The police-controlled border between Northland and Auckland to prevent the spread of Covid. Photo / Tania Whyte, File
Limited scope
It is pleasing to see that the Government has instigated a Royal Commission to investigate New Zealand’s response to Covid, and it is now forming the “terms of reference”. This is where I part ways with a so-called Royal Commission. The terms of reference are always set to exclude a “full investigation” of the event. A commission cannot investigate “outside the terms” and, because the terms are set by the “initiator” of the commission, the findings of the commission are constrained to what the initiator wants as an outcome. It is my opinion that for the cost (approximately $15 million) a Royal Commission should have the freedom to research all avenues pertinent to the question being asked. It is only then that the public can regain trust in the outcome. I would hazard a guess that “misuse of power” by health officials and Government Ministers will not be addressed in the terms of reference.
Maureen J Anderson, Pyes Pa.
Ditch water
This has been a trainwreck of a year for the Labour Party, Jacinda Ardern, and New Zealand. Does Jacinda Ardern want to be a leader who looks back in time and says that she was on the wrong side of history by not achieving her goals through unnecessary project overload when New Zealand was crying out for real problem solutions to mental health and nurses’ pay parity? Lighten the load please, PM. Ditch Three Waters co-governance and the TVNZ/Radio merger.
Gary Carter, Gulf Harbour.
Think of England
Consider this letter just received from a retired doctor in the UK: “Inflation is running at 11.1 per cent, food costs are rising rapidly and our energy bills have tripled since the summer, now paying £425 per month [NZ$863]. Also, there are multiple strikes; nurses, ambulance, rail, bus and post. We have been informed that if you fall and call an ambulance no one will come. … Generally speaking, people need a pay rise in order to allow them to eat and heat their house, without anything else. Covid levels are still high but no one seems bothered anymore.” We have a naive tendency to blame the Government for problems that are occurring throughout the world. To imagine a change of government can provide rapid solutions is simply magical thinking.
J McDonald, Sunnyhills.
Fabulous housing
Further to your editorial (NZ Herald, December 9), Unibuild Construction built a prefab factory in Elsdon, Porirua in 1950. They then went on to erect hundreds of homes in Titahi Bay on mostly hilly sites. When the first home had been erected in Whanga Cres, the construction crews moved in and lived in them until they built the last house. Prior to that, Fletcher built houses in north Titahi Bay. I lived in two prefab homes and raised my family in the second one, a lovely three-bedroom home. They were all built on piles, not concrete floors. Lovely homes all owned by State Advances, later to become Housing NZ. Why can’t this be done now?
Peter Walden, Rotorua.
Brought to heel
Boot camps for recalcitrant teens have a simplistic appeal. Discipline and isolation will soon sort them out. One key question I have is who will organise and supervise these camps? Is it a combination of military/police personnel? If so, how do they feel about taking on this responsibility? Is this what they signed up for? Are they sufficiently trained and willing to deal with the complex needs of these youngsters or will we in years to come hear stories of physical and mental abuse by authority figures who didn’t have the patience, empathy, or understanding of what trauma they were dealing with? Also, is suitable secure accommodation readily available or will new purpose-built facilities be required? Corporal punishment was a feature of my secondary education experience and was popular amongst certain parts of society but thankfully we have moved on and found more enlightened ways of relating to and engaging with young people.
Alan Brennan, Epsom.
To timidly go
It is now 50 years since people walked on the moon. On December 14, 1972, Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt blasted off from the moon, and we haven’t been back since. So did the US save money by not sending astronauts into deep space? Hell no! The entire human spaceflight budget of over US$300 billion over the past 50 years has been spent on trips to low Earth orbit, one-thousandth of the way to the moon. Instead of being the gateway to the stars, the space stations and space shuttles have kept us chained to Earth orbit. We have boldly gone where hundreds of others have gone before. For 50 years, deep space has been abandoned to the robots. The plan for the US Artemis programme to put boots back on the moon by 2025 is hopelessly optimistic. It is already over-complex, over-time, and over-budget.
Andrew Tichbon, Green Bay.
Down the river
I have real concerns about the governance model for Three Waters and the dangers of an Act-influenced government selling our water assets to private interests. This neo-liberal model has been an absolute disaster in Britain. The nine main water and sewerage companies have paid out nearly 66 billion pounds in dividends in the past three decades, while at the same time taking on debts of 54 billion pounds. Customers are getting poor service and serious pollution is increasing. Companies have not invested enough in treatment plants to reduce sewage discharges and they constantly fail to meet minimum standards. Then you add this to the disaster of private interests charging huge amounts for energy, which millions are unable to afford. Utilities should never be in private hands and the demands for profits will never be in the public interest. The next election is shaping as a clear choice between profits and people.
John Lipscombe, Whangamatā.
Rising waters
The council has told me, as I have been flooded three times, that the first was a one-in-100-year event; then a 10-year event; now I have flooding today, which is the second time in two months. What will their story be this time? I see contractors outside my building, blowing leaves into the gutters. I see housing and buildings taking place, even though the council assures me that all the flooding and drainage have been taken care of. Saturday night was again a disaster for people. We have to have an urgent review of our water drainage system. I suggest we forget for the moment about the busways, what is the plan now to stop the flooding? Let’s look after the ratepayers who want to be assured that the council is doing something today, not tomorrow.
Dame Wendy Pye, Whitford.
Unrest home
There are plans for significant changes in the village within which I am incarcerated. As it happens, the current proposals are unlikely to affect me too greatly, apart from construction noise and increased traffic which will be considerable. The location is ideal, the grounds and trees are well established and maintained, and there is space for more development. However, the plans highlight the fundamental conflict between the inhabitants of the village, for whom it is their home, and the overseas owners of the land whose underlying motives, even though unstated, are profit-oriented. The owners have been at pains to keep residents informed and several meetings have been held. It will be interesting to see what further incentives may be offered to secure ongoing support.
Peter Clapshaw, Remuera.
Wilful damage
At the weekend, my son-in-law’s commercial building in Pāpāmoa was senselessly vandalised, with windows broken, walls damaged and signs broken. The police attended but said that, unless they could identify individuals involved, there was little they could do. It would seem that as long as offenders are part of a group, they can commit crimes with impunity. Surely, we can strengthen police powers and introduce stronger penalties for youth offenders (and, if necessary, parents) to stop the current anarchy. Family conferences don’t help the victims.
Eric Wolters, Tauranga.
Princely sums
In Medieval times, the brattish behavior of Harry and Meghan would have been dealt with by public shaming involving stocks, tomatoes, and rotten eggs. Thankfully, we live in more civilised and enlightened times involving human rights, freedom of speech, social media, and the internet. Prince Harry, Meghan and Netflix are laughing all the way to the bank, and it’s easy money so, principles and common decency aside, why not take it? After all, why should they suffer the humiliation and indignity of travelling first class when they can afford a private jet?
Bruce Eliott, St Heliers.
Sticky hands
Wayne Brown, keep your eyes on the traffic cones and your hands off the council-run early childhood centres. Parents of young children need the support of these centres and they provide a much-needed service to our communities. You may say you have the mandate but you never mentioned closing these services in your campaign. So hands off.
Chris Bayes, Torbay.
On economy
My recipe for stopping this fiscal rot of both parties is to tie MP’s superannuation to the national debt. C’mon Winnie, cause an international incident, please. Gerry O’Meeghan, Pāpāmoa.
On China
Perhaps New Zealand and other Western countries should set up clandestine police stations in China, and see how they react to having their sovereignty violated. CC McDowall, Rotorua.
On transfusions
People who demand the services of our skilled medical and surgical experts should do what they’re damn well told. Norm Murray, Browns Bay.
How I wish that my son could have been saved by surgery on his heart. There is not a thing in this world that we have let get in the way. Pam Chamberlain, Morrinsville.
If you want to show support for some of the doctors, nurses, and team at NZ Blood who have had a lot of work this past week, make a blood donation. They are short of plasma and blood leading up to a busy time. Victoria Carter, Greenlane.
On freedom
Just wondering if we could get an update from the New Zealand “freedom” movement on their views about the guy recently hanged in Iran for voicing an opinion, compared to the “oppression” we face here? Ken Duffin, Papakura.
On royals
It’s been a fascinating journey to watch Harry and Meaghan using their filmic scissors to snip the last few threads tying them to royalty. I presume Diana would be applauding. Rex Fausett, Auckland Central.
SH1 road surface north of Auckland peels off
When is Waka Kotahi going to give up on chip seal? It is the cheap approach that does not fix the waves in the road (actually makes them worse), throws up stones to smash headlights and windscreens, and creates terrible tyre noise. Paved asphalt smooths the road surface, has no stones to throw around, and is quiet - and lasts much longer. Chip seal is just another cheap Kiwi solution. Olive L.
For years, I have experienced the atrocious quality of our NZ roads, especially in Northland. It seems every day Fulton Hogan is doing running repairs which seem to last no more than six to 12 months. My cars have been subject to cracked/broken windscreens (four times), damage to the brake calipers and chassis, numerous stone chips over the vehicles and the constant removal of tar and lime. You would be mortified at the number of cars that have suffered due to the inability or want of companies to actually built a serviceable and sustainable road. Good luck with compensation, I tried and was politely told “take us to court”. There should be a public inquiry into the operations of our national road contractors. Terence W.
Investing in ideology rather than infrastructure was always going to end badly. Mark C.
The NZTA can’t even fix potholes so expecting new roading to be done correctly is a bit much. Patrick F
And where is the incompetent Transport Minister in all this? What does he have to say about the unprecedented deterioration of our roads in the past five years? Mark W.
Same problem on Taupo racetrack a week ago. Maybe the products made by Marsden Pt refinery were better suited to New Zealand? On top of C02 for drink and food production that now has to be imported, we have been sold a lemon by closing it down. Robyn G.
OPINION: New Zealander reflects on delivering speech at St James' Palace.