Sneaky Treaty move
So we’ve had a short-notice, after-hours announcement that the Treaty Principles Bill will be introduced to the House 10 days ahead of the previously announced date – and several days before the hīkoi, which was aiming to reach Parliament the day after the bill’s introduction, even assembles (NZ Herald, November 6).
Coincidentally, it’s also right after the US election, when there’ll be little room in the headlines for local news. It’s a well-worn political tactic to deal with controversial things when people are less likely to be paying attention. But when the core principles on which this country was founded are coming up for debate in ways that many people – of all races – are going to find painful, I’m shocked and disappointed that the Government is not only looking to deflect attention, but also undermine the involvement of key stakeholders.
We all deserve better.
Jackie Brown-Haysom, Northcote.
Election lessons
Most of us here in New Zealand will be wondering why close to 50% of American people support a man such as Trump. Perhaps it is because he is who he is – so dramatically different from the conventional contender. People are simply fed up with repeated governments that promise and rarely deliver. They believe Trump will.
Similar Trumpian sentiments are bearing fruit for far-right parties in European countries. Trump also follows the far-right practice of giving a particular group for the general populace to blame for the ills they bear. In the US it is immigrants, as it is in Europe. And, as we all know, here in New Zealand, in Australia and in England, new governments, irrespective of their political leanings, blame the previous Government.
No matter who wins the US election, I hope our politicians, and those in other Western democracies, learn from it. There are important lessons for them, and us, to heed.
David Hood, Hamilton.
Triple tax hit
In New Zealand, the salary and wage earner is taxed three times on every dollar earned, firstly on PAYE, secondly on GST and thirdly on Kiwisaver, bank savings or investment returns. There is also a secondary tax if one is lucky enough to have more than one job.
A business is able to reclaim GST, a certain portion of the operating costs and rates and, if a property investor, tax relief on mortgage payments. The bright-line test now allows property owners to on-sell for profit, non-taxed, after two years. There is no capital gains tax. There is no wealth tax.
While it is the salary and wage earners, and often those in the lowest-paid jobs, who contribute to the main tax take in New Zealand, they are penalised for attempting to better themselves by being thrifty and saving, which is then also unfairly taxed. Is it any wonder that we have an extremely poor savings record? Where is the incentive? There is none. When are we going to get legislation that rewards New Zealanders for saving, instead of spending?
Marie Kaire, Whangārei.
Food for thought
What an irony it was to see the article about the $17 million upgrade of an Auckland house juxtaposed with the desperate efforts of a foodbank to survive (NZ Herald, November 6). It sums up the financial divide very well, doesn’t it?
The Givealittle page to support Dave Letele’s work grows slowly by small donations and they express gratitude for each one. But where are New Zealand’s truly rich people? If they responded, the Buttabean team’s issues could be solved in a moment. Come on!
Kathy Callander, Paraparaumu.
Anxiety antidote
Correspondent George Williams (NZ Herald, November 5) expresses concern that our children and young people are suffering increasingly from anxiety and that 50% of them attributed it largely to concerns about climate change. He suggests that we temper the “inflammatory language” around climate change.
Might I suggest that their anxiety could better be relieved if they saw that their seniors and our Government were taking more serious action to address the drivers of climate change?
Karla Rix-Trott, Raglan.
