Letters: Provide incentives to upskill - but only when appropriate; Christopher Luxon’s te reo lessons; Government priorities

The key point about incentives for upskilling is that rewards should only be offered when doing so can help provide a better business outcome, writes one reader. Photo / Judith Lacy

Just as it is normal for new employees with higher relevant qualifications to start on a higher pay scale, it is normal for companies to encourage existing staff to upskill in role-relevant skills. Some offer a bonus on completion, some even subsidise studies. However, the important and key point is that this is only done for skills that help to provide a better business outcome — that is, relevant skills. Sadly, some members of the media seem to have purposely tried to misunderstand this concept and are trying to create a race relations issue out of thin air. The NZ public objected to government departments having a blanket rule to pay a bonus for gaining language proficiency in a language most of them do not require for their role. It is — yet again — poor use of public funds and poor management. By all means, provide incentives to upskill staff, but please ensure this only happens when it relates to skills relevant to the role and thus improves the outcomes.

Lucas Bonne, Unsworth Heights.

Luxon should persevere

The use of te reo Māori appears to have caused strong responses when it was discovered the PM used public funding to learn te reo (NZ Herald, December 19). This points more to Christopher Luxon’s status as a rookie politician rather than a display of hypocrisy, as he’s discovering every utterance, every action, can create painful but survivable minefields to avoid. Reversing many of the previous government’s more “liberal” policies satisfies NZ First and Act’s constituencies, but does little for the irritation the Prime Minister must feel rubbing up against the rock and the hard place of his coalition partners. It’s obvious they treat the everyday use of the Māori language with antipathy and suspicion, and it’s to be hoped Luxon perseveres with his te reo lessons. Its status as an official NZ language needs to be preserved, and a bonus is that learning te reo also helps one to further understand Māori culture. That can only serve to enhance and support race relations in Aotearoa.

Mary Hearn, Glendowie.

What about real problems?

I fail to see why the press is lambasting our Prime Minister for taking free te reo Māori lessons. If anyone has the inclination to learn, Google “free Māori lessons”. They are readily available. Your article is just leftist nitpicking. Get on with trying to fix real-world problems in NZ like homelessness, poverty and food security (trying to encourage people to eat healthily would be a better use of your newsprint).

Lynne Lagan, Takapuna.

Send a Christmas card

Bonnie Robinson’s comment “Loneliness hits hard at Christmas — you can help” (NZ Herald, December 19) was very timely and an excellent reminder of how we can all help in some way to alleviate feelings of loneliness in families and those living on their own, especially the elderly. In part, Robinson says: “At Presbyterian Support Northern, we make a conscious effort to reach out and recognise the importance of connection with Christmas cards to all our clients.” Nowadays, with people having such busy lives and social media being so much a part of them, it’s very easy to forget the pleasure of finding a Christmas card in the letterbox, and this is especially so for the elderly. It’s a physical reminder someone has thought of them and taken the time to choose and send a card. Hopefully, this tradition won’t disappear.

Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.

Transport alternatives

Infrastructure and Housing Minister Chris Bishop has announced a second Mount Victoria tunnel will “create exciting opportunities for more urban development and housing”. Sounds like there will be more cars on the road. Exactly what is needed to reduce congestion, unless there is more encouragement for all those extra commuters to use alternatives. Let’s ask Transport Minister Simeon Brown about that.

Morgan L. Owens, Manurewa.

Government’s focus

One week, the new Government cancels the $2 billion Wellington to Picton ferry and terminal upgrade programme (with design costs already incurred) as it’s deemed to not have a strong enough business case, despite it being a major transport link with 50-year-old terminals that are only marginally fit for purpose and 30-year-old ferries with questionable reliability and increasing maintenance costs.

The next week, a second tunnel for Mt Victoria — which isn’t supported by the local mayor and is also budgeted at $2b — is approved by the same Government. Does the new Government really have a better focus than the previous one regarding delivering the best return on investments of taxpayer funds?

Jon Eriksen, Parnell.

No validity

The editorial on the Treaty of Waitangi (NZ Herald, December 18) assumes the English version of the Treaty which was on display in Te Papa should have equal status to the Māori-language version. However, if I sign a document in my own language because I do not understand the foreign language, it does not matter whether the year is 1840 or 2023 - I cannot be bound to the version of the document written in the language which I do not understand. Furthermore, the English language version displayed by Te Papa was a poor representation of the Māori version, which was signed by an overwhelming number of Māori signatories. Apparently, it was Hobson’s early draft, a wishlist. It does not have real validity.

Carrick Bernard, Mount Albert.