The Michael Hill jeweller in the Albany Mall in Auckland was a casualty last week with the recent spate of robberies and ram raids. Photo/Supplied t
The Michael Hill jeweller in the Albany Mall in Auckland was a casualty last week with the recent spate of robberies and ram raids. Photo/Supplied t
Why are teens so troubled? The story of Cassandra Fausett's mental health and death (Weekend Herald, October 1) is beyond tragic. Teenage suicide is something I don't understand. Brought up in England during and after World War II, I lived in a village where many families lived in poverty and hardship.But I knew no young people who were so unhappy that they considered ending their lives. So what has changed? Psychiatrists and counsellors seem incredibly challenged in efforts to help young people with mental health issues. Maybe resources should be prioritised to investigate why talented young people with loving and supportive parents find life so unbearable that they need to end it. Anne Martin, Helensville.
Price of tax cuts It is astonishing that supporters of proposed tax cuts believe the rhetoric that they are different from a tax cut anywhere else in the world. These numbers will illustrate what a significant enhancer the cutting of the tax rate from 39 per cent to 33 per cent on income over $180,000 will be to current inequality levels. For every $10,000 earned above $180k, this equates to $600 per year or $12 per week; and for those who earn $500k this equates to $369 per week. This compares with the $2 a week for those on more modest incomes under the proposal to change the lower income tax thresholds. Imagine what spending cuts to health, education, etc, will be required. Jeremy King, Taupō.
Fickle trickle Trickle-down economics, the ideology the National Party and its supporters are passionate about, is deemed unfeasible because 50 years of American politics showed that cutting taxes of the wealthy does not translate to increased rates of employment, consumer spending and government revenue. In fact, the only growth that occurred was in the budget deficit. The Bush administration's substantial tax cuts for the wealthy failed to stimulate the economy and resulted in an economic downturn. In New Zealand's case, with the top 10 per cent of earners holding 60 per cent of the country's wealth and the bottom 10 per cent only 4 per cent, it indicates that instead of trickle down it has all been trickle up. Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.
Jobs for the boys With the changing of the guard at Auckland Council comes the likely appointment of Phil Goff as ambassador to the UK. Both political parties have a favour policy that grants some retiring politicians highly privileged overseas roles that they are often not equipped for and need the help of career public servants so the role is handled effectively. This can also come with a knighthood for being a party faithful while being very well paid over their years of public service. It surprises me that people doing a job under the guise of public service need to be recognised in this way. Countless people go through life unrecompensed for public service apart from the satisfaction of knowing they made a difference. Peter Burn, Gulf Harbour.
Mayoral answers Steve Braunias (Weekend Herald, October 1) has once again wandered down Lincoln Rd and this time has given us a witty and downright hilarious snapshot of Kiwis' attitude to politics. It was absolutely no surprise that in answer to his question: "Who are you going to vote for mayor?", most people answered, "couldn't care less", "don't know", "not sure yet" or "go away". Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.
Dump the garbage In his role as Minister of Broadcasting, can Willie Jackson please explain to me and no doubt many other New Zealanders just why TVNZ is wasting precious taxpayer money on a programme like FBoy Island NZ? Apparently, three women decide if the male contestants are "nice boys" or "FBoys, the latter being a slang term referring to men who never intend a sexual encounter to involve a relationship or act if entitled to sexual encounters. Don't we have enough of this garbage television screening now? Murray Brown, Hamilton.
Development Minister Willie Jackson during a media stand-up on the tiles at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Bullying truth With Kelvin Davis' arrogant bullying of Act's Karen Chhour following Willie Jackson's abusive and divisive comments in Parliament, we have to wonder if there is more than a little truth in Gaurav Sharma's accusation of bullying within the Labour Party. Unfortunately, we will never know as rather than have an independent inquiry, Labour expelled Sharma from its caucus. Philip Lenton, Somerville.
'Vanilla' viewpoints It seems to me that if a "vanilla" person referred to someone looking at life through a "chocolate" lens there probably would have been hell to pay, cries of racism and calls to apologise to the whole nation and not just to that person who they were too ignorant to know, or find out where they were from. Possibly an ejection from the house and maybe even a suspension or sacking. Paul Folwell, Cambridge.
Playing to crowd Kelvin Davis had a point — for too long Oranga Tamariki has been under the gun with the Act Party leading the charge. If Karen Chhour wanted to get her point across, it would have been better to phrase her question in a manner that did not play to those who just love to hear how badly Māori organisations are doing. John Capener, Kawerau.
Road goes to pot The aspiration for a zero road toll will not happen until the many huge pot-holes on State Highway 1 north of Auckland are fixed. I last drove this road three weeks ago, but yesterday was incredulous that the state of the road had deteriorated even more and so rapidly. It is now seriously dangerous. Hitting one of these potholes near the centre line at 80km/h is scary. If I had been towing a boat, as many do over summer, it would have broken the trailer axle. Having to swerve to miss them is also dangerous. Waka Kotahi is so busy building cheese-cutter barriers and removing overtaking lanes, yet repairing road surfaces and keeping them safe seems to be a low priority. Sue Andrew, Torbay.
Rash of disposable nappies The Government's phasing out of the worst plastics going to landfill should include a ban on the nastiest of all, disposable nappies. Let's see if the Government has the courage to outrage young parents; the alternative to disposables is freely available cotton nappies. Lloyd Murcott Whangamatā.
No help across ditch There have been enticing articles in the news about cheaper housing in Australia. While this is true in certain cities, it is important for families to remember that everything is good — until they need help financially. Newly arrived Kiwis in Australia are still ineligible for the vast majority of social security and assistance. Their children cannot access loans for university study, meaning many without parents able to financially support them find it impossible to attend university or are forced to return to New Zealand. Rosemary Balme, Howick.
Rugby's weight problem Everybody is concerned about the rapid decline in the numbers of schoolboy rugby players and there are various theories put forward but they all miss the obvious reason — the enormous size of the players and the increased physicality. When watching first XV rugby it is hard to believe that they are supposed to be 17 years old; many of these forward packs would outweigh the All Blacks. Even in the lower grades with supposed weight restrictions, a lot of schools totally ignore the weight limits and terrorise those teams that play by the weight restrictions — hence, a lot of players give up the game. Jock Mac Vicar, Hauraki.
Trolley dangers A heartfelt plea to parents and caregivers who use shopping trolleys in supermarkets — please ensure that children are seated at all times when in the trolley. It might only be a short fall to the concrete floor, but that is more than enough to create a head injury which may well change the lives of everyone in your family. During my time as a staff member in Starship Hospital, I have been involved in the care of a child who sustained a large hole in her skull from just such a fall. Maria Carbines, Hillsborough.
Short & sweet
On Ukraine war Back in the 60s, the Kingston Trio recorded a spoof song on the state of the world. The last line goes, "what nature doesn't do to us will be done by our fellow man". Nothing's changed, has it? V. Hall, Whangaparāoa.
On tax cuts Grant Robertson is rightly contemptuous of the UK plan to cut taxes during high inflation. However, Labour's strategy of running budget deficits has the same inflationary impact. Steve Dransfield, Wellington.
On teabags If a cafe wants to keep their customers happy on the pot of tea, put two teabags in there instead of one. At a charge of about $3.50, I'm sure they can afford to. Glenn Forsyth, Taupō.
On Jackson Sir Ian Taylor's column, 'Sorry Willie Jackson, we're not useless Māori because we don't speak te reo', (Weekend Herald, October 1) was refreshing. Jackson needs reminding that every New Zealander will have a number of sides to their whakapapa and they all need to be respected. Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.
On Covid inquiry Reg Dempster may well be correct that many of those calling for a Covid inquiry simply want to discredit Ardern and her government. But many want to be able to improve our next response, if there is room for improvement. To have no inquiry is negligent. Chris Elias, Mission Bay.
David Seymour has common sense — which, if you think about, is actually quite a rare thing to have, especially among politicians. Phillip P.
Act won't get much support when people realise what their policies are: cut and freeze the minimum wage, interest back on all student loans, no KiwiSaver subsidy, cancel winter energy payment, dump all climate crisis legislation, cut welfare payments, cuts to working for families, ankle bracelets on children. Denis M.
That's probably why people will vote for them. Mark C.
Act is looking increasingly like the political party to represent middle New Zealand. They care about education and wasteful spending along with a desire for unity — a country for all. Sandra H.
Be very careful for what you wish for. Those seeking the far-right utopian nirvana that Act purportedly represents have only to look at the wreckage that has occurred with the UK financial system with that ideology. Marie H.
Well, we have wreckage right now in New Zealand from the far left's ideology. Sara M.
