Dr Andrew Rogers.
Science in decline
Recent NZ Herald Premium content comments by distinguished science teacher, Dr Andrew Rogers (NZ Herald, May 31 & June 18) concerning the proposed new science curriculum for schools are astonishing. He says they are a blueprint for the decline of science knowledge in New Zealand, evidenced already in the OECD figures applying to New Zealand since 2006. Important concepts of physics are absent, with no mention of gravity, electro-magnetism, thermodynamics, and mass or motion. Chemistry is also missing anything about atomic structure, the Periodic Table of elements, compounds, or molecular bonding. Universities will have to teach science starting from scratch. Having personally had a requirement to pass exams in these subjects for entry into medical school, this seems totally bewildering. Most importantly, it is yet another example of the much wider adoption of “wokeism” across education, free speech and debate, gender, race, religion, and the rule of law, with the insidious adoption of neo-Marxist concepts that are inexorably changing our way of life. A frightening development, with the majority of New Zealanders seemingly not understanding the gravity of this situation. Dr Hylton Le Grice, Remuera.
Learning te reo
Why are people so scared of showing some respect for the language of the indigenous people of this country? People have big enough brains to brave the tackling of new technology in their old age. Learning another language that uses the alphabet of their language should be a piece of cake. For those who give the pretext of cost when road signs are talked about, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has clarified it is not replacing any existing signage and will only have Māori words added when new signs are needed to be made. Kanwal Grewal, Hamilton.
Record flipside
Gary Hollis writes (NZ Herald, June 30) Labour has done a fine job with the economy. The evidence states otherwise. We have a cost-of-living crisis, a balance of trade deficit over $30 billion, warnings from credit agencies about a downgrade, while government debt has more than doubled in three years. Interest is now our fourth-largest expense and growing. Further, the infrastructure has been ignored over expensive centralised bureaucracy. SMEs are struggling with interest increases of 200 per cent, massive minimum wages and therefore wage inflation. No, the economy is under duress, and we certainly need change. Mike Single, Bayswater.
True blue
What next from the National Party? We’ve heard the tried and true “tough on crime” and “tax cuts”. I’m breathlessly waiting for the clincher - trickle-down economics. Yes folks, apparently if you get out of the way of the rich and just let them get on with the job of getting richer (cue tax cuts and minimum wages) everyone benefits. Whaaat, you say? Then how come after 50 years of almost exclusive National Party governance between 1949 and 1999, we ended up being owned by Australia and with 200,000 kids living in poverty, after the Labour Party created a truly egalitarian society in 16 years after the Great Depression. How come? National’s battle cry is we are the better economic managers. Yeah, right. Paul Cheshire, Maraetai.
Commodified education
President Biden’s unsuccessful attempt to forgive student loans reminds us of the cruelty and inequity of our own system. Forcing our young bright and keen students to incur massive debts in order to fund their tertiary education is a blight on our social contract, and needs to be reviewed. As in the US, our Government spent billions during Covid bailing out private businesses and requiring minimal repayment. Now we also have needy farmers requiring huge bailouts from taxpayers to keep their farms operating. One doesn’t need to be an economist to see the inconsistency and unfairness here. Even apart from the gross inequity of it, the country as a whole desperately needs a well-educated new generation to solve the huge problems we are leaving them to solve. Fully-funded tertiary education was the norm in New Zealand until the neoliberals pronounced education to be a commodity, to the detriment of us all. No wonder countries that educate their young properly have better outcomes in all areas. We should follow their example, not that of the USA. V M Fergusson, Mt Eden.
Staff concerns
Kiri Allan’s response to the unhappiness of some government employees assigned to her office is the lack of “formal complaints”. The Minister should be assessed not by the silence of government employees. Only the boldest would challenge a minister over her conduct and jeopardise the assignment, as well as salary and pension. She should be measured against the objects in section 3 of the Employment Relations Act 2000. The first requires “good faith in all aspects of the employment environment” while the third recognises “the inherent inequality of power in employment relationships”. The legislation was the product of the Labour/Alliance Government. The law aims to empower employees in a situation of harassment, in or outside government. A senior minister should internalise the spirit of the law by proactivity and with humility in detecting and healing employee dissatisfaction. She has the power to damage people’s lives long after leaving office. The current Prime Minister should hold her to the standards of the legislation. Perhaps even to the mandate of the former one, to just “be kind”. Gregory J Thwaite, Forrest Hill.
Stock shot
I read the article “Poachers get off” (NZ Herald, June 30), with disbelief and horror. I assume the SPCA and all animal lovers will also be up in arms over this. We read that two men shot a bull and a steer with a crossbow, injuring both to the extent that one was put down and the other lamed. Apart from the cruelty inflicted on these animals, why would these people have permanent name suppression and why would they get off? How can a judge justify this decision? It is horrifying to think what these crossbow hunters might do next. Janet Boyle, Ōrewa.
Narrow-minded
Not only has Michael Wood single-handedly applied a toll on this important Penlink roadway, in contrast to what has been done in the rest of the country, but also somehow the road has magically shrunk from four lanes to two. It would be a very good time to find out how this happened. To build it as a two-lane road makes no sense, either on the basis of long-term cost or the level of efficiency that will result. It will not open until 2026, or later, but even now two lanes would be insufficient and will not provide the original benefits expected. There is still time to make it four lanes. To widen it in the future would cost, in total, far more than double the cost now. This short road was first planned in 1926 and during World War II, the American army wanted to build it to improve access to their base at the end of the peninsula. It has been beset with small thinking and waffle since 1926. Surely, we can avoid the continuation of more such unreasonable decisions as are now becoming apparent and finally do it right. Roger Russell, Stanmore Bay.
Valley slips
Eighty million dollars is spent upgrading the Dome Valley road, only to find out it is closed once again, due to slips. Whoever the contractors were that upgraded the road should be held responsible. Just imagine the chaos if the Dome Valley landfill proposal goes ahead with the expected 300 return trips by waste trucks and 150 light vehicles per day. Surely, the fragile nature of the Dome Valley road is a reason the landfill can’t proceed until the Dome Valley road is fixed permanently. Many of the benefits of the new Northern Corridor are now diminished. Neil Hatfull, Warkworth.
Besmirched bequeath
James Wallace’s reputation is now tainted but that cannot be said of his money. If Morrinsville decides to remove the Wallace name from its art gallery, then as a matter of principle it should return his donation. Roger Hall, Takapuna.
Fuchs’ sake
Emma Mackintosh’s letter (NZ Herald, June 30) reminds me of a similar humorous sentence, missing a comma in the Auckland Star, some 65 years ago. She refers to a sentence in the TV listings that stated: “You’ve been scammed by Nigel Latta”. A comma after scammed would have been correct and given the sentence an entirely different but correct meaning. Late in the 1950s, the explorers Sir Edmund Hillary and Dr Vivian Fuchs had stated their intentions to attempt to become the first to reach the South Pole overland since Robert Falcon Scott in 1912. The Auckland Star ran a front-page headline that read, “HILLARY FUCHS OFF TO POLE”. It was either a sub-editor’s joke or a mistake that the comma after HILLARY was omitted. The joke was not discovered until the first edition was on the streets around Auckland City. Wal Warehi Britton, Birkenhead.
On phones
When did it become acceptable for cafe customers to use their mobiles on speakerphone to make and answer calls? Pauline Blithe, Karaka.
On landlords
The Greens’ proposal for a national landlord register, and accompanying bureaucracy, is yet another example of green envy and interference with civil rights. Ian Doube, Rotorua.
On Trump
In 2016 Trump’s slogan was Maga, “Make America Great Again”. In 2024, it will be IDNW, “I Did Nothing Wrong”. Nick Hamilton, Remuera.
On referees
Has it ever occurred to defenders of rugby and rugby league referees that is possible they are in fact incompetent and or biased? Or are politicians the only ones subject to competency scrutiny? Garry Wycherley, Awakino.
On roads
Isn’t it time to start using concrete for our road construction? After looking at the pros and cons there is definitely a need for fresh debate. Couldn’t be worse than what we have now. Mark Lewis-Wilson, Mangōnui.
On Hipkins
Matthew Hooton (NZH, Jun. 30) states that this ”arrogant” Government doesn’t deserve Chris Hipkins. I’m, however, very much at a loss as to what this country has done to deserve him. Philip Lenton, Somerville.
Liam Dann: NZ’s recession may be over - for now
“A real recession is when people lose jobs.” Sorry, a real recession is when the entrepreneurial and investing class stop investing and take their skills and capital elsewhere. Such a scenario will play out later this year if we get a Labour, Greens, Te Pati Māori coalition who tax wealth creation and continue with the anti-employer/ business policies of the past six years and business confidence plummets. There will be a massive outflow of capital and talent to offshore markets, myself included. The New Zealand economy is on the brink currently, at the very bottom of OECD productivity and with the worst balance of payments deficit since 1975. Add the coalition of chaos to the current situation and New Zealand will drop from first-world status. This coming election will be the most important in our history. David S.
I agree with much of Liam’s analysis. It supports my contention (which, interestingly, I got hammered about when making the comment previously) that we’re hardly in recession, and that the economic outlook will look more rosy at the end of the next quarter. It’ll see the end of the so-called recession, that’s for sure, so that’s positive news. I also believe our unemployment rate will still stay low, and it’s all thanks to our astute Finance Minister who, quite frankly, has done a sterling job steering us through since Labour came to power. Timothy T.
In two weeks our mortgage goes up by $500 a fortnight. I’m not sure where we’ll find the extra money with petrol prices up now. The nature of my work depends on my having a car. Jenny H.
It’s a shame property prices haven’t dropped more. Still absurd. I hope they go down more but I think that’s it. I think I read that the ratio of wages-to-house-price in New Zealand was the worst in the world. Just impossible for young people without help. Ross W.
As far as I can tell, the whole world is having the same problems as New Zealand, including out-of-control house prices. I doubt if New Zealand is the worst. How about London, New York, Hong Kong, etc? Roger B.
Lobby group calls out new Police Commissioner over arming his officers.