Inflation is impacting New Zealanders and leading to calls for raised wages. Photo / Dean Purcell
Wage pressure
The recent high rate of wage increases, unmatched however by greater productivity, is pushing up prices. “Wage-push” inflation is now embedded, which will remain at elevated levels longer than anticipated. The problem of course was excessive, prolonged credit creation, initiated in many countries to confront the fallout from Covid and emulated by our own administration despite concerns being raised of its magnitude. In addition, domestic, non-tradeable inflation has averaged 3.2 per cent p.a. for the past 15 years due to extensive Government legislation, regulation and resultant compliance costs. Wage increases must be constrained together with profligate Government expenditure, compromised already by the recently announced boost of $190 million for the childcare subsidy scheme. If not, the wage-push inflation spiral will become endemic. P. J. Edmondson, Tauranga.
Costly savings
Professor Sir David Skegg thinks the Government’s handling of the Covid response was one of New Zealand’s greatest achievements (NZ Herald, November 11) and that is very hard to argue with. He points out that had National not destroyed the pandemic response committee set up by Labour in the early 2000s, we would have avoided lockdowns the way Taiwan did and saved ourselves the $61 billion of borrowing needed to keep the economy working. The mad ideology that wants to destroy bureaucracy gets more expensive every day. Mark Nixon, Remuera.
Not so flash
Tourism Minister Stuart Nash is constantly referring to wanting to attract “high-end tourists” to New Zealand. Presumably, these high-end tourists will want to stay in high-end accommodations and go to high-end restaurants. However, given the difficulties hotels and restaurants are having bringing in workers from overseas, many of those difficulties the result of blundering governmental bureaucracy, it seems these high-end tourists will probably end up making their own beds and cooking their own meals due to staff shortages. Would this be the unique experience that these high-end tourists will want to talk about to people when they get back to their own countries thus encouraging more people to come here? This indeed is a cunning plan, as Blackadder would say. Bernard Walker, Pāpāmoa.
Doctor’s call
Unfortunately, medicine does not always get it right, but at least in the past we could see a doctor/specialist in person and they could see us. Some years ago while I was working at the hospital, I had pain in my right side. The radiologist I was working with told me I had appendicitis and to go to A&E, which I did. I had to wait until 8pm the following night before they sent me to surgery as my appendix had now burst and I had peritonitis. After surgery, I was left with a hernia on my lower abdomen. I decided to get the hernia fixed privately but, unfortunately, the surgeon missed tying off a blood vessel and I lost a large amount of blood, resulting in a stroke, which now has consequences. I now find myself with a partially blocked carotid artery and subclavian artery and I have been told I have a heart murmur. I am having difficulty understanding how this can be fixed as a result of the telephone appointment I have now been given. Glennis Ligget, Greenhithe.
Bank security
Two news items in today’s Herald (November 14) about scams that have robbed two senior citizens of their retirement savings do nothing to reassure customers of online banking security. This is one of the reasons why older people have resisted for so long to uptake the technology. Which begs the question regarding online voting in elections where the proponents always cite “the security of online banking” as a reason to adopt his method. No thanks. I’ll stick to going to a polling booth on the day. Rosemary MacKenzie, Rotorua.
Back to excellence
As accurately and succinctly described by Oliver Hartwich (NZ Herald, November 9) the New Zealand education “system” is in real trouble. Attendance rates are significantly below the countries we compare ourselves to, falling results in international tests, low rates of literacy and numeracy, the widening achievement gap between boys and girls and the subsequent imbalance in university attendance are all symptoms of a growing crisis. So far, the Government’s response has been to instruct schools to abandon our “world class” NCEA assessment programme at Year 11, while also providing extra funding for ECE. More money and less assessment won’t solve our problems. We need to challenge the educational ideologies that have led us to this point and make real structural changes that will significantly alter the educational experiences of our children. With elections coming up, now is the time for political parties to show us that they have the will and the ideas needed to return our education “system” to the levels of excellence that it was once able to achieve. Andrew Vicars, Glendowie.
Fast money
The Herald nearly every day includes comments and letters lamenting New Zealand’s sinking education system. Most citizens are far more concerned about a lack of money. A great majority are quite sure that education doesn’t guarantee riches anyway. Some even say that money isn’t everything, it is the only thing. We have morphed into an age where constant stimulation from all media, even the phone constantly in your hand, has virtually banished the concept of nose-to-the-grindstone study. People are keener on finding out how to get rich right here, right now. Witness the absurd cryptocurrency flash-in-the-pan phenomenon. It made a few promulgators rich at the expense of the late-comers. With non-fungible tokens dying, some are hoping to get in early enough on the next big scam. Getting an education is just too darn slow in today’s fast-moving world. Jim Carlyle, Te Atatū Peninsula.
On the ground
Could I suggest that Peter Davis (NZ Herald, November 11) spend a day in the constantly overcrowded (with statistics to view) Middlemore Hospital emergency department, whose patients are not living in leafy Epsom? Or spend 90 minutes queuing outside an Ōtara general practice, before entering to wait a further four hours before seeing an overworked doctor or nurse? He might then revise the current perception that this is a temporary period of increased pressure, and the comments about how much money has been spent, without any details about what the money has been spent on, and the impact it has not made on frontline services. Peter Gow, Greenlane.
Budget cuts
The Auckland Council has a $270 million “hole” in its budget. For a consultant’s fee of, let’s say, a mere $100,000, I’ll fill in the hole. I’ll even pay for the capital equipment involved – a copy of the Auckland Transport budget and a blue pencil. Let’s start with the $23m to $35m for proposed improvements to a cycleway in Grey Lynn and Westmere. Then there are all the speed bumps which are, purportedly, for “traffic calming”. There is the unfathomable amount of money spent redoing footpaths, kerbs and channelling, often on structures that seem perfectly adequate. As I recall, AT set out to have buses run every 10 minutes on main bus routes. With cancellations, that is no longer possible. As an occasional user of buses, I can’t see the difference in 10 minutes or 15 minutes if the intention was to remove the need for consulting timetables. But cutting services from six an hour to four an hour must save a significant amount of money, in wages, diesel and road user charges if nothing else. AT has become a classic “Yes Minister” bureaucracy that announces how much it wants to spend in the next financial year, then bills ratepayers. Send the bill back and suggest it shifts thinking from wants to needs. The needs of travelling Aucklanders. David Morris, Hillsborough.
Bowie’s view
J. McCormick’s letter regarding David Bowie’s feelings for Australia resonated very loudly for me. I am a white Australian and agree with the sentiment. For those who may not know of or read the White Australia Policy, instituted in 1901, I urge you to google it. It was ostensibly drafted to keep Asian immigrants out and doesn’t specifically mention First Nation Australians as they were regarded as a “dying race”. The people who lived in, worshipped and curated my homeland for 50,000 years prior to European “discovery” weren’t granted citizenship of their own country until the 1960s. More than 100,000 children were victims of the “stolen generations”, an initiative that I believe was less about assimilation into modern society than an attempt to dilute the gene pool over a few generations to bring about the surreptitious extinction of a once proud and thriving people. Australia is, as Bowie suggested, very much in line with the South African experiences for its indigenous inhabitants. It has a dreadful, cruel and abhorrent race relations record. It’s not until reading the above-mentioned policy does one discover how deeply the bigotry lies in the historical psyche of a country I am at times proud of but can also be equally disillusioned by and ashamed of. Jeremy Coleman, Hillpark.
Mauls appal
Although the final was a close and exciting game once England had been reduced to fourteen players, one aspect of this and the men’s game that needs addressing is the so-called “rolling maul”. Most of England’s tries came from these and they frequently decide men’s internationals. What is fair about six or seven hulks shepherding the ball carrier from in front (offside?), with the opposition not allowed to tackle any of them? It’s a ludicrous law and should be amended to make the “truck and trailer” illegal. Hugh Anderson, Rothesay Bay.
On transport
Shopping trolleys appear to be the new mode of transport for those who have no permanent home, no job and no transport. Perhaps some cash could be spent developing an EV trolley for the masses or make them bigger so the whole family fits in. John Reece, Papatoetoe.
On inflation
I loved Shane Jones’ comment (NZH, Nov. 11) that “inflation will not be tamed by kindness and compassion”. Wendy Tighe-Umbers, Parnell.
On education
Our Pisa test rankings are not so bad, still higher than America, Australia, Norway, and much the same as the UK. We are better at Māori than any country in the World. Keith Duggan, Browns Bay.
On AT
In the past few days, I’ve seen at least three AT-branded cars (one was an SUV) on Auckland roads. Isn’t this the outfit trying to get everyone on to public transport and out of vehicles? R Howell, Onehunga.
On politics
Once the politician has mastered the art of cooking, it is very easy for him or her to make a soup of the opposition. Mohammed Yakub, Māngere East.
On words
To Peter Cooke’s list of irritating word use (NZH, Nov.14) add quote vs quotation, sort vs sought, should of vs should have, for all intensive purposes vs for all intents and purposes. As to the incorrect use of the apostrophe, well, don’t get me started. Ray Gilbert, Pāpāmoa Beach
Global economic pendulum - where does it leave NZ?
Can someone tell me why, even with near full employment, we still have such huge numbers of Kiwis having to use food banks, etc and sleep in cars or motels? Perhaps they are just not paid enough? Or maybe so many Kiwis are just incapable of handling today’s very complex way of life? Alexander M.
Housing cost is one, electricity used to be reasonable but no more and has just gone up, petrol is expensive, insurance has gone up, rates have gone up, water rates have gone up, food at the supermarket has gone up, wine has gone up as has the tax on it (oops, you are going to tell me I can’t have that). Salaries haven’t gone up, or if they have they haven’t gone up to match. We remain a low-wage, high-cost, economy, and the gap has grown. People used to be able to live on low incomes, and benefits, or government super, not anymore, through no fault of theirs. You could choose to volunteer at a food bank and see for yourself. Kathy A.
Ninety-thousand-plus on Jobseeker and 3.3 per cent registered unemployed does not sound like being close to full employment. David S.
Economists agree 3.3 per cent is approaching the level of the unemployable. No employer would willingly hire from that pool. In any case, you don’t need to resort to statistics to know we are in a period of full employment. The overwhelmingly reported evidence of unfilled vacancies across the economy is a testament to that fact. Colin J.
It’s about 167,000 on Job Seeker (I just looked it up). Seems to be coming down by about 500/week over the past couple of months. Stephen H.
“Employees want to be taught smart human skills, such as critical thinking, communication and problem solving – skills that will take them to their next horizon in their career.” The reality is that our education is failing our youth, to a large degree. Smart human skills need to be learned at school and continued throughout an employee’s working life. At the moment, some of our students’ life skills on leaving school only qualify them for low-paid unskilled jobs, or at worst, sitting on an unemployment or job seeker benefit. We are failing the next generation, allowing so many children when it comes to requiring attendance at school, let alone learning the required skills for a future career. Add into the mix, efforts to “decolonise”, together with “identity politics”, and you will see that we have some very big challenges ahead. Sara M.
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