Letters: Time to privatise Cook Strait ferries; Green MP’s gang nonsense; Olympic opening ceremony apology

"Government should stick to governing and not try to run a business." Photo / Mark Mitchell

Privatise ferries and end dreadful mess

It is imperative that the Interislander ferries are privatised, preferably sooner rather than later.

How is Arena Williams unable to see this is inexplicable (NZ Herald, July 31). The 2023 breakdown of the Kaitaki put the lives of 880 passengers at risk, due to lack of maintenance, and since then there has just been a tragic litany of problems.

The fact that the opposition Bluebridge appears to be run in a competent manner and is handled in a competent manner, consequently not running aground, illustrates that KiwiRail management is a failure.

That Bluebridge doesn’t seem to need taxpayer handouts is another thing, but Labour would just keep on wasting taxpayers’ money. I am sure that Arena Williams would like to see the Interislander board comprised of politically correct diversity quotas, and damn the carnage.

It is very important to get rid of this dreadful mess, which shows that the Government should stick to governing and not try to run a business.

Neville Cameron, Coromandel.

Irrational SOE bosses

I don’t always agree with Richard Prebble but he speaks sense (NZ Herald, July 31). In citing Mainfreight’s success and the function of boards, his best point was that “politicians are irrational owners. For most part three years is the future”. (Mainfreight has a minimum of six years required on the board, most have been there 20 years).

And in relation to being on an SOE board: “The real owner is really only interested in votes.” The problem has always been ( in my lifetime) that there is no “neutrality” in governments running a company and it always amazes me that various ministers chop and change their portfolios, often without any experience in that field (they employ expensive consultants so they can duck for cover).

More reasons why we need cross-party agreement on long-term non-political running of our major public entities, let the politicians fight over the less structural things and change those every three years. Hopefully without lasting negative effects.

Hamish Walsh, Devonport.

Cloud cuckoo land

We are all used to nonsense coming from politicians but Kahurangi Carter made a supreme effort and came up with the following gem in Parliament on Tuesday, during the second reading of the Gangs Legislation Amendment Bill.

“I want you to ask yourself, would you rather be walking down a dark alley and see a patched member or a police officer? For many people in New Zealand, they would feel safer alone with a patched member than the police, and we need to ask ourselves ‘why?’.”

Carter seems to be another Green who lives in cloud cuckoo land, not New Zealand.

Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.

Prioritise public, not lobbyists

We have reports of donations of hundreds of thousands of dollars to the National Party before the election and now evidence of this successful lobbying by these powerful people to influence our politicians.

There seems to be a continual evidence of success. Reduction in tax for certain tobacco products is the latest. What is the hurry for reduced tax for tobacco when it is against the advice of the Ministry of Health?

The mining industry minister is inviting applications and dining with the mining industry. The resulting mines starting soon and thus permanent destruction will be started against advice by many independent commissions.

The fishing minister is slowing down regulation of destructive fishing methods. Perhaps the next win is the gun lobby, as the minister in charge seems determined to repeal some regulations. Charter schools have great lobbyists.

Many of the ministers involved in making these decisions have past contacts with the lobbying industries or hope to get a well-paying job after parliamentary life. Why is the National Party putting energy into the lobbyists’ policies, when our health and child poverty statistics demand their energies?

Prioritise the nation, not your friends and donors, please.

Frankie Letford, Hamilton.

Olympic apology

The IOC’s apology over the antics at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics shows how out of touch they were with the reality of what happened.

Apparently “there was never any intention to be disrespectful to any Christian group”.

A group of drag queens cavorting in a sexually provocative way, clearly an imitation of Da Vinci’s Last Supper, the Last Supper of Christ, was not meant to be disrespectful? Could anyone take that comment seriously?

Then there was the comment: “We tried to celebrate community tolerance.” What planet were they on? Everyone is tolerant until you get to someone who disagrees with your ideology, like the 2.4 billion Christians on the planet.

At the end there was the standard piece of condescension: “If anyone has taken offence we are truly sorry”. In other words, if you are as simple-minded as being offended by this wonderful expression of French culture then we are sorry about that.

What a condescending and patronising statement. Why not come right out and say: “This was a mistake, it should never have happened. We’re sorry for it.”

Bernard Walker, Mount Maunganui.