Refinery operations at Marsden Point ceased in April. Photo / Tania Whyte, File
Questionable reliance
Imported contaminated aviation fuel could disrupt airline movements this month (NZ Herald, December 8) leading up to the festive season in New Zealand. At best, the situation could create some major issues with airlines forced to pick up additional fuel offshore and possibly restrict inbound and outbound passenger payloads. This only goes to show our vulnerability now that the Marsden Point refinery has been decommissioned and the oil and gas energy industry, including further exploration, is being phased out - another serious blunder by our Labour Government. Only this week, while in New Zealand, Sanna Marin, the Finnish Prime Minister, emphasised the importance of countries to be, or become, self-reliant rather than dependent on other countries for critical supplies and components. It makes good rational sense given the state of current world affairs wouldn’t you agree?
Randal Lockie, Rothesay Bay.
Out of practice
Your recent article entitled “Relentless pressure: General practices association launches campaign for more funding” echoes the views expressed in your recent editorial entitled “What is the Government’s issue with general practice?” Health Minister Andrew Little continues to deny there is any issue with primary care funding. This is in spite of rigorous data to the contrary presented by GenPro (General Practice Owners Association) and the NZ Nurses Association, and the conclusion of a report initiated by this Government and presented to the Minister five months ago. Because these organisations have run into a bureaucratic wall, GenPro has asked for public support in their campaign, in which they present general practice as being “on the brink” GenPro’s Dr. Tim Malloy states, “if we continue as we are, we’re going to lose 40 per cent of the GP workforce continuously over the next five years”. With these figures, I suggest we re-label general practice (GPs and nurses) as an “endangered species”, and shift management responsibility for this sector to the Minister for Conservation. Perhaps, just perhaps, the graph line pointing towards extinction will be slowed. I won’t, however, be holding my breath.
Dr John Kyle, Ōrewa.
Simmering resentment
National MP Chris Penk’s recent comment stating that “things are going so badly for the Broadcasting Minister that the PM has expressed confidence in him” is humorous at first glance but troublesome upon closer inspection. We all should be troubled even if the Prime Minister is not, given Jackson’s performance in his interview with Jack Tame last Sunday morning. Jackson showed a level of discomfort at the questions about the merger of the public broadcasters Radio NZ and TVNZ that could not be disguised. Jackson’s only defence, when faced with questions about the negative public perception of the merger, was to attack Tame with accusations of being in the thrall of his broadcasting bosses, that he was siding with National and that he was disappointed with Tame’s line of questioning. Maybe Jackson should go back to being a trade union leader where discussions simmer slightly below the level of a bar room brawl, which could quite easily have been the case in last Sunday’s Q+A if Tame had not shown such a high level of professionalism in conducting the interview as opposed to Jackson’s boorish behaviour.
Bernard Walker, Pāpāmoa.
Lump sum
There is one simple way to seriously reduce council expenditure and that is to curtail unnecessary expenditure by Auckland Transport. Typical of their thinking is a proposal to install a new pedestrian crossing with lights and speed bumps on the 60km/h Pakuranga Highway. The justification appears to be that about 200 people daily use bus stops in the vicinity. Assuming that about 90 per cent do not need to cross the road, we would have speed bumps being installed to cater for about 20 people per day. The estimated cost is just short of half a million dollars. How can this expenditure be justified to benefit 20 people at the expense of 30,000 people? The nose-to-tail collisions will be horrendous and the carbon emissions from vehicles as they accelerate away from this crossing and lights will be considerable. At a recent public meeting about 200 people roundly condemned the whole idea. This type of unnecessary spending is rife throughout the city. To those who say that AT can not be instructed what to do, then just stop sending them a cheque for $400 million every month and I think you will find they rather quickly become receptive.
Robert Finley, Howick.
Gone bush
Our indigenous forest, as a carbon sink and fire-resistant contributor to Earth’s reduction of greenhouse gases like no other forest on the planet, is the envy of those countries scrambling to earn carbon credits. So perhaps someone in the Green party or either of the major parties could explain why they have allowed 12 per cent (6.7 million hectares) of it to be chopped down for commercial interests in just the past two decades.
Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.
Long division
A sensible article on subdivisions by Thomas Gibbons (NZ Herald, December 7), it doesn’t affect most people, so it gets ignored. The current tortuous process slows down and adds cost to new developments. This inevitably leads to a housing crisis which does affect most people. More power to Gibbons.
Steve Dransfield, Karori.
Quite a stretch
You could wonder whether café owner Sharon Rayner, in prison for failing to comply with a section of the Food Act, was sentenced under the same judicial system as the three baggage handlers who have just received home detention for conspiracy to smuggle 20kg of methamphetamine.
P. Raine, Auckland Central.
Disaffection rules
It doesn’t bode well for social cohesion when a big chunk of society claims that there is no such thing as society. If a society (denying its own existence) discards a chunk of the people living in it, should it come as any surprise if those people go on to act without any regard for that non-existent society?
Morgan L. Owens, Manurewa.
Nothing doing
I was somewhat bemused and amused by Mark Young’s comments about preferring someone who says nothing rather than does nothing. He clearly agrees that Luxon says nothing but his comments, presumably aimed at Labour, make no sense. National’s hysteria (read policy) is solely about repealing legislation that Labour has introduced. So you cannot have it both ways - either Labour has or hasn’t done anything. Which is it?
Paul Hicks, Warkworth.
Faraway fields
Ironically, the progress of Morocco in the World Cup simply confirms the European dominance of the game. Without eligibility rules allowing diaspora players to represent Morocco and a host of other African teams, they would have been decimated. Sofiane Boufal, the star midfielder, was born in Paris and developed his football in the Angers youth Academy. Hakim Ziyech is from the Netherlands and came through the Heerenveen youth team. Achraf Hakimi, scorer of the winning penalty against Spain, was born in Madrid and came through the Real Madrid academy system. It’s a similar story for a further five of Morocco’s starting eleven. With such sparse homegrown talent, it is difficult to see how African football has progressed much since Cameroon made a good Cup run in 1990.
Peter Jansen, Henderson.
On children
On the one hand, we are appalled that multiple agencies failed a child who was then murdered by his care-giver. On the other hand, a dangerously ill child’s parents’ whim is indulged and we all stand by and watch like it’s a reality TV show. Alan Jenkinson, One Tree Hill.
On transport
Half-priced public transport makes sense, given it takes twice as long to arrive at your destination. Glenn Forsyth, Taupō.
On politics
With an election less than a year away, we should accept no statement by a politician without reflection. The focus will be on the promotion of their own party and/or disparagement of the opposing ones. Anne Martin, Helensville.
If National and Act get elected in the next election don’t expect them to achieve anything in the first 12 months. They’ll be too busy righting the wrongs inflicted by this current Government. Ian Doube, Rotorua.
On poverty
Well said, R. France (NZH, Dec. 8), regarding the one cause of poverty in New Zealand (family size). The same people need to recognise and embrace the value of education, without which they will get nowhere. John Hampson, Meadowbank.
On Indonesia
Are Indonesia’s new sex laws the end of one-night or one-time stands? Will it spread to other puritanical nations? S Mohanakrishnan, Mt Roskill.
Pilots react to jet-fuel rationing
Marsden Point was closed in April this year. Refining margins have never been higher. Refining margins did not collapse. It was the high cost of New Zealand’s electricity that made the refinery unprofitable, coupled with Chinese state-funded/subsidised refineries created specifically to destabilise competitive refining operations. There are no refining operations south of Asia capable of producing military-grade fuel as a result of this idiotic decision. Shona R.
A recent NZH article (August, 2022) advised that Channel NZ (formerly Refining NZ) had the capacity for 900 million litres of aviation fuel at Marsden Point but that (at the time) only 280 million litres were being stored. Has this changed since? Are we storing enough aviation fuel to ensure NZ has a suitable buffer? If not, why not? Greg M.
They don’t have the tanks to store the fuel. Marsden Point has been sabotaged and we are poorer for it. Shona R.
Marsden Point hasn’t been sabotaged, the Private Company that owned it decided they couldn’t make a big enough profit so they closed it down. This was a cut-throat decision made at a time when the Covid pandemic was impacting everything. A classic example of short-term thinking on the part of the refining company. Diana C.
And zero thinking from the Labour government who chose not to support the continuation of Marsden Pt, despite being told by the Opposition and specialised professionals of the risks. Ring a bell, Diana? Seems to be business-as-usual for Labour. Rob K.
In five years, we’ve become a third-world country that students, tourists, and immigrants no longer want to come to, or bother to fight the deliberate obstacles imposed by Immigration. Glenn P.
Patient 'absolutely disgusted' National didn't fund 13 cancer drugs as promised in 2023.