Are we paying for the luxury launch, the beach bach, the new car every two years, the family holiday, those luxuries which are beyond the reach of the majority of Kiwis.
Thousands can't afford to feed their families our own produce any more, let alone house them, so why are we being rorted and burdened in this way and why do we accept it?
DENISE LOCKETT, Whanganui
Long-lost friend
I am trying to get back in touch with an old friend, maiden name Jenifer Martin,who was originally from Wanganui. I hope that someone here will remember her and be able to help me contact her again.
In the mid-1960s I was a young Canadian spending a few years travelling around the world. I worked in Wellington NZ for awhile, and Jenny was one of my flatmates.
I remember her being a leading lady in at least one Ngaio Revue Club musical, while I (of lesser talent) enjoyed being in the chorus. After leaving NZ, I lost touch with her and there was no email in those days to help.
I hope that someone here will remember Jenny and be able to supply some information about her, including her married name if applicable. If so, please could they send a message to me in Facebook, to Julie Lawrence Campbell.
By the way, you have a beautiful country and I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent there.
JULIE CAMPBELL, Ontario, Canada
Religious zealots
As they say at the start of some TV and internet news items .... 'Contains Graphic Material' and 'Parental Guidance is Recommended'!
I must congratulate Carol Webb for her letter (September 7) in which she takes the ultra-right religious beliefs of Mandy Donne-Lee to task.
Mandy's right-to-life mantra appears to outstrip the previous description of early NZ social welfare promises ... 'from the cradle to the grave'. She wants to control everyone's life from conception to departure.
In my mind, this is just quasi-religious twaddle and although she may be able to quote chapter and verse from that collection of myths and fables called 'the Bible', I wonder if she has personally experienced the sins heaped upon the the world in the name of religion.
Of course, a woman has the right to dispose of an unwanted foetus should that be her wish. No one seems to complain when a woman takes a 'morning-after pill' so what is the difference if she decides to achieve the same result a little later in her pregnancy?
Similarly, Mandy Donne-Lee has no right to dictate how I am to depart this mortal coil.
I have a condition that will lead to my demise in the not too distant future. At the moment I face an end similar to that of a recently caught kahawai, flopping around and gasping for breath with my loved ones present until some caring person adds an extra dose of morphine to my palliative care regime.
Surely it would be more humane to allow me to say my goodbyes to those I care for, have a last shot of bourbon with my son and pass peacefully into oblivion, aided by a legally appointed physician in my own home.
D PARTNER, Eastown
US Dreamers
We hear about the 'Dreamers' in the United States -- the children taken illegally into the USA by parents or other illegal immigrants, and how they should not have to pay a price for illegal actions they are innocent of.
Then we hear, from some of the same people who want to protect the innocent 'Dreamers,' that we should all be in favour of abortion. Why?
What crime have these unborn children committed that they are not worthy of protection like the 'Dreamers'?
Of course, they have committed no crime, they are the most innocent among us, and they should not have to pay the price for their parent's crimes, behaviours, or whims.
MELANIE TODD, Whanganui
