The All Blacks' Ben Smith in last month's Bledisloe Cup triumph - but winning isn't everything. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Why has the Anti-Money Laundering Act/Financial Transactions Reporting Act not reached its second phase? What is disturbing about the Government over the past three years is how it cut costs and did not generate sustainable sources of revenue and growth.
Instead, it actively promoted investment from China and turned a
blind eye to some suspicious transactions. Examples include Bill Liu or Oravida. The economy is fundamentally unbalanced, with houses and banks on one side, and everything else on the other. Low rates have been great for the housing market. Chinese nationals have driven up home prices by paying 20-30 per cent premiums at the top end of the property market, according to buyer agents. If you're on the Asian-investment gravy train, why bother asking pesky questions? Rob Henderson, Central Auckland
What cost climate mitigation?
Climate policies are doing enormous harm. Wind turbines, biofuels and substituting wood for coal in power stations to fight climate change have negligible effects on carbon dioxide emissions, but have driven people into fuel-poverty, made industries uncompetitive, driven up food prices, accelerated the destruction of forests and divided communities. Globally, nearly 200,000 people are dying every year, because we are turning 5 per cent of the grain crop into fuel instead of food. Lord Ridley, former Economist science editor, argues although climate change has done us more good than harm, climate-change policy has been very damaging. The EU is expected to spend more than $300 billion every year for the next 87 years, and in Britain the cost is expected to be $3.5 trillion over this century. We also pay an incredibly high price here, to lower air temperature an undetectable amount.
Denis Shuker, Cambridge
Improve service and calls will drop
