Kane Williamson, right, walks off the field after being dismissed by Australia during their cricket test match in Melbourne. Photo / AP
The historical ongoing problems apparent over the past decade in New Zealand cricketers are alive and well, with players' inflated egos showing they still believe their own spin doctoring.
Surely it is about time these perennial underperformers/underachievers accepted that their paucity of talent, poor technical skills and other deficiencies — including the failure to face reality — is the catalyst for abject failure.
The most alarming feature is the Black Caps lack the will to stay in the fight when the going gets tough. Even if winning isn't everything, it is often how you lose that is critical. NZ's major issue is they can't play real quickies or handle genuine spin.
Aussies have three world-class batsmen and four top bowlers while on recent performances Kiwis have zilch.
Little wonder we have not played a Boxing Day test in Oz since 1987 and I bet the Aussies will not be keen to have us back any time in the near future.
Rob Paterson, Mount Maunganui.
Your editorial on Saturday, 'Here's to a fine decade', left me nearly speechless.
Have you not been reading your own newspaper for the past 10 years? While we may not have all of the problems of the northern hemisphere, we surely have plenty of our own. How about family violence, increasing inequality, polluted waterways, silent forest — are you really wishing us another 10 years of the same?
Is not climate change an ever-increasing threat? While we may have made a few tentative steps in the right direction, we are far from making real progress in cutting emissions and cleaning up our act.
Julian Fitter, Te Puke.
Last New Year I resolved to pick up 1095 pieces of plastic through the 2019 year.
Unfortunately I failed my resolution. Around March I got fed up with keeping count at 226. I continued to pick up plastic without keeping count and estimate that I gathered about 500 pieces for the year.
So I failed my New Year resolution, but I think it was still worthwhile, there were 500 fewer pieces of plastic to be washed out into the Pacific.
So did I make a difference? Most likely not. Did I save 500 turtles from choking? Most likely not. But maybe a little did help.
I will continue to do the same again this year but without bothering to keep count. I would be happy for you to join me on a New Year resolution which will make a difference.
Paul Taylor, Burswood.
Your editorial focuses on the feelings of the banking sector and the business community's unease about Adrian Orr's "unorthodoxy" and "unpredictability". But the general (informed) public might be very happy to have someone of his calibre and values at the helm. The big four Australian banks' conduct has been revealed as reprehensible and New Zealand banks probably not as squeaky clean as they would have us believe.
Instead of a Reserve Bank governor who quietly maintains the status quo, we have a proven, highly intelligent, unconventional bank head who wants, in his considered opinion, to right some wrongs, in the interest of democracy, financial security and greater transparency. I believe he has lots of fans.
B. Darragh, Auckland Central.
While Australia burns from fires and heat-wave temperatures NZ seems to be hit less by high temperatures than by the growing problem of quickening UV burn times.
Yesterday the UV index of 12 equated to a burn time of about 12 minutes. Scary by anyone's standard, honouring NZ with the highest rate of melanoma in the world, killing more than 300 people each year.
Our isolation in the South Pacific gives us no immunity from the atmospheric damage caused by greenhouse gas emissions of industry and machinery used in the northern hemisphere where most of the world's masses live.
Being "microwaved alive" may become a common phrase as the decade from 2020 gets under way.
Rob Buchanan, Kerikeri.
In your story Power Play you say the Government plans to establish more electric car infrastructure such as charging stations over the coming years.
That is not good enough, it needs to be done now. ChargeNet has a reasonable coverage over NZ, but most of the charge stations can do only one car at a time and the power rate is 50 kilowatts max.
I have a Jaguar I-Pace and it can charge at 100kW, which would make stopping to charge on a long trip shorter. Over the holiday period I had to wait to charge up as someone was on the charge station.
This makes my trip from Whanganui to Auckland about 90 minutes longer and with the increase in electric cars it is only going to get worse. BP petrol stations in the UK are all having 100kW charge points fitted and some going up to 150kW. In some of the European towns you can charge up to 12 cars at once.
Richard Bould, Whanganui.
The bike trail that runs from Westgate mall in West Auckland beside the motorway to the central city is great overall. But like almost everything done in Auckland there are shortcomings that should have been addressed, especially while the whole roadway was being rebuilt.
Cyclists and cars need to be separated but at Lincoln Rd, now a major intersection, cyclists must cross three roadways all of which get incredibly busy. Yet at the next similar such crossing, Te Atatu, a small tunnel runs under the road providing safe and uninterrupted cycling. This should have been done for all crossings because the bikeway is indeed very popular. Hopefully it won't take a fatality at a crossing to prove the point, but why not do it once and do it right?
Paul Beck, West Harbour.
Child poverty and hunger is a dreadful thing, but throwing money at problems is not a solution. Children cannot eat money.
In Australia the Government has proposed cashless debit cards for beneficiaries, which do not enable money to be spent easily on gambling, alcohol, tobacco and drugs.
This has, of course, upset the above industries, who have lobbied very hard and managed to get this blocked in the Australian Senate.
Many beneficiaries are incapable of budgeting and have addictions and compulsions, consequently their children's welfare may not be a priority.
The cashless debit card is an idea that would suit NZ and possibly reduce the number of hungry children.
Neville Cameron, Coromandel.
Much has been written about the Aussie bowling attack and how awesome it was. The reality is NZ batting was pathetic as they got themselves out flailing at balls wide of the wicket that didn't even deserve a shot. The Aussie bowlers were off target, not even near the wicket, and the NZ batsmen still managed to get out. NZ needs to copy Oz and be patient.
Jock MacVicar, Hauraki.
Robert Burrow is quite right when he says nuclear power is the best way of reducing man-made carbon dioxide. Contrary to public belief nuclear power has proved to be, by far, the safest major form of power generation. Large dams have killed more than 250,000 people and a major dam failure could kill more than a million.
Unlike wind and solar power, nuclear power is reliable, has a very long life and contributes to system stability. Anyone who believes we should shun nuclear power because of the Chernobyl accident should refuse to travel in a modern cruise liner because the Titanic did not have enough lifeboats. Discussions on the safety of nuclear power should focus on more recent reactors that have not killed anyone from radiation. According to the United Nations Fukushima has not, and will not, kill anyone from radiation. But many died as a result of the panic evacuations from places where the radiation level was not dangerous.
If reducing CO2 emissions is the aim, adopting nuclear power will achieve much more than banning gas exploration which will probably result in an increase in emissions from increased use of coal.
Bryan Leyland, Pt Chevalier.
How magnanimous of the Government to spend a heap of our money on new EVs. (NZ Herald, December 30).
Of course the average punter can't just change cars like that, because they don't have an unlimited source of funds.
Quite why politicians think they need or deserve large chauffer-driven cars has always escaped me. How quickly they forget the people who put them in Parliament and from whence they came.
John Clements, Orewa.
Your correspondent J. Billingsley, concerned about parking being provided in new CBD buildings, presumably has no need of it due to a reliable green bus service link through Parnell.
The increase in EVs replacing fossil-fuelled motors has some expensive Tesla cars gliding around Remuera, driven by guilt-free owners, who won't be riding cycles into the city any time soon.
Logical thinking would suggest more cars on our roads in future, not less. EVs need to be parked (and charged) too.
Coralie van Camp, Remuera.
On Government
Goodbye to the coalition Government's year of dithery.
Mike Wagg, Freemans Bay.
On Tuia 250
I would like to respond to your correspondent Bruce Tubb in which he bemoans the money spent on the Tuia 250 commemorations. Given that the $23 million amounts to less than $5 per NZ citizen, it is a small amount to pay for bringing all those who participated up to date with our own history.
As a busy doctor who is having trouble paying my excellent nursing staff what they are worth, I still believe it is money well spent.
John Clark, Panmure.
On buses
Our local inconvenient and infrequent feeder bus service, introduced four years ago, still operates all day with almost no passengers. Many people went back to their cars. I wonder if any similar services in the city have actually been the success AT thought they would be.
Pamela Russell, Auckland.
On the cricket
Jarrod Gilbert's article on the state of the current Black Caps test team sums it up nicely. We just got too far in front of ourselves.
Tim Masters, Waihi Beach.
Would renaming the Black Caps as New Zealand help to strengthen and improve the team's batting?
Iain Wakefield.
On the port
Could Auckland's port be reduced in size and upgraded to handle only container shipping? Any other shipping freight (cars, raw materials etc) to go through a new set up at Whangārei Harbour.
Robyn McDonald.
Emergency services were called to the scene about 8.30pm.