Food being presented for guests at Waitangi. Photo / John Stone, File
Letter of the week: Rob Buchanan, Kerikeri
Being at Te Tii at Waitangi for three days gave me a good feeling of inclusion from the Māori community. Eating some communal meals at the marae was special with its clockwork organisation feeding so many, so well and the younger ones collecting dishes as of tradition. Volunteers cooking and serving worked in happy unison. During the meal, spontaneous speakers welcomed people with humour, guitar-playing and singing broke out to make all feel included. After the meal, heartfelt thanks were delivered by an elder to all volunteers for their contribution. I was told by a young Māori woman that far too few Pākehā know they too are welcome to join in and share a meal at the marae. There was a very emotional and powerful panel discussion by a group of 20 ex-prisoners who told of their past, be it gang life or hard lives as kids and youth, and late, self-reflection, leading to their own peaceful, genuine, life change. Most pointed to a single former inmate proudly sitting with his “flock” who had mentored them all with that power of positive influence. Another sang a haunting song that evoked all his past pain. “Waitangi” maybe could mean that Pakeha learn more about the communal life of Māori, and most Pacific Island peoples, and what they value above simply wealth and assets. The best attempt by Pākehā at having its own inclusive “marae” may have been the social welfare system.
General knowledge
The TV game show The Chase has so many lessons in human behaviour it could be classified as educational in the broader sense. Particularly noticeable are so many highly-qualified contestants in a particular field who have poor general knowledge. One needs to be a good player and this has parallels in the make-up of our Government which has one of the highest ratios of most educated and highly qualified MPs anywhere in the developed world. Maybe this is the reason many struggle with the broader picture in their decision-making which tends to be more knee-jerk than long-term or visionary. The pity is the show is on when so many are travelling home from work. It is thoroughly deserving of a peak hour viewing time slot.
Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.
For a few km/h
My plea to the Government is, please do not appeal to populist policy and remove the plan to reduce speed limits. The only people this helps are drivers and, in particular, car drivers. Most speed reductions are around schools and areas where put could or would walk, cycle, etc if they felt safer. If there is one thing we know it is that the fewer people driving and more people using alternative transport the better. Come on people, don’t just be selfish drivers. Support kids feeling safe walking to school, and applaud anyone who is walking or cycling instead of clogging your road lane.
Samantha Cunningham, Henderson.
Planning failure
Once again we have a situation where town planners have got it completely wrong. I know we need more housing but the problem is how and where they are being built and the fact that town planners have allowed this to happen. Take an 800 square metre section with one house at 100sq m, 100sq m of drive/pathways and that leaves 600sq m of open section to absorb rain. Now take that same section, remove the one house and put seven two-storey houses on the same section covered almost completely by concrete and the rain now has nothing to absorb it so it flows out on to the road or into drains . Now do that to seven sections in a 30-house street and right there is your problem. University-educated town planners with absolutely no real-world experience or forethought are designing our towns. Look at the shambles they have created at Drury. People living under high voltage cables right next to the motorway; we know this is very detrimental to human health. An industrial park has been located over by the hills so all of the heavy trade trucks have to drive through suburbia, brilliant eh?
James G McCormick, Gisborne.
Rubber-stamped
Every red sticker brands a failure of council bureaucracy. Beneath every red sticker is a building for which an owner, in good faith, was forced to pay for a permit. A great array of inspectors guaranteed that the building would be problem-free and fit-for-purpose before allowing it to proceed. The time has come for the council to accept responsibility for the consequences of its actions. The council needs to provide a free home for every person who gets a red sticker. It is not an excuse to blame the failure of council infrastructure, or the failure of council planning, for the failure of the council permitting system. For more than 50 years we have known that the recent Auckland storm would become the new normal. The council has done nothing except collect more money for more permits. The time has now come to front up and pay up.
Tony Watkins, Karaka Bay.
Greatest challenge
Climate change is due to one thing only: people, too many of them, all demanding goods and services requiring energy. Hard to convince the countries with the greatest numbers of inhabitants that they need to stabilise their populations to zero growth but we in New Zealand can contribute. It is time we stopped being PC and addressed the simple fact that there is a lack of responsibility when it comes to population. Where are all the phantom fathers while young women trail around with multiple children in tow? And while so many able-bodied people refuse to work or make themselves unemployable despite rosy figures created by the government’s statisticians, the nation imports workers from overseas. We, a nation so blessed with resources, including people, we could be self sufficient. All it takes is responsibility and respect. But how to get there?
Richard Kean, Ngongotahā.
Sinking lids
Auckland Council’s payment structure is designed to increase costs every year. Each year, if a department underspends its budget, it get less next year. Overspend is a case for an increase next year. Heads of departments are paid according to the size of their budgets. How about increasing department heads’ salaries by a proportion of the amount they reduce spending each year? The less they spend, the more they earn. Also reduce salaries by a proportion of their spending reduction each year – the more they spend, the less they earn. We could end up with (even more) ridiculously paid department heads, but the full spend could be reduced quite quickly. People “on the ground” could also be incentivised to suggest cost-cutting practices – they see it all.
Kate Stanton, Herne Bay.
Buy up on food and water, including pet food; secure your properties; clear your drains and gutters; and batten down the hatches. Check your toilet paper stocks; torches and batteries; and portable gas cookers; or even get away on that South Island break today. There you go Wayne, that should cover it. Glenn Forsyth, Taupō.
The Māori who signed the Treaty of Waitangi expected shared authority. The English version states the Māori ceded authority to the Crown. Until this fundamental misunderstanding is resolved, Treaty negotiations may continue forever without resolution. Donald Macculloch, Remuera.
Christopher Luxon had to dispense with his learnt-by-rote parrot repertoire for the event and ,in his first speech on Friday, referred to the Treaty of Waitangi as an “experiment”. Peter Dodd, Chatswood.
Why doesn’t National follow Labour and appoint a new leader? Jock Mac Vicar, Hauraki.
Has Labour really gone from woke to worker or is it smoke and mirrors? Steve Dransfield, Karori.
The “Bonfire of the policies” is a very clever and appropriate allusion but probably lost on many of those not of Tom Wolfe’s generation. Bonfire of the Vanities is most apt. Malcolm Grover, Epsom.
It has long seemed obvious that alcohol and cigarettes pose hazards for both consumers and vendors but who could have envisaged that stocking icecreams could incentivise violent crime? J. Livingstone, Remuera.
In response to Auckland Property Investors’ president Kristin Sutherland’s comments that rents are likely to increase due to market forces following the severe flooding events: Just because you can increase rents, it doesn’t mean you have to, for goodness sake. Please, landlords, show some compassion. Richard Gerard, Whangateau.
Tom Reynolds (WH, Feb. 4) writes Wayne Brown was “elected by an enormous majority” when his majority was the lowest of any Super City mayoral winner ever and about half Phil Goff’s majority in 2016. This extreme voter caution has proven to be wise. Mark Nixon, Remuera.
How refreshing it was to read Bruce Cotterill’s (WH, Feb. 4) very accurate current affairs article regarding the current political situation that has been bought to a head in Auckland by Wayne Brown’s supposed handling of the recent state of emergency declaration. Ross Harvey, Remuera.
Thousands of residents have suffered considerable damage to their properties. The inquiry should establish whether or not the Mayor was treating the job as a full-time and responsible job. Johann Nordberg, Paeroa.
I am a little puzzled about the difference between a Chinese balloon and satellites from the United States monitoring every country on the planet. Greg Cave, Sunnyvale.
Why bother with the Davis Cup until we get a group of world-class players imported from Croatia? Bruce Tubb, Devonport.
The greatest country in the world could be led by 82-year-old Biden or 78-year-old Trump. One appears too old to remember the truth and the other doesn’t know what the truth is. What’s that say about the future of America? Ian MacGregor, Greenhithe.
The 19-year-old disappeared without her wallet or mobile phone.