Letters: Christopher Luxon’s brutal honesty on Jobseeker benefit; the speed limit is not a target

Letters to the Editor

Luxon’s brutal honesty on job-seeking

How is it possible for Labour to criticise Christopher Luxon in his State of the Nation speech at his suggestion to try to get young people off the benefit and into a job (NZ Herald, February 20)?

Whilst acknowledging some have no choice about being on the dole, being on welfare generally leads to low self-esteem, lack of dignity and lack of opportunities. Is this the kind of mindset the Opposition wants to permeate our society?

We want young people, no matter what their abilities, to be aspirational, resilient and creative, who set goals for themselves and go about achieving them in a manner that will inspire others to do the same.

This does not happen in an environment that seems to permeate our society at the moment, given the extraordinarily high numbers on Jobseeker benefits.

Perhaps Luxon is being brutally honest in his analysis of this situation, which is something the Labour Government was reluctant to do in its attempts to constantly appease the electorate when it was in power, with its mantra of “we’re looking into it” when confronted with a problem.

Bernard Walker, Pāpāmoa.

Raising the bar

The political parties differ on the effectiveness of sanctioning job-seeking beneficiaries who do not actively and honestly make efforts to find gainful employment.

A solution might be found by raising the entry bar when benefit applications for an unemployment benefit are first considered.

Honeymoon, no-obligation periods should be shortened and Work and Income support for employment-seeking activities must be stepped up.

There should be no expectation that the Jobseeker benefit privilege will ever be allowed to morph into an entitled lifestyle.

Larry Mitchell, Rothesay Bay.

Two to tango

I hope Christopher Luxon and his cheerleaders keep in mind that it takes two to tango: not only does an unemployed person have to go out and get a job, an employer has to give them one.

One of the big red flags for an employer considering a candidate is if they’re unemployed, and the longer the unemployment the bigger the flag - if they haven’t been able to get a job for so long, there must be something wrong with them. Especially if the labour market is so tight.

It’s safer to pass them over in favour of another already-working candidate looking for a change. Do they have all the skills the employer wants? No? Some employers would rather leave a position unfilled than take on the burden and risk of training, or look overseas for staffing.

Morgan Owens, Manurewa.

Kick in the guts

The past 50 years have seen a massive transfer of wealth from our under-40s to our over-60s. Every government has responded to the fact that many adults under 40 don’t vote - whereas most people over 60 do.

The latest version of “Tough love” (NZ Herald, February 20) gave a slap to the people who voted for the parties now in Opposition. But it has given to the people who don’t vote at all, along with their children, a kick in the guts.

Arch Thomson, Mt Wellington.

Speed limit not a target

The administration of speed cameras is being handed over to NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, with a plan to increase the number of speed cameras (NZ Herald, February 19).

Over the years I have seen many objections to fining motorists who speed. I would like to answer four common objections as follows: It is not revenue-gathering if you obey the speed limit. Don’t speed and no revenue will be gathered.

It is a limit not a target. Instead of staring at your speedometer trying to stay on the limit without going over it, drive slightly under the limit and then it is easy to stay within it.

If you have trouble controlling the speed of your car, then perhaps you shouldn’t be driving one to begin with. Going over the speed limit is a bad habit. If you are not able to consistently practise good driving habits in good conditions, then you run the risk of your bad habits landing you in trouble when the conditions are less forgiving.

The small amount of time saved from driving over the limit pales in comparison with the huge cost of the hundreds who die and the thousands who are injured every year.

Nigel Owen, Hamilton.

Ditch the bridge

The Auckland Harbour Bridge needs to be replaced with a new bridge, with a design similar to the one proposed for the Anzac Centenary Bridge a few years ago that would incorporate road traffic lanes on the top, with rail, pedestrian and cycle paths underneath, running in a more direct route from the Victoria Park flyover in the CBD through to Northcote Point.

In conjunction, the Northern Busway needs to be converted into a rail line, linking into the existing heavy rail network to create a rail service running the length of Auckland from Silverdale to Pukekohe.

This, and other major transport projects in Auckland, could be funded by making better use of the city’s motorway network by removing all the congestion-causing on-ramp signals, and replacing these with toll gantries on all motorway on-ramps from Warkworth to Bombay that would replace the Auckland fuel levy.

The toll gantries would be on the on-ramps only, and not at the beginning of the motorways, so as not to charge people outside the region travelling right through Auckland.

Isaac Broome, Pukekohe.