Worth every cent
Having recently spent seven weeks in Waikato Hospital for spinal surgery I can only say how commendable I found the staff and the care I received, right from the highly skilled surgical team through to the post-operative nursing. It goes without saying that these health professionals are a dedicated special breed of human beings for which government funding should be a priority rather than having to go to Andrew Little begging with cap in hand, especially when our taxes are being wasted in so many other unjustified areas. Many thanks to all my wonderful carers.
Warren Cossey, Morrinsville.
No escape
I drove around a million kilometres while working for Corporate Cabs up to about 2018, and one thing I learned was if you got a traffic fine, you just paid up.
I only got three in all those kilometres. All pathetically farcical, I may add.
It's a futile exercise writing an explanatory letter to Auckland Transport or others. So when I received my fine (and photo evidence of my crime) from a Newmarket "trap" in the mail, I drove back into Newmarket to note how I had "done what I had done".
It is a deliberate trap, (once only though), and impossible to get out of if you are legally in the correct lane, at that point, at the lights. Unless you want to cause an accident at the lights and have to push out into the legal lane because a bus driver behind you is leaning on his horn, and you have nowhere else to go except, as I now note for the first time ever, that directly in front of me is a bus-only lane, with the added insult of a fixed lane camera.
I'm done, so I just paid up. Another $150+ as one of the 80 (unknown at the time) unsuspecting drivers on my said day.
I don't go that way anymore, Newmarket has lost another customer.
Dan Kearney, Onehunga.
Leaky pipes
Advocates for the Three Waters Reforms have begun pointing to water losses of about 20 per cent as a reason why the new system is needed.
Every water system around the world has significant water losses - averaging around the 20 per cent mark. For example, the official losses in the UK are 22 per cent, Sweden 17 per cent, France 30 per cent, etc. Some countries claim better results, such as Australia (10 per cent), Canada (13 per cent), Finland (15 per cent) - but no country has zero leakage.
The explanation is not hard to understand. Almost all water supply pipes are underground, out of sight. The ground is constantly moving in various ways, putting strain on pipes and their connections and leading to leaks that may often take years or even decades to detect and pinpoint.
The US has about 250,000 leaks reported every year.
It would be possible to make our water supply network more resistant to such leaks, but "gold plating" the system would cost an absolute fortune far in excess of the value of the water losses.
So, some degree of water loss is inevitable. While we can always do better, Three Waters is most unlikely to make much difference.
Graeme Easte, Mt Albert.
History revisited
Paul Cheshire's letter (NZ Herald, April 29) suggests New Zealand was governed well till 1949 and governed poorly from 1949 to 1999. Not quite right.
New Zealand has been governed poorly from the beginning. That did not matter when we were being carried by Britain. We just sent our produce over there and got paid handsomely.
When Britain joined the EEC in 1973, we were then allowed a quota of our exports into Britain but basically, we were on our own. The fuel shocks of the 70s decade were next.
Then we started on Robert Muldoon's "Think Big" projects. That was a bold move and many of us disapproved. We were wrong. Those projects are still working today, except that today we are shutting down the oil and gas exploration, and the Marsden Point Refinery.
We then had the 1987 crash followed in 1990 by three terms of National. Jim Bolger sold off "Think Big". The right thing to do, because governments do not run business well. Bolger, along with the first two terms of the Helen Clark Government, were possibly the best governments we have had.
That does not mean they were excellent governments, just better than the rest.
Colin Bull, Clevedon.
Saw point
The opinion piece by the Tūpuna Maunga Authority (NZ Herald, April 29) made valid points yet missed the concern of many. I think most people appreciate the restoration of heritage values. The issue is one of the trees - the value of the exotics currently standing and our desire for them not to be immediately annihilated.
Where is the understanding of the value of these trees with their large beautiful branches for birds and shelter, their changing leaves, their value to the environment, water retention, clean air, and mental health for us all. How ironic that in a week where mental health was highlighted, the value of trees, the peace and joy they bring was not even mentioned. Despite all the horrors of the world the sound that gives me PTSD is that of a chainsaw starting up, having seen so many 100-year-old trees reduced to a million wood chips in a matter of hours. It does little to engender our trust in co-governance, which is a shame.
Samantha Cunningham, Henderson.
Watch this space
News emerged last week that the Government is leasing an empty office on Auckland's waterfront at a cost of around $600,000 a year, intended to house the project team for the now-cancelled bike and pedestrian bridge over the Harbour.
Perhaps this space could be used instead for a new team formed to identify and eliminate wasteful Government spending.
Jonathan Jepson, Torbay.
Short & sweet
On maunga
The chair and deputy chair of the Tūpuna Maunga Authority (NZH, April 29) claim the authority is "comfortable it has fulfilled its obligations to notify and consult". The robust critique of this process offered by the Court of Appeal found it had not. David Marshall, Mt Albert.
On Musk
No wonder Elon Musk sees no problem with "free" speech. He is the one person on the planet who is least vulnerable to hateful words, being white, male, and super-rich. Susan Grimsdell, Auckland Central.
On houses
Vancouver City Council will, from next year, tax empty homes at 5 per cent per annum of the assessed value. If only our Government had the gumption to do that. Rex Beer,Manly.
On offenders
In her letter, Fiona Gray (NZH, April 29) wrote about the likely excuses that will be made for the young ram-raiders. I add to her list; that there will be the usual call for cultural reports. P Harlen, Mt Maunganui.
Congratulations to Fiona Gray for her letter (NZH, April 29). It was spot on and took the words right out of my mouth. Sue Bentley, Pakuranga.
Excellent letters from Fiona Gray and Lorraine Kidd (NZH, April 29). Those kids need to be dealt with firmly otherwise there will be an epidemic. Sheryl Smith, Warkworth.
Is it always someone else's fault if your children run amok? Wendy Tighe-Umbers, Parnell.
The Premium Debate
Record low tipped for unemployment.
It's time Stats NZ stopped working from an international set of rules and told us the true unemployment figures. By not adding on the job seeker numbers - these people are still being paid by the taxpayer the same as the ones on the unemployment benefit - the true figure is a lot higher than politicians would have us believe, so maybe time for change but dreams are free for all of us I suppose. David S.
NZ is too reliant on low-paid jobs and this is a net drain on taxes. A worker on minimum wages with children generally needs the taxpayer to top up their income by $7000 per year and those on so-called "living wages" are tax-neutral i.e. pay zero taxes.
Unfortunately, the ideology of low wages with plentiful low-paid workers to choose from has failed as it's just as easy to be on a benefit or commit crimes instead of working for low wages.
NZ companies, instead of upgrading technology, use low-waged workers, causing some of the most stagnant productivity in the OECD, poor educational outcomes and one of the biggest brain drains in the world.
High-waged but fewer jobs are the future if NZ wants to maintain its wealth standards and not descend into the gun touting, crime-filled, divisive NZ that we are now seeing.Virginia S.
There is no reason for any able-bodied person to be on the dole in areas like Hawke's Bay or Te Puke while the fruit-picking season is on. Even if they only worked six months of the year they would still be immeasurably better off. Anna S.
Unemployed equals 3.9 per cent, the figure the Government keeps using. Jobseeker equals 6.1 per cent, which used to be called the "dole". The total unemployed in New Zealand is 10 per cent. We are so short of workers in New Zealand, we have to import them. On reflection, the operative word is "workers". Warren B.
