"We could do much more as a society to address the underlying issues so that the 'need' to join a gang is substantially tempered," a correspondent says.
Target why lost men join gangs
That the Government is confronting the vexed issue of the gangs is to be applauded. The banning of patches in the public arena is not particularly severe but it makes a statement and now the police need the resources and staff to enforce it.
In conjunction with this I feel there needs to be more done to stymie recruitment in the first place.
Disillusioned, bored, aimless young men need a purpose, mates, collegiality, respect from their colleagues. Society no longer provides these opportunities to the same extent as it used to.
Factors such as family break-ups, absent fathers, increasing relative poverty, a looser society that is more tolerant of deviations from traditional norms, anxiety about the future, woke culture and indoctrinations can confuse and overwhelm young minds.
Much of this is part of the post-modernist movement which has, unintentionally or otherwise, subjugated young men somewhat. Aggression is discouraged and the MeToo movement has knocked the confidence of many.
My point is that young men will congregate where they are part of a team and have the chance to “be someone”, to be respected.
We could do much more as a society to address the underlying issues so that the “need” to join a gang is substantially tempered.
Miles Langdon, Remuera.
Guarding the public purse
Paula Bennett’s article “It’s wrong to take cheap shots at public servants” (HoS, Feb 25) prompted me to find the Wayne Brown commentary on squandering public money she referred to.
Brown provided remarkable insight into why publicly funded projects are so expensive, and now Ms Bennett is in the “real world” she should recognise he is calling out major financial mismanagement and not merely sniping at office wallahs.
Brown has managed several large businesses where accurate cost estimates, construction timelines and cost-benefit reports are the basis for planning a project and indeed deciding if it is worthwhile.
His frustration at the slack cost controls and ratepayers-always-pay attitudes of public servants is understandable and people should listen. The problems start with the boards of public entities, where people with little experience in the industry spend huge amounts of money on infrastructure.
They should be guardians of the public purse, with the primary responsibility of delivering projects that are fit for purpose and value for money. However, numerous examples of poor planning and outrageous waste can be seen everywhere.
I would like to see a follow-up article where our mayor can expand on his views of AT, NZTA and others. And I would be interested to know how board members are appointed, how their performance is assessed and how we clear out the deadwood.
Alan McArdle, Glen Eden.
Right to be furious
While Paula Bennett is entitled to her opinion, I have some observations of my own.
An elected representative such as a mayor is answerable to the public, the public servants have to prove their efficiencies not only to the citizens’ representative but also to the general public.
Currently, the mayor has shown that AT has a long history of total unaccountability, has erred time and again on major issues and drained public resources and money. There are no plausible explanations from the CEO.
AT is a public service and has to reply satisfactorily to general customer grievances and queries. It has failed me on this.
There is no transparency and the only way a customer can reach the behemoth is through a single channel - a feedback form available on their website. There is no “escalation” process, and you can’t reach the concerned department or officer.
I have written a dozen feedback/replies to standard acknowledgements, highlighting a small issue since October 2023. It has remained unsolved to this day
So if a small customer like me can feel frustrated, the mayor has every right to feel furious and pursue the CEO for accountability.
Shabbir Baj, New Lynn.
Simplistic causes of crime
Frank Greenall’s letter (HoS, Feb 25) suggesting that housing costs are driving crime is a little simplistic and that the mother’s despair over her ram raider son has no solution because people like him will become disenfranchised, disengaged and dysfunctional.
This is the language of victimhood and if people believe they are victims then they will naturally gravitate towards the idea that committing a crime is not their fault, that it is something beyond their control.
This leads to a culture of excuses, low standards and a lack of respect for authority. Wouldn’t it be better for the ram raider to embrace personal responsibility, the opportunities that society offers everyone such as a good education, be disciplined, be stoic in the face of adversity, show compassion for others especially the victims of ram raids and put sacrifice ahead of the immediacy of gratification?
How would he gain such virtues that are available to everyone? Obviously from a mother’s love who despairs over her son, the local community and by the rehabilitation team at the social service centre he is attending who hopefully won’t fall into the trap of seeing him as a victim of the housing crisis.
Bernard Walker, Papamoa.
Lame excuse
I think it is a little disingenuous for people to try to blame our burgeoning crime rate on hard times.
My older relatives have told me a lot about what occurred in their eras and that involved Grandma living through the Napier earthquake, when many didn’t.
I heard about food rationing during the Great Depression and people said they had to just “make do” the best they could when so many of the men were away at world wars.
However, I don’t recall being told about anything like ram raids, thefts and assaults occurring, so the ones now seem like a lame excuse.
Apparently people must have previously been too busy just “making do”.
Colleen Wright, Botany Downs.
Where’s the justice?
Sixty-one years after I left the UK for a better life in New Zealand where my family and I proudly acquired citizenship, I am wondering what has happened to this country.
We elected a Government that is more concerned about the failing economy of the tobacco industry than the people it kills and claims that military-style weapons capable of mass murder are necessary for unspecified sporting activities.
Now a judge is sending an 80-year-old man to prison for killing his wife and soulmate of six decades after she developed “mild” Alzheimer’s, because he couldn’t face life without her and failed in the attempt to join her in an after-life.
I cannot believe that the judge who told him to start thinking about his future when he is released and the prosecutor who denied it was a mercy killing and demanded a 10-year sentence have human hearts.
If I shared their lack of compassion I might wish that they have some experience of “mild” or otherwise dementia in their lives in the future.
David Barber, Waikanae.
Gang crackdown
I would be interested to see how the courts will deal with these new gang legislations.
The courts are seriously behind with their ongoing cases, even murder cases taking several years to come before a judge.
Which prisons, that aren’t already full, will the offenders be put into so they can all gather together, which makes a farce of them not being allowed to congregate together.
Also who is going to be responsible for collecting the fines; after all, people don’t even pay their parking and speeding fines. Sounds good in theory, but not so easy to police.
Sue Gallahar, Māngere East.
The new free open-air saltwater pool is already proving popular.