Act leader David Seymour. Photo / Mark Mitchell, File
Luxon’s team
I see many pieces on the opinion polls and Christopher Luxon’s poor standing as leader of the National Party. I have a different take on things. Whilst Luxon is not the most political or feisty member of the National party, he is a safe pair of hands. Luckily in New Zealand we are a democracy and what counts much more than the leader are the people that would form a government with him. So, if David Seymour is the deputy. Luxon could leave the jousting in Parliament to him. More than that, we get excellent ministers of finance, health and education, and much more. All, dare I say, sadly lacking at the moment.
Dr Alan Papert, Queenstown.
Better fit
One has to agree with Coralie Van Camp (NZ Herald, May 18), Erica Stanford would be a better fit than Christopher Luxon. One of the problems is that there were great expectations of this man as he was a protege of John Key. This unfortunately can be a two-edged sword because, although it gave him a great start in politics, anything less than outstanding was always going to be a load on his back. Some of National’s policy decisions are also weird, to say the least, which makes one wonder about the ability of his advisors. It may be time for a clean sweep.
Reg Dempster, Albany.
Treaty and the law
The New Zealand Law Society has floated a new statutory duty for lawyers to discharge their duties in accordance with the “principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi”. This will surprise many people. Lawyers who see dangers in this proposal have until May 31 to put submissions to the society. Oddly, the proposition arose from examining recent sexual misbehaviour in the profession. But the society’s leadership adopted investigative terms of reference well beyond this issue, established an “independent review panel” and staffed it so it was likely to champion ideological reforms. Law is about accurate and circumscribed concepts. Working out what the Treaty principles might actually be is a fraught exercise, with no widespread legal or community consensus. If Treaty adherence is to become obligatory, lawyers will need to sort that meaning out, particularly if they could be disciplined for non-adherence. So what might follow for legal practitioners, who are ethically required to advance anything credible that might help their clients, regardless of personal (and political) feelings? Lawyers who see where this Treaty-principles trajectory will ultimately land, have only a few more days to submit.
Dr Roderick Mulgan, Meadowbank.
Age-old question
In 1937, Franklin. D. Roosevelt posed a similar question as James Shaw (NZ Herald, May 17). ”I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished… The test of our progress is not whether we add to the abundance of those who have so much but whether we provide enough for those who have so little.”
S. Turner, Greenlane.
Lackadaisical NZ
The deadly fire at Wellington’s Loafer’s Lodge provides us with a glimpse of our prevailing third-world public safety status. This is consistent with our prevailing national malaise. Our sloppy she’ll-be-right society is typified by a number of public organisations signing off on huge compromises, endangering lives and leading to multiple fatalities. We have a long way to go before New Zealanders can fairly claim satisfactory public safety performance standards.
Larry. N. Mitchell, Rothesay Bay.
Come together
Yesterday, I heard Janis Joplin’s inimitable voice singing the satirical “Lord won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz”. I reflected on the resemblance to the chit-chat and political cat-and-mouse about Budget goodies or not. I thought about the real needs of our country: to care for its people, and prepare for the future; and was tempted to say “Lord won’t you give us a Nordmeyer budget”. But in the aftermath of the tragic fire in Wellington, the words of Mayor Tory Whanau spoke to me: “We just have to come together and give our love to the families impacted by this tragic situation.” As a country, we have to come together in love, to support our vulnerable communities, and build a better future for us all.
Dick Lane, Pt Chevalier.
Basic schooling
I have just read Associate Professor Jenny Poskitt’s defence of NCEA assessment procedures (NZ Herald, May 17). It is hardly surprising that our standard of education is declining internally and in line with the rest of the world when such policies are the basis for curriculum development. Both teachers and students have to deal with “integration and application of knowledge, flexible and critical thinking, analysing and evaluating data and collaboratively creating solutions, contemporary theory practice, cultural responsiveness”, etc, etc. Where is the reference to the need for reading, writing, and arithmetic? Is it hidden amongst all this academic gobbledegook? Professor Poskitt has revealed the reasons why our education system is not producing the results this country needs.
Allan Spence, Waiuku.
Results matter
If the approach espoused by Associate Professor Jenny Poskitt (NZ Herald, May 17) is indeed the correct one, then why isn’t this borne out by our schools’ test results? Specifically, I’m thinking of the recent NCEA pilot numeracy and literacy tests, with pass rates as low as 34 per cent. Results as bad as these in any other industry would result in mass sackings and a change of approach. Yet the madness that seems to have infected the Ministry of Education carries on, failing thousands of students in the process.
Allison Kelly, Mt Eden.
Minus logic
When “new maths” was introduced, academics tried to convince us that it was essential to the learning of computers. This turned out be a fallacy. What it did do was make it hard for students to learn any maths at all. Also it was so complicated that the average parent could no longer help their children with it. As an ex-tutor who dealt with people who had come out of the new system as underachievers, I had the job of re-teaching these people to understand maths that was essential to industries they were to be employed in. None could get the hang of new maths, and the way it was being taught showed no relevance to their future jobs, so they could not see the value of learning it. This has shown up in industries, especially in apprenticeship training. The new NCEA is so poor that compared to the old style, apprenticeship training has turned out tradespeople of a much lower standard.
Tom O’Toole, Taumarunui.
Poor choices
As an addict of pattern puzzles and mildly addicted to logic, I felt I could not go past Jeff Berge’s letter (NZ Herald, May 16) without commenting on his choice of words in the last sentence. To wit, “poor lifestyle choices”. In 1988, I attempted a BA in Classics at the University of Canterbury. A very poor lifestyle choice. On July 4 that year, riding my bicycle, I was struck down while going through a green light because someone went through a red light. A very poor lifestyle choice, that one, going through a green light. Again, to wit: “not working by choice”. I attempted to find work and did some community taskforce jobs. People said they wanted to see proof that you were willing to work; but were never willing to accept the proof when presented with it. So I have not been working, by their choice. I fail to see why I should be punished for their decisions, uniformly bad as they have been. I fear Berge and his ilk write from their undersized life experience, and should be thrown back, to mature.
Wesley Parish, Tauranga.
Re-electing Trump
The well-worn aphorism, “when America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold”, will never be more consequential than if Trump is elected president in 2024, (NZ Herald, May 15). There appears to be no effective antidote to Trump’s brand of poisonous politics. A country so politically divided and staggering under its destructive wild west gun laws doesn’t need a president who cares nothing for the sanctity of a free and democratic process; incited rebellion on January 6 to assuage his wounded ego; and demonstrated time and again his contempt for women. His “America First” policy, belied the global economy. By imposing harsher tariffs on China, Mexico, Canada, and the European Union, US firms and consumers absorbed added costs associated with this policy - hardly a show of strength. The final denouement may well be a withdrawal of funding for Ukraine. Trump and the Republican party have stated that support for Ukraine has an expiry date. Tragically, the only one that would triumph from a Trump presidency is Putin. I pray America doesn’t let this happen.
Mary Hearn, Glendowie.
Narrow-minded
What is it with all these surveys? Penlink communications (yes, the too-small bridge over the Weiti River) want my opinion. I have communicated several times with Penlink to advise that two lanes will be found to be too small straight away and they should have built a bridge with the dynamic three lanes like the beginning of Whangaparāoa Rd. How many times can you tell them the same thing when they are not listening?
Gary Carter, Gulf Harbour.
On education
Thank you for publishing the opinion piece written by Associate Professor Jenny Poskitt (NZH, May 17) as it enabled me to understand what’s wrong with education in New Zealand. It is constipated with jargon. Richard Morgan, Maunu.
Three hundred million dollars to build 300 classrooms? One million dollars each? How much for consultants? Yep, we do have a major numeracy problem. Ian Doube, Rotorua.
On fire
New Zealand, the land of milk and honey, is turning into natural and man-made disasters. Good question, James Shaw (NZH, May 17): What kind of country are we? Tiong Ang, Mt Roskill.
On Hawaii
Although the answer to the question: “Which country is widely regarded as the birthplace of modern surfing.” is given as “Hawaii” in Wednesday’s daily quiz, I don’t believe the Hawaiian independence movement has succeeded to that degree quite yet. Doug Hannan, Mt Maunganui.
On taxation
We do not tax the rich to give to the poor, Mr. Berge (NZH, May 16). Tax pays for better hospitals, schools, roads and other things needed by every one of us. Susan Grimsdell, Auckland Central.
On violence
It is becoming increasingly evident that the main element of the everyday attacks is cowardice. What a hopeless, frightening mess our society has become. Graham Steenson, Whakatāne.
Parents back Greg Murphy’s call for action on street racers
Everybody’s right except Police Minister Ginny Anderson. The police are not being given the appropriate resources and support. This Government, supported by a softly-softly commissioner, has seen crime rates soar and dangerous/reckless driving increase exponentially. In most circumstances, police aren’t allowed to pursue drivers who refuse to stop. The media talk about a police chase as if it’s the fault of the police. In every case, the pursuit is started by the offender and it’s time people understood that the responsibility for the consequences sits squarely on the offender. They can always choose to stop. John K.
Let’s join the civilised world and make a minimum of third-party insurance compulsory. You would see an immediate reduction of idiots on the road in modified cars and drivers with a poor record who would be priced out of the insurance market. It’s an instant fix and would have a dramatic and immediate impact on our appalling accident stats. It beggars belief it’s not happening given that in most other countries, the penalties for driving uninsured are draconian. When will we grow up and face the facts? John D.
Along with compulsory third-party insurance, how about adjusting the penalties for a bunch of other road rules? Like cell phone use, “false” WoFs, drunk drivers, etc. I would also arrange for every police car to have number plate recognition software, introduce roadside drug testing and insist the police actually carry out road policing. Jim T.
If that would make any difference, other countries wouldn’t have a street racing problem. Get out and about a bit and you will see that Australia, the UK, the US, and dozens of other countries have similar problems. Brian G.
Bring back Judy “Crusher” Colins. We need her to crush more than three cars this time around though. Max K.
He faces two charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.