The gender pay gap is a load of bollocks. Once unions were wiped and employment contracts brought in, you either get paid what you are worth or what you have negotiated.
As a male with 35 years experience in the auto parts industry, currently working in South Auckland, I know for a fact I will earn more working in a franchise, even more if I work in a dealership in Mt Eden. If you are not happy with your working conditions either get another job or stop whinging.
I am sure Rachel Hunter got paid hundreds of thousands more than her male counterparts, but I've never heard a peep out of the bra burners about that.
James G McCormick, Port Waikato.
House traders
In your coverage of the sale and rapid resale of the Papakura house owned by Mr and Mrs Booth, you identify the purchaser as Hua Wu and call him a property investor. This is incorrect. By definition, an investor is someone who holds an investment for a period of time, seeking to profit from this investment. Mr Wu did not do this. For this transaction he was a property trader.
Trading is a legitimate business activity, many businesses do such work. However, there is a major difference between traders, who buy and sell, and investors who buy and hold.
Peter Lewis, vice-president, Auckland Property Investors Association.
Weight of submissions
Ken Orr could ask any parliamentary select committee member and they will tell him submissions have little to do with public opinion. In a truly compassionate society, doctors should be required and trained to give all patients the care and treatment they require to make them well and with the minimum amount of pain. This would include the termination of life when the management of pain for terminally ill patients was no longer possible.
As this has always been part of a vet's training, it is clear that we have more compassion for animals than other humans. It seems strange we have laws against torture but don't include the terminally ill when in pain. It is, however, good we have strong opposition on euthanasia as this will ensure that the resultant law is carefully thought out, worded and policed to avoid abuse.
Trevor Lowe, Hamilton.
Auckland's garden
The need for additional houses and somewhere to put them is undisputed, but people need food as much as shelter. The plan to designate areas of Pukekohe as available for building is most concerning. Do planners look at a map and seeing an "empty" space decide it is suitable for building on? Surely with proper investigation they would realise the importance of the area to the city's food supply.
Once the Rosebank Peninsula and Mangere were lost to industry and housing, only Pukekohe has remained as Auckland's "bread basket". This short-sighted plan needs rethinking.
P. Belsham, Mt Albert.
Bed tax
I find Bromhead's cartoon yesterday tasteless and inaccurate. The proposed charges will put some places out of business rather than lay golden eggs. It may encourage others to commute to Auckland rather than stay here overnight.
I don't think tourism will forever increase. China and the US are having problems that could affect New Zealand tourism. I think the council should look at ways to make itself more efficient before it tries to impose charges on others.
One idea that springs to mind is to have an integrated numbering scheme for Great South Rd. The amount of confusion that arises and extra time and road traffic the present system causes needs to be addressed and now. All that needs to be done is for 1000 to be added to the existing numbers whenever the numbering restarts. Easy peasy.
Michael Dawson, Papatoetoe.
Age of entitlement
As one of the early baby boomers, born in 1947, I was in the group that saw our superannuation age raised by five years, from 60 to 65 with a much shorter lead-in time. No one seems to have mentioned this bigger jump that particularly affected many women who didn't have the kinds of advantages like equal pay that our perennially-aggrieved millennials enjoy.
But, like them, we were given some warning and time to plan ahead, even if the road was a bit harder for many of us.
In my 70th year, I am happy to continue working and paying taxes to make sure my children and grandchildren have the opportunities our parents worked hard for to provide for us, even though this new generation has far outstripped me in income, assets and standard of living, just as it should be.
Bea Braun, Hamilton.
Painless rise
Following the announcement of a proposed increase in age by two years for eligibility of our superannuation, we need only think back to April 1 2001, when a nine-year progressive increase in the eligibility age from 60 to 65 was completed.
I did not hear all the outrage and mud-slinging we are seeing in the media at present. I'm sure there were lots of 60-plus people who were disappointed but I'm sure they got on with their lives, readjusted their spending and are still alive today.
Dick Ayres, Auckland Central.
Reverse in Canada
I see very little reference to the affect an increase in the super age may have on unemployment. Doesn't extending work by two years for older people take away two years from younger people?
Also, in Canada, the previous Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, and his government went down the same path, legislating for the age to be increased to 67. The people voted Justin Trudeau into office, who reverted to 65 years.
Terrence Gunanayagam, Papatoetoe.
Secession plan
It was with shock that we read in the Herald on Tuesday of the Auckland Council's plans to accelerate the destruction of Warkworth as we know it by forcing upon it large scale development which will turn the area into a "mini city". It is highly inappropriate to embark on this course of action when there is a serious application by the Northern Action Group to secede from the Auckland Super City.
This application is well on the way to being assessed by the Local Government Commission and, until its ruling is given, the Auckland Council should put any further planning of the affected area on hold.
John and Barb Maltby, Warkworth.
Somali remittances
I am ashamed at the way our banks have refused to deal with remittance companies set up to send money from Somali New Zealanders to starving Somalis in dire need. This is despite the Reserve Bank two years ago urging them to do so for companies vetted by the Department of Internal Affairs.
Whole communities have starved because Australian banks taking huge profits out of New Zealand are unwilling to follow our Reserve Bank's advice and deal with companies that have taken all the risk out of such transactions. This has been done by restricting amounts, ensuring donors are citizens with bank accounts, and a number of other security precautions.
Steve Liddle, Napier.
Super rate
I note in Tuesday's paper the payments for NZ Super is $353.50 each a week for a married couple.
After tax of $79 each a week the net payment is actually $295.97. The rate is worked on 66 per cent of the average wage which, thanks to New Zealand First, was set when Jenny Shipley wanted to lower it to 62 per cent of the average wage. The law states the super rate should be 66-72.5 per cent of the average wage. I am waiting with baited breath to see this happen in my lifetime.
Sharon Marks, Te Aroha.
