When growers say they are selling produce below cost I believe them.
If they speak out, the chains will not buy their product, basically putting them out of business.
These supermarket chains rip the growers/producers, grossly inflating prices, then rip the NZ public.
It must stop now.
There needs to be a commission set up.
An even better idea would be for the government to set up a supermarket chain as a state-owned enterprise.
It would be a better option than financial bailouts of insurance and finance companies.
They could be operated to make a marginal profit and be beneficial to the public.
Come on local MPs, table a referendum, let's regulate and get a mandatory code of conduct forced on these businesses.
The NZ public has had a gutsful.
(Abridged)
Daryl Harlan, Welcome Bay
Jobs for youth
This government wants all young people in the workforce.
Are they going to create jobs for them? They also expect people to work until they are 65.
Surely if they brought the retirement age down to 60 then countless numbers of jobs would suddenly become available for these youngsters.
They can't have it both ways as there are not enough jobs to go around.
S Jones, Hairini
Ill-advised tactic
In times when we've never been more in need of having all our intellectual capital developed, the tactic of making it tougher to get into university (News, August 13) gets visited upon us.
It seems a confused response to what ought to be the objectives here.
Those are improving the quality of educational outcomes across the board and ensuring all students develop all of their "remarkably similar" capacity to learn.
Instead, what it appears to be is something designed to keep students "engaged more at the senior level of the school" and an ill-disguised attempt at rationing tertiary education in times of economic downturn.
As a quality improver, increasing the credits required is a bacon slicer approach.
More off the same bacon piece is no guarantee of improved rasher quality.
More NCEA credits won't ensure students are better learners, either.
Quality and quantity are being confused here.
Nuthall's research clearly says the quality of learning across the board is the issue, in our system only about half of the total capacity to learn of our nation's young gets developed.
Neither will the hard-work Calvinistic ethic - evident in the remarks of a Tauranga principal who said, "These changes are motivating", - serve us well here.
NCEA is a bacon slicer model of qualification. Our students deserve better.
Laurie Loper, Tauranga
Equinox shift?
Re: Sun may disrupt live Cup coverage (August 6) I am surprised that no one has replied to your question: "What do you think?"
Since when have equinoxes changed to summer and winter? If this was so, the games coverage would not be affected as they are being held in the spring.
I was taught about 1932 at the small country school of Mayfield in mid-Canterbury that equinoxes occur in spring and autumn namely on September 22 and March 22, which is correct as it is then that we have equal day and night.
It would be interesting to know which school TVNZ transmission services manager Wayne Hubbard attended.
Keith Oakley, Mount Maunganui
Text Views
* As a self confessed drug user/ criminal Dunne's anti-drug legislation makes him both a coward and a hypocrite of the highest order.
* i was disgusted 2 see at least 10 cars not stop 4 the 2 kids who waited patiantly @ the x-ing by otumoetai primary on tuesday nite, it wasn't dark
* So much for global warming ...
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