nothing to improve this serious situation. Not only that but also another huge expense to the taxpayer going forward just to keep certain government agencies and officials in a job for the next two and a half decades.
It's easy for Marama Davidson to allocate this timeframe but I doubt she'll be around in politics to see its end. What a problem and what a poor response to the problem.
Awesome Auckland
At times, it has been hard to watch the rest of New Zealand going about their daily lives; seeing their families; meeting up with friends; going to the gym; having their hair cut, and children actually going to school.
The only consolation is that Team Auckland has shared this with me and have got vaccinated in large numbers in a very short space of time to help keep us all safe.
A team that I am sure on some levels, having endured these hardships, will be so much stronger as we prepare for a future of living with the virus.
We have done the hard yards and kept New Zealand safe. For Team Auckland: Thank you, for going though this with me and understanding just how hard it has been.
Robin Harrison, Takapuna.
At all costs
Re: John Roughan "Who said we'd never see another John Key?" For 300,000 years, homo sapiens lived as hunter-gathers, spreading in waves from Africa, colonising all corners of Earth, including eventually New Zealand. We couldn't do much harm; we didn't have the
power. Then the climate stabilised and we started farming.
We found fossil fuels, which could give one man the power of a hundred horses. Machines and capitalism have given us riches beyond the dreams of ancient kings. Profit was key and Key was the prophet.
But every good thing comes to an end, and the planet is not a warehouse stocked by the supernatural for man to pluck.
For Christopher Luxon, the future is technology, growth and lower taxes. Being conservative means always trying the same thing over and over, and as the great quantum
physicist Wolfgang Pauli might have said, "No, Herr Luxon, you're not even wrong."
Dennis N Horne, Howick.
Business first
Correspondent Zain Khan (Weekend Herald, December 4) claims Christopher Luxon is a great leader, he is humble, experienced in leading with charisma, and delivering for all.
In actual fact he is anything but humble, inexperienced in politics, and has no charisma whatsoever.
His criticisms of the Government's Covid response show that he only supports his business friends who want all business and borders opened up with no restrictions and he appears to have no regard for the deaths that such a policy causes whenever it has been tried by overseas countries.
David Mairs, Glendowie.
Not so Kiwi-as
I've lived most of my life in the United States and roughly 16 years here in New Zealand. This outside/inside status comes with advantages and disadvantages.
The main disadvantage is it's easy to get things wrong. It was years in Dunedin before I could tell Marmite from Vegemite.
The chief advantage is we can spot things that born-heres miss. Why? Because to them, they just feel natural, right. To us, they clank.
This week, I watched and listened to Christopher Luxon's first Parliamentary debate. It wasn't Luxon's performance (which I found repetitive and surprisingly stuck in pre-prepped questions, thanks for asking) nor Jacinda's retorts (I keep forgetting how bloody smart she is) that caught my attention.
It was the parliamentary style, which seems to involve a lot of raucous cheering from supporters and fake derisive laughter from opponents.
To me, it felt not only out of time and place in today's Aotearoa but actually uncomfortable to the parliamentarians. Listen, and see if they don't sound ... embarrassed. Awkward. Forced to go through the motions.
I don't have a new parliamentary style to offer, just the observation that this feels outdated; un-useful; un-attractive; and distinctly un-Kiwi.
Jules Older, Mt Albert.
Must do better
I genuinely felt sorry for Christopher Luxon during his debut as Opposition Leader. He may improve (hopefully) but it was a very weak performance in terms of oratory and strategy. He was nowhere in same league as Jacinda Ardern.
Even Nicola Willis has to co-ordinate her nodding better.
Promoting a one-year MP as a potential PM is an insult to the intelligence of all NZers.
Roger Laybourn, Hamilton.
Just ad confusion
On behalf of the average TV viewer I would like to thank the advertising industry for attempting to expand our minds or raise our IQ. Watching people in strange disguises shout at each other across a busy highway really exercised our brain cells. Could there be a more complex answer to this bizarre scene? As a public service ad is this the best use of our tax dollar? Shouldn't the funds be better spent solving the problems of the All Blacks or the Black Caps? And as for Lotto. Those people at the South Pole are using their imaginations to the Nth degree at zero degrees. Should we just think of buying a ticket instead of acting on the impulse? Come home Spot, all is forgiven. With these and other perplexing ads I can feel my mind expanding. Soon I may even understand the Covid traffic light system. At least the Briscoe's lady remains delightfully unchanged, even when visiting Lilliput.
Roger Pheasant, Whitianga.
How about free weekend parking or free bus or train transport into Auckland City to help us support hospitality businesses that have suffered with road closures and lockdowns? Annette Nicholls, Mt Eden.
The usual suspects say Luxon is adding to the housing crisis by having four rental properties. How about a change of headline: "Chris Luxon provides rental homes for four families"? June Kearney, West Harbour.
Open Auckland up in a green light setting? – yeah right. With all those children unvaccinated? Paul Cheshire, Maraetai.
In this world of "wokeness", authors are criticised for writing fiction as we once knew it (Canvas, December 4). I'm waiting for the PC brigade to demand I remove some of the classics from my bookshop shelves. Wendy Tighe-Umbers, Parnell.
An anagram of Omicron may be moronic, however an anagram of Omicron Delta combined is Media Control. Looking forward to the next variant. Glenn Forsyth, Taupō.
It is ludicrous that Kiwi Rail cannot mandate vaccination passports on their trains. Why do the recalcitrant minority again get to spoil the fun of the compliant majority? Fiona McAllister, Mt Maunganui.
America's choice to slavishly support an antiquated 2nd Amendment right to bear arms is destroying the country from within. Mary Hearn, Glendowie.
They might be able to put up roadblocks but hundreds of Aucklanders are boarding their yachts and launches for an extended cruise. Good luck with that. Dave Miller, Matua.
Why is the Government blamed for people not getting the jab? How is that the Government's fault? Peter Henderson, Waiuku.
Given that local councils have poisoned and even killed ratepayers with contaminated water, central government would be hard-pressed to do worse. C.C. McDowall, Rotorua.
We will never pay less for our fresh water than we are paying today. The same could well be said for our recycled/wastewater charges. There will be no going back once Three Waters take over council services. Bruce Kay, Hillsborough.
A recent injury has revealed for me the current most precious part of the human body. It is the tip of the finger used on your smartphone to either open it, scan QR Tracer, and now to reveal your Vaccine Pass. Nick Nicholas, Greenlane.
Mayor Wayne Brown unveils the driver safety screens being rolled out on Auckland buses. Video / Carson Bluck