Letters to the editor: Crime rate is the price paid for banning smacking

All New Zealand society has to bear the consequences of the anti-smacking law, says a reader. Photo / Stockbroker/123RF

OPINION

One need not have been a prophet to see that the criminal behaviour we are seeing in so many young people today is the price we pay for outlawing corporal punishment.

I'm sure I'm not the only one of my generation saying "I could see it coming" and "I told you so".

There can be no doubt that a sharp whack that resulted in a bit of physical pain was a very effective way of letting young people know their behaviour was not acceptable and that doing wrong had consequences.

It helped form strong, responsible characters who understood right from wrong. Instead, we have bred a generation of gutless, selfish, irresponsible cowards who know nothing about respect for other people's property.

And for those do-gooders who thought that banning smacking would ease the plight of helpless infants being tortured and murdered by their carers, note: it has made no difference at all. It looks like those people who thought it was a bad idea at the time was right after all.

So, should we repeal the anti-smacking law? Hell, no. That would mean someone would have to admit they were wrong and stuffed up big time.

Meanwhile, the whole of New Zealand's society has to bear the consequences of its bad choice.

Ian Young
Pāpāmoa Beach

Nats' ideas old - time for a transport update

National's Tauranga by-election candidate Sam Uffindell wants to prioritise investment in roading.

Research shows that building more roads only blocks up more roads. In my view, simply building more roads is a band-aid and the wound will burst out of it soon enough.

We need to shift our thinking, shift our behaviour. We need to get out of our cars.

Of course, as infrastructure exists currently in Tauranga that's not easy.

Sustainable solutions for our traffic congestion are smaller, more frequent and more varied bus routes; a cycle-friendly city, suburbs and rural roads; and more boardwalks and walkways connecting suburbs.

We live on an estuary so more boardwalks are a no brainer.

Add in cheap bus fares and free buses to community cardholders and students; a densified CBD with multi-storey buildings and a heart in Tauranga; and car-pooling and subsidies for e-bikes.

Wouldn't Tauranga be an even better place for our grandchildren if they could cycle safely around the city, walk and jog on connecting footpaths everywhere and hop on and off shuttle buses easily and cheaply around the city and its suburbs?

That's my vision for our city.

Kat Macmillan
Tauranga

Inflammatory journalism

The front-page headline in Monday's Bay of Plenty Times is a good example of inflammatory journalism.

There are several ways of looking at the statistics shown, the least likely of which is that police are targeting Māori.

They are too busy for that.

Statistics are just statistics, if you split them by ethnicity they will always show one that stands out.

We don't need our newspapers inflaming the story.

I'm sure their reporters can find better stories around Tauranga.

Dan Russell
Tauranga

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