Fresh policy ideas around shifting people out of cars and into public transport will be a vote winner too. Maybe tolls on the Auckland motorways with the toll money going towards cheaper bus and train fares would be something else that could come in on day one?
A young Prime Minister with fresh ideas could be just the tonic we all need.
Glen Stanton, Mairangi Bay.
Fine departure
While the Labour Party now has a dream team, even swinging voters like me must acknowledge the integrity and loyalty Andrew Little has shown us. I am sure with his intellect, empathy and deep humanity he will be offered a position that will enhance our country and communities with the dignity he deserves. A true kaumatua.
Veronique Cornille, Devonport.
Diana's suffering
I could not agree more with Sue Hughes' letter on Paul Little's tirade against the late Diana, Princess of Wales. I bet he has never tried to imagine what it must have been like in her shoes, and the effects on her beloved boys William and Harry of witnessing their mother's suffering over the years. I was reading in one of this week's magazines that there was a list of topics that William and Harry were not allowed to bring up in the documentary on their mother, just to protect Charles' ego.
Katherine Scott, Epsom.
Interests in common
I feel frustrated by the simplistic approach many in the media take when they comment on the differences between what the elderly and young want from the election. I am elderly and want similar policy initiatives to my younger friends. We want actions that reduce the gap between rich and poor and the consequent reduction in poverty and homelessness.
We are not focused on what is in it for me. We know New Zealand would be better if we did not marginalise anyone, be they old or young, rich or poor.
Anne Martin, Papakura.
Walk spoiled
The copious mounds of bird droppings around Western Springs lake spoil what is otherwise a beautiful walk. The mess is unpleasant to navigate and must be a nightmare if you visit with young children. I have not seen this problem at other Auckland parks.
Western Springs is a popular, central park which serves a large community of local people. It also attracts many visitors, as it is next to the zoo. As the inner-city population grows, we need our parks and recreation spaces more than ever. Is it too much to ask to have clean paths?
Gillian Roach, Sandringham.
Competing with seals
In response to your article on Tuesday from the NZ Institute think tank on a "Licence fee for marine recreational fishing", animal conservationists, I have always thought, have the wrong mind-set on the preservation of some of the ferocious fish feeders in our oceans, such as seals, some of which can eat up to 25kg of fish a day. These, after all, are no different from land rats, which we go out of our way to exterminate.
I am not saying we should try to exterminate these creatures as we do land rats, but to nurse a sick seal in a sanctuary and then put it back in the ocean is a bit over the top.
We live and mainly feed off around 19 per cent of the Earth's surface (21 per cent is land but deserts and high mountains are not yielding much). Man's future breadbasket has to come from the oceans in the next millennium, so please go easier on recreational fisherfolk who only catch fish for their own consumption.
Jimmy Anderson, Napier.
Waiting it out
What a sad state of affairs the Mt Albert shopping centre "upgrade" has become. About a year ago this was a wonderfully diverse and colourful community village but since work has started it has become a no-go zone. Trade has reportedly dropped by 70 per cent.
The progress, if any, has been painfully slow and in fact devastating for the small retailers and business owners as month after month, the financial noose slowly tightens around their necks. I believe 11 small businesses so far have been forced to close since the work started. I read that 38 car parks will be lost, which defies belief.
The whole thing is turning into a nightmare for many whose livelihood depends on this upgrade being completed in a more timely fashion. No more dragging of the feet please.
Rex Lyden, Mt Roskill.
Smoking policy
For the life of me, I cannot understand where our minor political parties are coming from. Medical experts want to impose further curbs on the sale and use of tobacco products because of the known damage to the human body, yet at least four political parties now want to replace these health-destroying products by legalising the sale of cannabis, which is equally harmful, if not more so.
This foul-smelling product not only causes problems to the user's body but to those in the vicinity, just like tobacco, and also affects brain cells like alcohol does, thereby making the user unsafe to drive vehicles or operate machinery.
There is now accumulating evidence that it also plays a part in the increasing numbers of people suffering from dementia, a disease that is causing more strain on the health system. Yet these politicians want to inflict this stuff on the community in place of tobacco. It just does not add up.
A.J. MacKenzie, Rotorua.
Blaming the ref
I am very disappointed by the terribly poor and one-sided reporting in your newspaper. Everybody is on the bandwagon about Jaco Peyper's performance in the semifinal between the Lions and Hurricanes. It is typical of New Zealand to look at it only from your way and certainly because you lost. You have become so obsessed with winning that you will go to any length to find excuses for being outplayed in the second half.
Barrett was clearly hooking the ball with his foot upturned, a typical New Zealand ploy to break the rules that we have become used to seeing and which has gone unpunished for too long.
Jaco Peyper applied the rules perfectly and should have handed out another yellow card later in the red zone, something your reporter is deadly silent about. You also forget the Lions played in New Zealand in the final last year with a New Zealand referee. The Lions did not blame him when they lost.
Why don't you report on the brilliant rugby played by the Lions and stop whining. This is also your way, to put pressure on the referee to favour the Crusaders. Good luck to both teams on Saturday and may rugby be the winner, not some bleating reporter who seems to be trying very hard to justify his existence.
Hans De Jager, Strand, South Africa.
Unite for the North
I think if I lived in Northland I would be hoping like crazy the new Labour leadership would act on the unexpected olive branch from the Maori Party. Just imagine, Kelvin Davis on Labour's list, Hone for Tai Tokerau and Winston and Shane - four incredibly able MPs with a common purpose to fight for the most neglected area in New Zealand.
Come on Labour, NZ First, Maori Party, bury your differences and animosities, do some deals (like National) and create a political force the North so desperately needs.
Ben Grubb, Tairua.
