Transgender rights
I was dismayed to see the Herald contributing to the transphobic myth that trans women and girls are somehow a danger to cisgender women and girls who use the same bathrooms.
Trans women are women, and trans girls are girls: end of story. There is no logical or ethical reason to stop them using the women's toilets with other women and girls.
I was further disappointed to see the young cis woman quoted using inaccurate terms about her fellow student. The student in question is not a "guy" but a girl, and the correct pronoun is therefore "she".
This kind of misgendering contributes to harmful misconceptions about the trans community and is deeply hurtful to boot. It is a pity your reporter did not take the opportunity to challenge it by using accurate language.
I hope the young woman who is distressed by the idea of sharing bathrooms with other girls, both cis and trans, takes the time to do some thinking and learning. If she does, she will realise trans girls have the right to participate in education and public life, which necessarily entails the right to use the public conveniences that match their gender identity.
Christina Robertson, Sandringham.
Trams plan
If National wants to upstage Labour in this year's elections, supporting the Greens' preferred rail to the airport policy instead of Labour's seriously silly $680 million light rail plan up the middle of already congested Dominion Rd would be smart.
There is no logical reason why increasing electric bus services on the CBD-to-Mt Roskill route, which would stop kerbside for passengers, is not the preferred option.
National could easily accelerate the planning process to get the rail spur from Puhinui Rd station to the airport started now so existing rail services could run right through from the CBD - a policy winner for sure.
Coralie van Camp, Remuera.
Biting the hand that feeds
Rachel Stewart and friends no doubt celebrated the publication of her recent article in the Herald with copious amounts of green tea and gluten-free fruit cake.
Now that post-celebration depression has set in, I wonder how they feel about living in a world without natural milk, cheese, lean meat, leather, milk powder, yoghurt, wool and infant formula. Synthetic cheese anyone? No more roast lamb on the spit or woollen clothes? I don't think so.
In her article of sweeping statements (1800 gallons of water required to produce one pound of meat) she should consider the economic reality. This country has only two major industries - agriculture and tourism.
In 2015 the dairy industry alone produced $15 billion of national income and $4.5b in tax revenue. That pays for an awful lot of schools, hospitals, social welfare and the other good things Rachel enjoys.
Michael G. Lambert, Albany.
Change farming
Thank you, Rachel Stewart, for another prescient article about the urgent need to address the damaging effect on the environment of current milk and meat production. If Federated Farmers stopped wasting their energy issuing defensive attacks on well-researched and knowledgeable critics, they would have more time to work on a vision for sustainable agriculture.
Barbara Grace, Grey Lynn.
School options
Wednesday's front-page report suggests parents are spending half a million dollars or more to move into the Grammar zones to secure what is perceived as a quality education for their children "on the cheap". But consider the parent who stays put in Mt Roskill or some less expensive suburb than Epsom and instead of sending their daughter to Epsom Girls' Grammar sends her, for example, to the neighbouring Diocesan School for Girls.
Over a five-year period they might gradually increase their mortgage by just $100,000. If the market rises they are likely to recover the school fees and if the market falls their exposure to loss will be much less than if they had a bought a more expensive property in the Grammar zone. The relative quality of the education in these schools is hardly an issue.
Is it not a "no-brainer" to stay put in a valued family home, pay the bus fares and enjoy a private school education rather than being seduced by the popular perception of a "free" education?
Richard Quatermass, Muriwai Beach.
Trump coverage
I do not agree with Graham Braddock that the Herald and New Zealand TV are serving up an anti-Trump diet in their coverage of his short time in office. What is being reported is simply his message to the world.
Just as Martin Luther King had his message reported to the world. It's up to the reader or viewer to decide if the message is repulsive or palatable.
Peter Culpan, Te Atatu.
Prophetic remark
I agree with Andrew Stevenson that Trump just can't win with the media. When he said "last night in Sweden" at the Florida rally on Saturday, he may as well have said "last tango in Paris".
But Trump must be prophetic because two nights later there was a riot in Stockholm's Muslim enclave, where a reporter was hospitalised after being attacked by 15 men.
Sweden must be waking up to its immigration problems because in 2016 it went from having the most generous asylum laws to now accepting the bare number of asylum seekers from the EU. The country that produced those Abba songs seems to have met its "Waterloo". Shame.
Pauline Alexander, Waiatarua.
Visiting drivers
Well done to Winston Peters for his recent letter on what his party is doing to address foreign tourist drivers, many of whom are ill-equipped to drive our winding roads.
As a frequent user of Central Otago roads, including the Crown Range and Kawarau Gorge, I have seen first-hand many examples of foreign tourist drivers scared witless, hugging the centre line and crossing it rounding corners.
Equally scary is the silence from transport safety authorities and initiatives from them and rental car companies that can only be interpreted as "Don't do anything to upset the golden egg". Full marks to Mr Peters for his stand and for his proposed bill.
Bruce Eliott, St Heliers.
Nationality matters
Reports about foreign drivers must include the nationality of the driver who caused the incident. This is a critical part of the story; we might discover a trend and then a real solution might be found. Some countries have such a horrendous safety rating that their licences should not be accepted.
The NZ Transport Agency seems very naive about how easy it is to get a fake licence in Asia. China alone has over 250,000 people killed a year on its roads and other countries have taken measures to protect themselves.
Derek Mc Goldrick, Grey Lynn.
Super Fund spurned
I have lived in New Zealand for 40 years. I have noticed that from time to time our Government does something so terrible folks simply can't come to grips with it, so it is never discussed. The most recent terrible event is Bill English's failure to continue payments to the Cullen Fund.
Bill's failure has cost our children and grandchildren an estimated $30 billion. If you say 30b quickly, it doesn't sound like all that much. Look at it this way: Bill English threw away enough money for 30,000 people to retire on.
John Caldwell, Howick.
Non-voting risk
Voter apathy in the US resulted in the Trump presidency. About half of eligible voters failed to vote. Many of them are now sorry and belatedly interested in politics.
I hope there is a lesson in this for the New Zealand elections in September, seeing that about 800,000 eligible voters did not vote in the last two elections. The democratic right to vote was hard fought for and should not be squandered.
Geoff Barlow, Remuera.
