"I’m at a loss to think of when if ever the America's Cup was a 'friendly' competition," says a letter writer.
When was the America’s Cup friendly?
While I found the Weekend Herald interview with Grant Dalton informative, one point has left me bewildered (Canvas, Sept 7).
In the interview, he is reported as saying along the lines of the fact that, unlike today, in the past the America’s Cup was a friendly competition.
I’m at a loss to think of when if ever it was a “friendly” competition. From the very beginning the defenders have done just about anything both on and off the water to disadvantage any and all challengers. Challengers have expended just as much effort looking for loopholes that they could exploit to their advantage.
In the first race, competitors were required to sail their boats to the regatta. That meant the American entry sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and then won. Over the years, the legal profession has made a fortune arguing in court over the interpretation of the deeds.
There have been accusations of cheating. To me, there never has been a time when this was a friendly competition.
Being a veteran of sailing regattas and round-the-world races, maybe Grant Dalton has a different definition. I would love to hear what he thinks is an unfriendly competition.
Dunstan Sheldon, Hamilton.
Losing our religion
What a challenging front page with which the Herald hit us on Saturday - “Four killings in two weeks ’tragic timing’ “.
However as our society has spent decades blindly making its way down the path towards godlessness, perhaps we should have expected such a shock sooner rather than later. For years many have warned that following such a path leads to great costs for the members of the societies taking it.
This disastrous fortnight is not some “out of the blue, one-off”. Have we forgotten all those others who have died violent deaths recently - all precious to their families and friends? Not all died at the hands of older hardened criminals who couldn’t care less.
Some were maimed, some killed at the hands of much younger offenders who lack the maturity to even begin to understand the repercussions of their crimes.
We need to face up to tough questions. For example: were some ram-raid leaders only in their early teens? Were some of the ram-raid assistants really only 9 years of age?
Were ram-raiders really carrying machetes, hammers and knives? Did some maim and kill? Will the living victims ever fully recover?
Don’t fear, urge our influencers. Really? If not now, how many must die? How bad must it get before these influencers say “Okay this is serious, now you can fear.”
For months we have been hearing people from all walks of life admitting that they do fear, some daily as they set out for work. Those concerned and fearing include many officers and servants as well as the man in the street.
Among them are drivers of police cars, ambulances, buses, fire engines and courier vans. There are shop assistants, dairy owners, walkers, joggers, cyclists and other get-fit folk - one could go on. Oh, I nearly forgot our senior citizens.
Maybe, just maybe, we should be asking ourselves whether our society is on the best possible path any society could choose.
Les Gale, Howick.
River of cash
It must be a great consolation to those folks who have lost their homes and possessions in West Auckland when $20 million of rates money can be handed to the Waikato oligarchies with little accountability demanded (Weekend Herald, Sept 7).
It would be more than interesting to know what admin fees will be paid to those wise men to share their wisdom. One can understand now why the 3 million litres we are paying for cannot be used to drive the turbines at Huntly. I am confused just who owns the river?
Robert Reece, Manurewa.
Co-ed advantage
Alwyn Poole deserves credit for challenging the reason-for-being of large boys’ schools and the culture they create (NZ Herald, Sept 11).
Whole countries do not have five years of single-sex education and find the remaining reasons of choice, young women’s catch-up, leadership opportunities and academic results as no longer applicable, or simply overtaken by the experience of co-eds.
Even religious schools in Ireland and public schools in the home of separation, England, are changing. Co-eds are no longer seen as “complicating things” or necessary to protect hormonal adolescents from themselves, but are seen in disciplined schools as preparation for future workaday worlds.
This advantage, for smaller and larger schools, includes both a greater range of humanities subjects – as well as lifetime friendships and mutual respect that comes from learning alongside each other.
Poole instances some effects of gender separation in boys’ schools, but each have their distortions. Certainly the “harden up” labelling we know now, via Mike King’s and John Kirwan’s expose and programmes, can be part of ‘toxic masculinity’ – rather than examples of the yin-yang personality integration I experienced when I was converted to teaching co-ed.
Steve Liddle, Napier.
Primary concern
Regrettably, the announcements made by the Health Minister this week to improve services are not new goals (NZ Herald, Sept 13).
Having been employed in the health system since 1987, I’ve seen this all before. The minister’s suggestions and expectations have been done, or are being done already. Promoting discharges seven days a week is a good start.
What really needs investment is the primary care space. While that is broken, the emergency department is the default for coughs and colds, which is not the department’s primary function. The other real issue is primary health is not free, the emergency department is.
That huge anomaly should be the minister’s real focus so that the acute cases the ED is built for can be managed safely and in a timely fashion.
John Ford, Taradale.
Banking secrets
Your correspondent Nick Rowe made some excellent points in his letter (Weekend Herald, Sept 7).
He is exactly right: Banks take vastly more from the economy than they contribute.
The supermarkets may not be particularly competitive, but this pales into relative insignificance with the banks. Adding insult to industry, vast profits are being siphoned off to Australia. Just think of this like another tax, except that it goes not to a government but to private shareholders.
One thing I would clarify though: Nick spoke of the difference between term deposits and interest rates. While that is important, the real profit for banks lies in them being able to (legally I might add) create the money they loan out as debt in the first place. So the profits they make are not only based on the difference between interest paid and interest received; they are based on no interest paid on money they have no just or justifiable entitlement to in the first place.
Seems unbelievable but it’s true.
Peter Judd, Māngere Bridge.
Hiking fees
The headline “Hiking fees for overseas tourists inexplicable while sector recovers” caught my eye, written by of all people Steven Joyce (Weekend Herald, Sept 7).
The former finance minister was gobsmacked by this suggestion as “the tourisim sector needs all the help it can get and this will flatten it”. Another and perhaps more important information was “we are desperately looking for money down the back of the couch to somehow repair the Government’s budget”.
This tells me he is not convinced by Nicola Willis and her idea of running the finances of this country - very interesting reading indeed.
Sharon Marks, Te Aroha.
It should become clear to most people by now that the present structure of the energy sector is not fit for the requirements of the NZ economy of the future. Without developing an energy strategy, we will not be able to fully benefit from the potential renewable energy can bring. While we need secure supply of electricity at a fair price, we also need the overflow of solar and wind, be it to charge batteries, produce hydrogen or synthetic fuels or fertiliser for farming or to power ships. We need a fair market, fair access to the power grid, investment in the power grid and equal access to government support. Why for instance can an investor in a solar farm get support from the government but we don’t get support for the installation of solar rooftops and associated batteries?
Chris Kaelin, Te Awamutu.
Whether it is on establishing a local body ward, or clarifying a set of legal principles, a referendum is democracy in action, and therefore nothing to be afraid of.
Mike Wagg, Freemans Bay.
Why are we being subjected on a daily basis to the destructive “beliefs” of the Act Party? These include relaxing gun laws and introducing a new version of the Treaty of Waitangi, which has been discredited and rejected by 90% of the public and 100% of experts. Our whole political system is being traduced by bad actors who promote misinformation, directly from the Trump playbook. We must reject Seymour’s party and their antisocial ideas in order to focus on our real problems, which urgently need to be addressed. Luxon needs to wake up.
Vivien Fergusson, Mt Eden.
Regarding your story about the PM calling out Hawke’s Bay doctors for prioritising Māori and Pasifika people, I suggest he is the one who is missing the point. Māori and Pasifika people have had lower access to healthcare for many decades, so it is only fair that they enjoy a period where they are prioritised higher than others.
Ra Cleave, Rotorua.
Please can someone explain why Monkey Pox is not acceptable and is now called Mpox, while we still talk about chickenpox and cowpox and dread the return of smallpox?
Neville Cameron, Coromandel.
KiwiRail fined $412,000 - meaning, as KiwiRail is a state-owned company, the taxpayer will pay the fine.
Wendy Galloway, Ōmokoroa.
Why is it democratic to promote a bill in Parliament, but undemocratic to voice opposition to it? My local MP is acting his favourite role as provocateur: in this case, to the detriment of our nation.
Anne Priestley, Remuera.
It seems a little odd that the people who are so insistent that a provision for adherence to the principles of the Treaty be included in every act of Parliament are the very people who so vehemently oppose legislation defining those principles.
Peter Newfield, Takapuna.
David Seymour’s Treaty Bill is costing the taxpayer millions of dollars. Why doesn’t he campaign to end the monarchy, which is considerably cheaper? If that happens the Treaty would be null and void. But that wouldn’t be okay for the voters of Epsom or Māori.
Rex Head, Papatoetoe.
Depriving minorities of rights is not democracy – it is tyranny. Improving minority rights and giving them a voice is not undemocratic.
Kushlan Sugathapala, Epsom.
When I see the number of people who park illegally in mobility spaces, I’m tempted to leave a note under the windscreen wipers saying: “Arrogance, laziness and stupidity are not recognised disabilities.”
Maxine Samson, Whakatāne.
How a resilient Kiwi village hopes to bounce back from a big drop in visitors.