A speed limit sign. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Carrying on down the road
I wasn’t aware people in Mt Albert were concerned about road speeds in the Hawke’s Bay. What Stephen Buckland seemingly fails to understand is not all of the 76km section of the Napier-Taupo at 80km/h is unsafe. His three-hour delay is unfortunate, but it is no better in his hometown of Auckland where a return trip to work can take hours for many, even longer after a crash. Due to our summer flood, State Highway 5 is full of stop/go traffic lights, and our travel times are rather slow and tedious, but we box on.
John Ford, Napier.
Tenant workers
Our productivity is always in question as a political issue, not just at election time. But we don’t own a large proportion of our industries. In these, we work for overseas owners — in forestry, banking, tourism, dairy, healthcare, and many manufacturing and tech companies. We pay rent to overseas landlords. Profits are transferred overseas; huge amounts annually. Investment back into these industries is sometimes minimal. In all these areas, we have become “tenants in our own country” — something National’s John Key, when PM, said “we didn’t want to be”. He then encouraged that very thing, with his ideologically-driven policies to attract foreign investment, instead of incentivising development of our own internal resources, research and training structures. NZ workers are productive — they work hard — but mainly for the profitable benefit of our overseas owners, not for our country. A National/Act coalition, if elected, will return NZ to the same ideological, trickle-down policies that bring this about.
Clyde Scott, Birkenhead.
Poor outcomes
Dr Russell Wills in his article on child poverty (Herald, Sept 27) signals that services have had to work differently in order to cope with the effect of New Zealand’s diminishing GP workforce and clinicians have become more vocal about the effects of deprivation on families. Dr Laurie Knight in his submission to the select committee considering the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill (March 20, 2022) also cited research that showed social determinants of health for which the health system is not responsible have an important influence on health inequities. Knight believes restructuring the health system does not recognise those disadvantaged multi-ethnic non-Māori New Zealanders living in poverty. Knight, using available statistics, concludes that systemic racism is not the cause of Māori health issues, but without clarity around the actual causes of problems there can be no targeted solutions. Targets have become a dirty word in politics but sadly without these we will continue to go round and round in circles.
Glennys Adams, Oneroa.
Around the bloc
Chris Luxon has stated he will work with Winston Peters as a last resort. Surely the time has now come for Chris Hipkins to explain how he would form a left-bloc coalition. Both Te Pāti Māori and the Greens have made it very clear that a wealth tax is their bottom line. Hipkins has made it clear that a wealth tax will not have any place in Labour’s election manifesto. To have any hope of forming a “working” coalition either Hipkins, or the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, must back down. Hipkins made it very clear he is a man of principle, who would not consider changing the party’s stated policies after the election. The only way for a coalition to be formed would be for Hipkins to relinquish his position as Labour’s parliamentary leader (or sacrifice his principles.) This would be an extremely retrograde step for Labour; Hipkins’ ability is head and shoulders above any one else in the party. The public must be informed whether or not the left bloc will be in a position to form a coalition and how they intend to form it. We also deserve to know who would lead any such coalition.
Philip Lenton, Somerville.
Pending appeal
The report regarding the almost $900,000 spent on legal aid for these two despicable rapists is annoying enough but the prospect of another obscenely large sum of taxpayer money being spent on an appeal is infuriating. I also note that the above sum does not include the costs of police action and prosecution, also borne by the taxpayer. I understand and accept (admittedly with some reluctance) the logic behind legal aid being available, but costs of any appeal against a guilty verdict should be funded by the guilty party — perhaps to be refunded through legal aid if the appeal is successful. Surely if an appeal can be seen to have a chance of a successful outcome, there will be members of the legal fraternity willing to take on the work on a “paid if successful” basis.
John Kothe, Torbay.
Up for debate
Having looked at the first leaders debate and a subsequent debate between Grant Robertson and Nicola Willis on finance and the economy, I am left wondering at the low standard of debating skills exhibited by the contenders and the presenters. Why do they deem it necessary to talk over each other in order to make a point? The point generally gets lost in a cacophony of verbiage that generally makes no sense in context. These people are supposedly adults so they need to act like adults and not like the verbal equivalent of a bar room brawl. Politicians and presenters should look to secondary school debating competitions to see good debating skills exhibited in the context of a controlled environment where everyone’s opinion is respected and rebuttals given, in a civil, polite and courteous manner. In the lead up to an election voters don’t need a verbal free for all on issues pertinent to the future of our country.
Bernard Walker, Pāpāmoa.
Minor annoyance
This election — once again — is moving towards a minor party holding the balance of power. In 1996 this position was held by NZ First. Winston Peters was predicted to ally with Labour but held the country guessing until December before forming a coalition with National (between election night and December 10 the country did not have a government). From 2005 through to 2008 and 2017 through 2020, Peters sided with Labour despite having said he would go into coalition with the party which had gained the most votes. I think Peters is opportunistic, prepared to run with the wolves and hunt with the hounds and seeks power while denying such in the past as “the baubles of office”. Christopher Luxon is rightly careful in expressing how he “might” call on Peters in the event he needs NZ First to form a government, lest he is left with the tail wagging the dog.
Des Trigg, Rothesay Bay.
Fear factor
According to the Police Minister, the National Party is “scaring old ladies” by pointing out crime stats when they attend political rallies. What about the rest of the population? We have recently had the worst cases of street and shop crime in the last decade and the Minister’s reply was that National was " scaring old ladies”. So no one else is scared when their shop goods and future livelihood is stolen by street gangs and breaking shop frontages to steal goods? If polling day was brought forward to tomorrow there is little doubt which party would win a majority — and depletion of our police force by the Aussie media campaign will not help improve the statistics.
Bruce Woodley, Birkenhead.
Scare tactics
I am an old lady, and it is not Mark Mitchell who is scaring me but your government and their attitude and responses to crime!
Wendy Tighe-Umbers, Parnell.
Collateral damage
Dr Russell Wills’ call to highlight child poverty in this election is timely. He knows the reality of what can be life-long harm caused by poverty in childhood. It’s so strange that policies are being promoted to make things harder for struggling parents to raise their children in difficult circumstances when it is so obvious that precarious housing and employment, persistent illness and interrupted schooling prevail. The very idea that parenting itself is not valuable work is both ignorant and alarming, as former National MP Marilyn Waring noted in her book decades ago (Counting for Nothing: What Men Value and What Women are Worth). Our youngest citizens deserve the kindness and material support that elderly Kiwis receive. They should not be treated as collateral damage caused by making life even harder for parents on low incomes raising children in tough times. All our children matter and those with greatest need, matter most.
Janfrie Wakim, Epsom.
On coalition
National and Labour are both going to need a three-party coalition to form a government that has confidence and supply. But they could form a two-party grand coalition without the need for extremist partners. Do they have the guts to work together? Sadly, I doubt it. Peter D Graham, Helensville.
On questions
Why do interviewers demand simple answers to complex questions when they already know they can’t be answered.? Gotcha questions may seem a great idea to impress an audience with the interviewer’s superior intellect but it shows the exact opposite. James Archibald, Birkenhead.
On funding
Reading Dr Russell Wills’ article about child poverty (Sept 27) and in the same issue that $900,000 of taxpayers’ money was spent on the defence in court of two convicted serial rapists I thought “there is something seriously wrong here”. Anne Martin, Helensville.
The obscene amount of money spent in the defence of the Jaz rapists as opposed to the victims is yet another example of the injustice of the justice system. Ian Doube, Rotorua.
On tax
It is noticeable Luxon has dropped the questionable term “squeezed middle” and is now promising tax relief for “middle and low income earners”. It would be more honest of him to say “high and middle income earners”. Warren Drake, Orākei.
‘Be careful what you wish for’ as property market thaws out — economists
Between 2010- 2019 house prices almost doubled. This did not result in CPI exceeding 3 per cent. RBNZ never bothered to raise interest rates when house prices or demand went up. All it cares [about] is CPI — which only counts your grocery bill plus fuel plus wages, not mortgage or rents. Steve T
Had a builder at home and he said the regulatory costs of building a house had gone up by $40,000 in the last 12 months. Before one lump of dirt, one piece of timber or one nail has been bought. Roy H
I am not sure how people are committing to such large mortgages. I already own fully paid up home and need to upgrade as family has grown but too scary when I work out numbers. Roy K
Good article. The property market is on the turn, and with the CCCFA amended the banks are lending more. The reality is the RB has put rates up too high and the general economy will struggle if they continue, so the property market will be hard to be checked with interest rate rises. Owning property is in Kiwis’ DNA, not just to live in but also invest in as the country’s citizens’ average wealth is all property related, and always will be. Mark I
No guessing where the demand pressure is coming from. With mortgage rates in the 7-8 per cent range average price of $1.2m, average mortgage $550k. Big cash deposit. In Auckland demand will always beat supply and prices can only rise as the gates are thrown open. Bruce C
Victim said he feared he would see his daughter killed in front of him.