Letters: Rising food prices, teacher support and the brilliant Breakers

Food prices have risen steeply lately. Photo / 123RF

Letters to the Editor

Letter of the week: As food prices soar, institute a tax break

As food prices have soared by 12 per cent in the past year, the only possible answer to help people on low incomes is to make the first $20,000 earned each year tax-free, which, with both parents working as they must do now, will give every family over $4000 extra every year to meet these exorbitant food prices. Chris Hipkins must do that now, effective on April 1 for the new tax year. We all need it. It makes perfect sense. Murray Hunter, Titirangi

Healthcare not Aussie wealthcare

Liam Dann’s comments on the New Zealand banking system (HoS, March 12) makes sense, we have ourselves to blame as it is New Zealanders who support the Australian Banking system. It is time for the Government to put people first with a working system of healthcare, before the wealthcare of Australians. Gary Russell, Parnell

Teachers deserve support

A huge thank you to everyone who supported the teachers on their history-making strike. To those who didn’t support it, would you want to be a teacher? If not, why not? Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth

CRL blowout to blow out?

Initially, Auckland’s City Rail Link was estimated to cost $3.4 billion. It’s only 3.4 kilometres long, so that’s $1 million per metre of rail. Now the estimated cost is $5.493b, however, completion is still two years away. I reckon by then the cost will be double the original estimate, $6.8b, which is $2m per metre of rail. Imagine a similar cost explosion with today’s $20b estimate for the city-to-airport light rail project. I pity the tax/rate payers who will have to pay for it. Mark van Praagh, Hobsonville Point

Nothing wrong with MOW

Regarding Steve Thomas’ comments (HoS, March 12), I never once in 27 years with MOW was told to “sit down and do nothing until the superintendent appeared”. If that had been the case, how did all these power stations get built? Anyway the MOW supervisors were either foremen or overseers, not superintendents.

I couldn’t agree more to Gerry Beckingsale’s comments (HoS, March 12). There are nine hydro electric power stations on the Waikato River, all built by the MOW. I worked on four of these, Maraetai, Atiamuri, Whakamaru, Waipapa and then Matahina in the Bay of Plenty as rigger, foreman and overseer. The MOW built whole towns for their workforce a lesson could be learned here regarding the housing shortage.

If it had not been for the privatisation by Richard Prebble and Roger Douglas in 1988, we would not be paying such high prices for electric power today. This also goes for natural gas. The MOW built the Kapuni, Maui Gas and other pipelines. We had some of the best engineers in the world designing and constructing these projects.

Furthermore, If the MOW had still been in operation, they would have been in a position to provide bailey bridges (as they had stockpiles) as a temporary replacement for some of the washed-out bridges during Cyclone Gabrielle. E G Bennett, Red Beach

Retail anomalies

Admittedly it is a bit of a drive for our large buy ups to stretch our dollar, but at a big retail store in Auckland this week we paid $12.98 for 3kg bags of orange kūmara, however, see the same product up to $10.99/kg at other places. Why do we continually dance around the subject of the huge anomalies in retail produce prices when competing retailers will be paying similar prices from the growers and markets. Why are media not talking about this in a more open forum?

New Zealand is a small pond with three big sharks in it – the banks, the duopoly in our grocery sector, and the petrol we pay at the pump. These sharks rule the roost, and the government is now supporting the two supermarket retailers here to become wholesalers to businesses — how anti-competitive and controlling is this? God help us.

Meanwhile, as a struggling family, we will continue to shop around, leaving no stone unturned, ferreting out the best deals. We must, it’s survival of the fittest now, and if us masses can create competition by being savvy, that is a good thing. Glenn Forsyth, Taupō

Alex Strahan, 8, picketing outside Fraser Cove during the teachers' strike in Tauranga. Photo / Andrew Warner

Teachers’ poor timing

Teachers have a right to take action for better pay and conditions. However, this action is poorly timed and not well thought out. The country is still reeling from the Covid pandemic, where businesses went under and people lost their jobs. Now we have to contend with the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle. Any sympathy teachers might have had for their cause will be lost as a result of the pain and disruption these events have brought about. Also, there are the problems of our students lacking skills in numeracy and literacy with New Zealand having some of the lowest rates in the OECD, and of truancy which has reached pandemic proportions with 54per cent of students not attending school on a regular basis.Perhaps a better way to focus on the problem would be to have open days in each school throughout New Zealand, with classes on a designated Saturday morning for two or three hours, with a discussion on teacher grievances and a question and answer period with parents, caregivers and other interested parties afterwards. Maybe some parents may not be able to attend as they work on a Saturday, but overall it might also indicate the level of understanding, support and care the general public have for the education of their children without the inconvenience of strike action and sending, one would hope, a more positive message to the government in an election year. Bernard Walker, Pāpāmoa

Brilliant Breakers

This is a huge thank you to the New Zealand Breakers coach Mody Maor. I’m a basketball guy and of late I haven’t had much to cheer about. But this season, under your guidance, the Breakers have been sensational and an absolute pleasure to watch, so thank you. Nice job.

Now if you could weave your magic on Stephen Adams and convince him to suit up for the Tall Blacks ... well then wouldn’t that be grand! John Dybvig, St Heliers

Cheer up

How blessed some people are if all they have to worry about is whether or not Kane Williamson smiles? Lorna Lyons, Henderson

Not really gone

When is a dismissal not a dismissal? Ask Mr Nash. He is supposedly sacked but still gets to stay in Parliament and look after his other portfolios and no doubt his salary is unaffected. Imagine this happening anywhere else? If you are sacked you leave the organisation. Talk about a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket. Jock MacVicar, Hauraki

Help out

When will Dr Reti leave Parliament and go back up North and be a GP again and help with the situation he is constantly on about? Sue Gallahar, Māngere East