Letters: Traffic management, Lizzie Marvelly, man's inhumanity, Northern Pathway

Victoria Street reduced to one lane each way due to road works causing major congestion. Photo / Jason Oxenham.

Letter of the week: Huco Sliedrecht, Remuera

I am deeply sorry for the businesses that are affected by the time lost, because staff must incorporate travel time that is beyond normal, due to road closures and detours.
It is a sad affair for families, as mom or dad must miss out on family time, due to traffic congestions. To collect kids is becoming a challenge if you work in town and must drive to one of the suburbs.
Under the management of Phil Goff, we now have a city that is blocked left right and centre by cones. To reach your destination takes forever. The only people who have a good day are the taxi drivers, as their drive becomes much longer than normal, and the meter keeps ticking.
I am a citizen of Auckland for 22 years and I never has seen it as it is today. Delays after delays in traffic. People working for AT and the decision makers need to get their knowledge on the same high level as their salary.
I agree with Mike Hosking, they are a bunch of idiots.

Traffic solutions

The traffic congestion shambles created by cars could be eased if businesses decentralised; there was more car pooling; and more glide time. It's the council's metrocentric fixation that's causing all the problems ... not cars.
John Clements, Orewa.

Local content

In the main, I value Lizzie Marvelly's contribution in each Saturday's Weekend Herald. But I think her latest (Weekend Herald, February 15), proposing an RNZ-type station broadcasting only New Zealand content, pretty much misses the bus.
The Concert FM does a good job producing an hour or so of "Made in New Zealand" every week but more than that would likely be problematic, even across a wider spectrum of choice.
If you tried to produce say, a supermarket offering only New Zealand product you would surely find it would lose out to the supermarkets which don't. The public would opt for variety above patriotism.
It would have a sort of parallel in the 40 years or so we enjoyed, if that's the right word, import licensing – the audio equivalent of Smith and Brown's acres of brown Dralon upholstery.
Richard Leary, Browns Bay.

History repeating

Sitting in the little theatre in Devonport with seven other people, I watched the film A Hidden Life with sorrow and a sickening feeling of helplessness.
It showed the intrusion of war into the life of an Austrian peasant farmer and his decision to stay with what he thought was humanly decent, which came at a great cost to himself and his family. His dilemma was the decision to not swear alliance to Adolf Hitler and, therefore, refuse to fight on behalf of the "Fatherland". A decision that was taken by many men around the world at that time, declaring openly the insanity of man's inhumanity to man.
Reading the Weekend Herald, I found articles on the rise and rise of white supremacists in the United States (a pun if ever there was one), and more very disturbing articles on the controlling behaviour of their president Donald Trump. It seems his complete control over any governing body, and the inciting of hate within his country, turning people against each other, is very much in a similar stance.
It is hard to watch this taking place and even harder having an understanding of what can happen. The realisation of ignorance, which can become a weapon itself, is perhaps a message to media and educational institutes to link what is happening now, to the horrors of what came before. The other sickening feeling is we always relied on the United States to stand up to evil on behalf of the world.
No longer, it seems.
Emma Mackintosh, Birkenhead.

Harbour crossing

George Wood, as well as John Roughan, writes a reasoned letter of some alarm about the fate of our harbour bridge, in view of the additional burden to be put on it for cyclists (Weekend Herald, February 15).
This comes at a time when we are hoping for a new treatment of our overseas shipping to receive more goods from Whangārei, a great deal of which can be routed around Auckland's CBD rather than through it, or simply stop at the North Shore, which would relieve a lot of bridge traffic, but not for quite a while.
This understandably causes second thoughts about such a huge additional expense for the bridge, unless it's an excuse to buttress it further against more general usage.
Various plans for a second bridge or tunnel have been proposed for years without result, maybe because there needed to be time to determine how far our "megacity" would go. Since the feverish activity to "catch up" is now disrupting the CBD for nobody knows how long, it would be better not to disrupt communication with the North Shore with any more construction projects.
Anne Wilks, Devonport.

Urgent need

I support George Wood and also have serious concerns at the cost of the Northern Pathway. It is a dereliction of duty to spend $360m on a cycleway while ignoring the urgent need for a second crossing.
The "Nippon Clip-ons" installed in 1969 were a temporary solution. Just over 10
years ago major repairs were carried out and the outside lanes closed to heavy traffic.
We need an alternative crossing certainly with a mix of public transport such as rail and bus. The busway on the Shore was designed to take a rail line.
Spending on a cycleway while the major bridge has both capacity and structural challenges is, at best, reckless.
We need to secure a second crossing and accept that the cost will be $4b+ The financial and social costs of a bridge failure or even reduction in capacity would be immense. Common sense please, a secure transport link - then a more practical cycle and walking option.
Mike Single, Bayswater.

Tax burden

The National Party wants to reduce the tax burden for middle income earners. I applaud this as it is long overdue.
However, in my opinion it is better to reduce the tax burden of people on low income. People on the minimum income (about $20 per hour or $40,000 per annum) have not been compensated for the introduction of GST; nor the increase to 12.5 per cent; nor the increase to 15 per cent; nor the many other incremental rises of taxes such as petrol tax. This substantial elimination of income tax for the first $40,000 benefits everyone and not just those on middle incomes.
I would replace this with a sugar tax at the border (which would affect all products that include added sugar and not just fizzy drinks). This would produce a healthier nation with reduced medical bills.
Plus an annual tax on investment property (similar to rates but going to the central government) that cannot be passed on to the tenant or lessee. This would help shift our investments away from real estate towards income and job-producing investments.
Brian Taylor, Lynfield.

A quick word

In response to Bruce Tubb (Weekend Herald, February 15), closing Piha Beach would be in the interests of public safety. As all lifeguards are involved in competitions, no one is looking for raised arms. V Hall, Whangaparaoa.

It's bad enough the Aussies have taken over our economy, the banks, Bunnings, Mitre10, all the supermarkets, construction companies, shopping malls, you name it. Now we are getting their weather as well. Paul Cheshire, Maraetai.

Trump is a wild card, and potentially dangerous, but the swamp still needs draining. Gavan O'Farrell, Lower Hutt.

Re: Polyester/microplastic fibres entering our waterways from the clothes laundering process, I simply air my clothing outside overnight (or longer) after each wearing. They smell very fresh and clean in the morning and don't need to be laundered as often. B Darragh, Auckland Central.

If you guys are so stupid that you don't want Jacinda any more, please may we have her? Steven Lockwood, Tasmania, Australia.

Has there ever been a count of the number of cyclists wheeling, free as a breeze, on the multi-million-dollar cycle tracks? Inner city maybe. But no cost benefit ratio could support it. June Kearney, West Harbour.

The people with the most money worries are the people with the most money. There has to be some sort of poetic justice in that. Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.

Mary Hearn's sadness that the home country she loved "... feels like a stranger to me now" is echoed by many New Zealanders and Americans. Progressive parties need to wake up to the fact that high-mindedness is what earned them respect in the past. Tony Molloy, Morrinsville.

Peters and Trump seem to suffer from the same fate. They are both subject to fake news, are continually being misquoted and have never done anything wrong. Jock Mac Vicar, Hauraki

Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea for Sir Elton John to jet off to Los Angeles and perform at the Oscars while on tour here. L H Cleverly, Mt Roskill.

Once production in Australia ceased Holden became nothing more than a brand name with no tangible links to the country of its origin. Australians felt betrayed at the manner of Holden's leaving and the name became toxic. Peter Jansen, Henderson.

It should be a celebration that another fossil-fueled car manufacturing plant is closing. Rob Buchanan, Kerikeri.

Why doesn't Phil Goff leave town, and Mike Hosking wave him goodbye and take over the mayoral role? Tony Mayes, Mt Albert.

I have not yet seen Paula Bennett's press release on the charging of Jami-Lee Ross and National Party donors but I do know these issues are of particular concern to her. David Patterson, Porirua.