Simon Wilson points out New Zealand’s economy is distorted by the lack of equitable tax on assets, especially property, because property siphons investment away from other sectors. So how to address that? Photo / Justin Sullivan, Getty Images, File
Hard-earned? Hardly
Thank you, Simon Wilson (NZ Herald, July 4) for keeping the issues of tax, wealth, and justice alive. There is another angle to this. It’s become a given that personal wealth is accumulated through hard work and success and taxes are a discouragement to personal endeavour. But the greater sources of private wealth are inheritance, asset value growth, and the consumption of planet Earth. There are many exceptions but most “haves” enjoy some benefit from inheritance. A recent British survey suggested that two-thirds of all private wealth has its origins in inheritance. Maybe that’s less in New Zealand. Asset values - I bought 500 acres and an old house in 1970 for $30,000. A modest house in Gisborne could be bought for $6000. The subsequent increase in values has nothing to do with hard work. On consumption, 90 per cent of all fossil fuel consumption has occurred since 1945. A similar story with our inheritance of forests, oceans, minerals, everything. This has given a couple of generations a one-off wallow in wealth. Our descendants will pay for it but that’s another story. The line that all individual wealth is hard-earned serves the interests of the rich over tax justice - and the future of planet Earth. Geoff Prickett, Waikanae.
Outward bound
Sitting in North Shore Hospital, supporting a friend being cared for by a very kind and caring nursing staff, I was saddened to hear one of the few Kiwi nurses on duty spelling out all the reasons the other nurses should decamp to Melbourne or Australia, even those recently recruited from overseas. Maybe if our Minister of Health sat incognito in one of our busy hospital wards, she wouldn’t be as confident that things are “moving in the right direction” and that things are “on the improve” in our struggling health sector. James Archibald, Birkenhead.
Civil language
Minister Kiri Allan is alleged to have raised her voice and upset some civil servants. An anecdote from the time of Helen Clark as Health Minister springs to mind. I was a manager in the Northern Regional Health Authority and the appointed chair (now deceased) graciously condescended to allow the Minister to visit. At the meeting, a discussion took place about how best to populate bodies like the RHA. The chair made the case for appointed positions (like his), reasoning the lumpen proletariat having a say meant one could never be sure what you were going to get. Clark heard him out politely and then said: “It is my experience, and I have some years of it now, that if you elect the members of a statutory body half of them are wits who perform a lot of copulation, and if you appoint the members exactly the same applies. The big advantage of the electoral approach is, every so often you can get rid of the hyper-procreative wits.” Not her exact words, but you get my drift. Career civil servants in the room were all for seeking to have Clark censured for intemperate language. Wiser counsel prevailed because of the manifest provability of her statements. Where is the wiser counsel today? Bruce Rogan, Mangawhai Heads.
Reasoned thought
Dr Hylton Le Grice finds it “astonishing and bewildering” that “important concepts” of physics and chemistry are missing from the proposed new school science curriculum (NZ Herald, July 4) because he had to pass exams in these subjects to enter medical school. So he should have. But not many secondary school students are heading for medical school or even tertiary Stem study. The idea that every single NCEA student should learn about thermodynamics or molecular bonding is surely at least worth examining. What about teaching high-grade literacy and numeracy, civics, statistics (including false ones), how to detect mis- and disinformation (including propaganda) and a hundred other things, including – yes – the Treaty/Te Tiriti? Perhaps this would mean “the insidious adoption of neo-Marxist concepts”? To dismiss the proposed curriculum out of hand misses an important opportunity to make schooling fit for purpose in a changing world. It deserves reasoned discussion, not empty posturing. Peter Calder, Westmere.
Rent asunder
We are hearing that New Zealand has one of the highest rental pricings in the OECD and that rent controls are the way to go. It is interesting that no mention is made as to why our rents have increased. Could it be due to the Government removing the ability to deduct interest, insurance increasing by 17 per cent, and the war on landlords by Labour and the Greens? A survey commissioned by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development found that law changes and added costs imposed by Labour were cited by many landlords who had raised rents in 2022. Labour campaigned in 2020 on not introducing any taxes, but broke their promise immediately, imposing a new tax on tenants, through the removal of interest deductibility as a legitimate expense for rental property owners. The Government was warned by everyone, from officials to landlords that this tax would lead to higher rents. Labour, as usual, ignored the experts and this caused the increase. Landlords are not the enemy of tenants, the Government is. Mark Young, Ōrewa.
Brutal conflict
While not one to always see eye to eye with John Minto, I cannot fault his intelligent opinion piece (NZ Herald, July 4) on the appalling and never-ending brutish conduct of Israel upon the Palestinian people. Of course, so long as Israel remains the protected unofficial 51st State of America, things will not change and will, in fact, worsen. Peter Cook, Lynfield.
Speaking up
Thank you for publishing the excellent opinion article by John Minto (NZ Herald, July 4). Minto walks the talk when writing about human rights and uncomfortable truths; putting the facts before us, e.g. the UN resolution on Palestine, so that we can’t say, “We didn’t realise. We didn’t know.” Would that our Government would do the same. I believe it would if we New Zealanders spoke up and let the Government know where we stand on these issues and what we want the Government to do about it. We did over the nuclear issue. Let’s do it again. Sister Barbara Cameron, Hamilton East.
Greater mistake
Auckland Councillor John Watson’s piece (NZ Herald, July 5) probably sums up the mess this council is in. Have we not learned from the 80s/90s what asset sales have done to New Zealand with our have and have not society of today? National/Act and Rodney Hide have much to answer for establishing this Auckland Council with ratepayers having no input in the creation of a monolithic, out-of-control organisation. Keen to take the greater area’s rates with no service as we have seen with many things not least with the handling of stormwater; build everywhere; forget infrastructure; collect rates, never mind the consequences. I’m sure today it would be seen as a progressive step to separate the greater Auckland Council back to local councils after the dismal failure of this Auckland Council. Arthur Amis, Red Beach.
Rocky road
The Dome Valley road has certainly caused a lot of disruptions, and anger, for many motorists with the number of slips and closures so far this year. But I believe Neil Hatfull was harsh in saying the contractors who upgraded the road should be held responsible (NZ Herald, July 4). No one could have foreseen the horrendous amount of rain that has fallen in the first half of this year. That was a force of nature and the sheer volume of water caused vegetation and rocks to become unstable and tumble down, blocking the road. What is indisputable, however, is the amazing work done each time by all the contractors to get the road cleared and open again. Furthermore, this work was often carried out in appalling conditions and well into the night. Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.
Who’s scammed?
I wonder if Emma Mackintosh (NZ Herald, June 30) and Wal Warehi Britton (NZ Herald, July 4) are missing the point when they question the TV listing “You’ve been scammed by Nigel Latta”. They suggest that the programme title/listing is incorrect and should have a comma after the word “scammed”. Yes, adding that comma would change the meaning in terms of whether Latta was doing the programme or doing the scamming. But you would only do that if you knew what meaning was intended by whoever wrote the title. Anyone who saw the first episode of the series will know that Latta and his cohorts do, in fact, scam several people. Allan Lee, Herne Bay.
Dysfunctional dystopia
Pauline Blithe asks (NZ Herald, July 4) when it was acceptable for cafe customers to take calls on speaker phones and the answer is never. The problem with the average smartphone user is that the phone is usually smarter than the user. Call someone and leave a message and sure as eggs they call you back and say “I’ve just missed a call from you” without checking the answer message. Unable to utilise the phone’s existing functions sums the user up. Jim McCormick, Gisborne.
On MPs
To sober them up to the realities of the average New Zealanders’ current cost-of-living predicament, politicians should be mandated for one whole year to live on the average wage. Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.
On Ashes
Has anyone observed that the winning ball was delivered underarm? Alan Milton, Cambridge.
On Leary
Perhaps Ingrid Leary should have gone to Specsavers. Glennie van Prehn, Waipu.
On science
The decline of science knowledge is a serious matter. Universities here and overseas are entitled to expect a high standard from our secondary school graduates, and our country’s educational reputation rests on it. Dr Harold Coop, Remuera.
On Penlink
Roger Russell (NZH, July 4) is absolutely right to point out the utter small-minded folly of Michael Wood’s decision to make Penlink only two lanes wide. It would be Auckland Harbour Bridge all over again, requiring clip-ons soon after completion. Will we never learn? John Hampson, Meadowbank.
On signs
I have just returned from a short trip to Europe where I saw a road sign on a motorway in five languages. Are Europeans smarter than us or are we just stupid? Geoff Leckie, Flatbush.
Richard Prebble: MPs scared of losing the best job they’ll have
I agree with your analysis Richard, but after reading in the Herald about the three-way meeting in Dunedin between the electoral commission, the Mongrel Mob and the local MP it appears as if Labour is in a total panic about losing most of the Māori seats and if the Mob convince their members and other whānau to ditch the Maori roll for the general roll to get Labour/Greens ( who are soft on crime ) over the line, will that not then throw Te Pāti Māori into a spin over losing a chunk their voting base. David S.
Watching the Labour caucus troupe into parliament the other day brings to mind the immortal Streisand song Send in the Clowns. Very few of them would get the same paying job outside Parliament. Expect more disruption as we get closer to the election and the harsh reality of being out of work looms. John W.
This comment will get criticised but we need to pay politicians more to attract the top private sector talent to these key portfolio areas. New Zealand is our biggest and most important business. Geoff N.
You realise how weird things are when people with so few qualifications and such low skill levels receive such huge salaries. They also do a terrible job, fail to meet the most basic of KPIs, in the real world they would have been fired. Something is seriously wrong. Annie L.
I am far more scared that they will not lose their jobs. Andrew R.
The photo purportedly shows him scaling down from the eighth floor.