This bill is a destructive waste of time
The disingenuous argument of the Act party, that we should be “colour blind”, is a code for denying what is blatantly obvious: equality requires justice, fairness and redress.
The Waitangi settlement process has been slowly addressing the continuous and comprehensive breaches of the Treaty over the past 180 years. From 1840 until the mid-1970s, the “colour blind” approach of successive governments resulted in the tangata whenua being ignored and their culture and language systematically undermined.
Social statistics record the dire effects of this process. In the early 1970s, the realisation that Māori were suffering serious injustice started the revival of interest in the Treaty and what it meant.
Gradually, the tide began to turn and the establishment of the Waitangi Tribunal, and the increasing awareness of the value of te reo, was reflected in initiatives such as kohanga reo.
These are continuing as we begin to redress the historic damage to Māori culture. We are now being subjected to a reactionary attempt to extinguish this progress.
We must firmly reject this ignorant and racist Treaty Principles Bill, which will undermine our society by pretending that we are all equal.
Christopher Luxon could have avoided this destructive waste of time, but lacks the will to do so.
Vivien Fergusson, Mt Eden.
Childish behaviour
Do members of Parliament think that acting like disrespectful individuals in our country’s Parliament endears them to the people they are supposed to represent? Or does it instead drive us away in disgust?
The behaviour witnessed in Parliament on Thursday is nothing short of appalling. Parliament should be a place for reasoned, civil debate on the pressing issues of the day. Instead, some MPs seem more interested in denigrating their colleagues and throwing personal jabs, simply because they disagree.
This kind of childish behaviour not only undermines the democratic process, but does a disservice to the very constituents they are supposed to serve. While it is inevitable not everyone will agree on every issue, that is no excuse for disrespect.
We elect parties to act in the best interests of the country and we expect any opposition will respect the democratic principle of majority rule. If certain MPs can’t act with maturity and professionalism, they risk further alienating the public and diminishing the trust we place in our elected representatives.
It’s time for some of our more militant MPs to grow up and act their age, not like reckless children. The people deserve better from those they elect to lead.
Alan Walker, St Heliers.
Unfit President
Bruce Cotterill, like the Trump voters he spends time with, seems to be on an alternative planet (Weekend Herald, Nov 9)
He touts the need for a strong America in dangerous times, yet a Trump administration is likely to be a geopolitical disaster. He blames governments and mainstream media for disinformation, yet Trump is a compulsive liar and source of disinformation.
Elon Musk, his right-hand man, is the godfather of disinformation and Trump appears poised to appoint Robert F. Kennedy jnr to a key role in shaping public health policy – he is an anti-vaxxer and opponent of common immunisations such as measles. And so it goes on.
Cotterill, like Trump, appears to be dismissive of climate change concerns, the existential threat to our civilisation. He has nothing to say about environmental degradation. The thing is, Trump is unfit to be President. He is a horrible man (to use one of his favourite words) and a threat to the planet.
Yet 74 million Americans listened to the vile stuff coming out of his mouth and said, “Yes please, we’ll have some more of that.” By the tone of his column, Cotterill seems to endorse this. I find it odd that a Herald columnist would be celebrating the electoral victory of a man who has been described by so many, including by four-star generals who served under him, as a fascist.
Gavin Kay, Remuera.
Hormone therapy
The article on hormone replacement therapy in Saturday’s paper tracks the present campaign to rehabilitate HRT after risks of the therapy became apparent in the 1990s, resulting in a huge drop in the use of HRT.
It is part of the history of this drug that whenever there is new bad news, Big Pharma lies low for some years and then starts the rehabilitation. I tracked this in my book The Menopause Industry published in 1991. Once again, we are hearing that menopause is a dreadful time and HRT is the answer and that, virtually, it is for all women. If you can pathologise all women at a certain life stage, it’s money in the bank.
Twenty years ago the nation had a New Zealand Guidelines Group, which gave out reliable information on this and other health issues developed after looking at the evidence. Unfortunately, the government of the day disbanded the NZGG, so New Zealand women are left in the lurch as to what to believe. Menopause societies tend to be strong proponents for HRT.
When I took the Sunday programme to the Broadcasting Standards Authority for inaccurately describing some key studies of HRT, the BSA found against me on the grounds that what was said was the “opinion” of a doctor spokesperson and whether it was accurate was subsumed under that ground.
Women who want factual information could look at the British NICE website (like our NZGG) for up-to-date information. It covers the risk of breast cancer and heart disease, concluding there is a small increased risk of breast cancer, negligible risk of heart disease, but it depends on the age of the woman taking it (less risk), how long she takes it (more risk) and what form of HRT (combined or oestrogen only) she takes.
A more recent risk has emerged and that is an increased risk of dementia in users of HRT. Some studies have found this; other studies have not, so more research is needed. This underlines that even though HRT has been around since the 1950s, not everything is known about it.
The other thing that needs to be said is that menopause is a transition most women make without too much trouble and it has the benefit of ending menstruation, which for most women goes on for about 40 years. Plus you can’t get pregnant and can stop all forms of birth control.
Sandra Coney, Titirangi.
Gun club solution
Alexander Gillespie offered some interesting opinions on firearms reform, but he is patently not a shooter (NZ Herald, Nov 13).
He suggested compulsory club membership for gun owners. A minority of New Zealand firearms users are target shooters, whether it be for pistols, rifles or shotguns. Club membership for these folks is appropriate because their sport is organised on a formal basis, with competitions being the driving force.
However, the majority are hunters and this is an informal activity and many hunters shoot alone. They would see little benefit in club membership. Existing clubs could not cope with a huge influx of new members. They are limited now by space and range facilities. New clubs would need consents, land and a total absence of neighbours, who might complain about noise.
He casts doubt on the current lecture and examination for applicants for new firearms licences: the system is effective and concentrates on firearms safety. He would like it extended to include follow-up of learning and a practical shooting practice, but I question how that would be monitored and enforced.
John Walsh, Former NZ Mountain Safety Council firearms safety instructor, Green Bay.
Prime Minister Luxon had a telephone conversation with President-elect Donald Trump. They “did not talk in detail about issues such as Trump’s proposal to boost tariffs on trade”. I hope they do talk in detail about trade in the near future. America is our third-largest export market. In 2023 (US dollars), China bought $11.3b (26%), Australia $5.42b (12.8%) and the US $5.08b (12%). American businesses will already be lobbying their new government-in-waiting to use tariffs to keep foreign competition out. The Luxon-led Government needs to consider the impact of the sharp recession that could be caused here by America-first protectionism.
Arch Thomson, Mt Wellington.
Paul Henry has suggested Joe Biden should pardon Donald Trump. One reason for this might be that Trump has indicated he will target those who opposed him, including Biden and his son. Trump is likely to pardon himself and his allies, as he did previously, making Biden’s pardon unnecessary. Republicans have already effectively pardoned Trump by blocking impeachment and insurrection charges. A tune titled Pardon Me Mr President could replace Stars and Stripes. If Gerald Ford could pardon Richard Nixon, there seems to be no limit to presidential powers.
Ian MacGregor, Greenhithe.
I read that a 16-year-old who slashed the face of a mentally ill stranger and then plunged a knife into him, wounding him fatally at a North Shore bus station, has been convicted on the lesser charge of manslaughter rather than murder. The defendant claimed it was self-defence and didn’t realise he had the knife in his hand. Where has all this horrific violence come from? We were once a peaceful society. What has happened to this country of ours?
Janet Boyle, Ōrewa.
People moaning about hikoi traffic disruption shouldn’t have voted for this coalition.
Peter Beyer, Sandringham.
Permitting the latest hikoi to march across Auckland Harbour Bridge in rush hour, en masse, is no different to stepping back and monitoring rather than intervening and dispersing large convoys of gang members obstructing the state roading network at will.
Mike Wagg, Freemans Bay.
Could those senior lawyers calling for Act’s Treaty Principles Bill to be withdrawn have first ensured they were not self-interested travellers on the Waitangi gravy train before signing up?
Stewart Hawkins, St Heliers.
In an impressive display of self-adulation and to show they know no bounds to wasting ratepayers’ money, Auckland Transport is running an advertising campaign including television and bus stop ads to promote its work on roading. One such ad reads “As Auckland gets busier we’re making roads more dynamic”. I would have said “narrower, slower, and humpier” but I guess one person’s dynamic is another’s pain in the butt!
Carl Bergstrom, Glendowie.
A million and more dollars given to foodbanks would make a brighter Christmas for all of us than a shonky fake tree that few will see and fewer will care about. Do council members run their own affairs in such a way, spending on fripperies while the essentials of life are ignored? Somehow I doubt it.
Susan Grimsdell, Auckland Central.
TVNZ is cutting jobs again. Perhaps it’s time to rethink the merger with RNZ as proposed by Labour. There would still be job losses, but these would be in back-office roles rather than impacting news programmes and customers.
Kushlan Sugathapala, Epsom.
Widow: 'You drove away with indifference, you left the scene and left him to die.'