If only those who think they know best would stop labelling them as “boot camps” and give our worst offenders the opportunity to change.
Robin Harrison, Takapuna.
Starting younger
The Government’s proposal of boot camps to combat youth crime is shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.
If the Government was really serious about stopping youth crime, serious investment in finding what drives youth crime would be looking at the beginnings, such as whether the mother had poverty and addiction issues while they were in the womb. Have they lived a transient life from one house to another house? Have their parents been sent to jail?
Why haven’t they attended school? This requires some real investment in finding out the reasons and then spending money on social workers and specialist youth workers to turn lives around.
We have to start with our babies to set them on the right path.
Patricia Guptill, Wattle Downs.
Stern intentions
With respect to the new youth offender programme that National is launching, the sheer gall of Labour and the Greens to criticise it is nothing short of hypocrisy.
When in power they did absolutely nothing to stem the crime wave that is now endemic in this country, but at least now we have a Government that is facing up to the issue.
And to the young offenders, it’s simple. If you don’t want to be involved then behave yourselves, nothing more and nothing less.
Let’s just hope though that this Government does in fact carry through with its intentions. It’s long overdue.
Paul Beck, West Harbour.
Infrastructure investment
There’s a lot going wrong in our beautiful little country. These things happen in life so we just have to get on and fix them.
The RNZAF plane continually breaks down when on government junkets. Sell it and charter from the very efficient Air New Zealand. Easy fix.
The Cook Strait Interislander ferries are past their use-by date. Cook Strait is a section of State Highway 1 - a vital part of the country’s transport infrastructure. Fix the highway.
Charter other reliable ships temporarily and reinstate the recently-cancelled contract to build new ships. The country needs reliable transport services far more than it needs so-called tax cuts. These much-talked about cuts will not happen anyway.
Why do we not hear anything about Interislander’s competitor Bluebridge? Do its ships keep operating without breakdowns?
An example of an efficient quick fix: Cyclone Gabrielle wrecked State Highway 25a in January 2023. All concerned got stuck in, built a new bridge and the highway was reopened in December 2023. If this can be done so efficiently and quickly surely a similar job can be done for Cook Strait.
Borrowing money to invest in infrastructure makes good economical sense. Come on Christopher Luxon and team, get on with it.
John Mead, Greenlane.
Political cycles
All these big-ticket items that we need always fall foul of politicians and our political cycle. These big decisions take more than three years to plan and procure; what we miss is the bipartisan agreement on these crucial infrastructure items so that it does not fall on the previous Government, whomever that may have been.
These things need to be independent of political interference so that there is a cohesive and robust 30-year infrastructure plan, no matter who may come and go throughout the political cycle.
John Ford, Taradale.
