A close up of the Meadle-East Respiratory Syndrome, also known as the coronovirus. Photo / supplied
After a lot of international media coverage over a new viral strain, called "coronavirus", our government officials, opposition spokesmen and university professors all agree on the most common sense approach on prevention of the spread of it, by checking arrivals at our airport terminals.
However novel news
this potential epidemic may well be, the common flu virus never gets this level of attention, while the latter could easily kill almost anyone infected as rampantly as the coronavirus. In reality, anyone with a weakened immune system would be fair game in both cases.
Apart from the fact that it sells breathing masks and vitamin pills, we are probably (and hopefully) just buying into a heightened level of curiosity about a medical event, while hoping it will never spread far.
But, with an incubation period of 10 days, you would never be any the wiser when, where or how you would have been infected.
Maybe, if we were to spend more of our efforts into leading healthier lifestyles creating healthier bodies, wouldn't that be more productive than buying into large-scale fear mongering?
René Blezer, Taupō.
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Re: the "Greening the economy" feature (NZ Herald, January 24): Along with the concept of "regenerative agriculture" urgent attention should be given to the preservation of our most fertile growing areas which are rapidly being lost to housing and commercial developments, especially in South Auckland. Having to import food when we can no longer grow enough for our increasing population would make nonsense of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Anne Martin, Helensville.
The NZ Welfare scheme, introduced by a compassionate Labour government 80 years ago, certainly needs urgent attention. With government advice this week that numbers are "soaring", welfare has become an uncontrollable monster.
Originally designed to give those in genuine need a welcome safety net and "hand up", we now have a totally unsustainable situation, where unbelievably one out of two New Zealanders now receive some sort of welfare benefit.
As a result of this "handout" mentality, hundreds of thousands of people are unnecessarily locked into a dependency cycle, often over several generations, with also many immigrants ending up requiring continuing government support.
In order to buy political power, for years now successive governments of all political persuasions have continually increased unnecessary welfare, even to many well off middle-class individuals. This has resulted in an onset of widespread laziness, low self-esteem poor parenting, crime, drug abuse, unacceptable gang behaviour, and youth suicide. There has to be an urgent and totally bipartisan agreement of all political parties to change this appalling situation.
Not at all easy, but the truth must be faced.
Hylton Le Grice, Remuera.
I take Harold Clow's point about people in poverty needing a way out of their predicament (NZ Herald, January 24), but burning fossil fuels is not the solution.
For developed countries, whose advanced economies were built on fossil fuels and the sweat of underdeveloped countries, it is pay back time. It is their responsibility to develop and make available to the less fortunate cost-effective means of sustainable energy.
We are already at a crucial ecological tipping point. Another 1-2 billion users if coal and oil would be utterly disastrous. All developing countries should be given every encouragement to reduce fossil fuel use.
Chris Bangs, Hillsborough.
In a recent interview, the Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar claimed that, in the forthcoming trade talks between the EU and Britain, the EU would have the advantage.
To support this view he said that the EU had 450 million people and Britain only 60 million.
In a football match between the two, he said, who would have the better side? Someone should tell him about New Zealand and the All Blacks.
Gerald Payman, Mt Albert.
How interesting that David Nelson – Portfolio Delivery, Director (Projects), AT – apparently forgets the PR script in his reply (NZ Herald, January 24) regarding AT and the Matakana Link roading project.
His blithe admission that AT is "currently working through appeals" before the construction contract can be awarded, and "to minimise the risk of delays, we are looking at doing preparation work before the main contract is awarded", is revealing.
Why bother pretending to consider appeals when it seems that AT will be starting work before any such appeals are resolved?
Danyel Simich, Mt Albert.
Can anyone from the legal fraternity explain how a person with more than 30 previous convictions for such nastiness as indecent assault, carrying guns, drugs, burglary and fraud (NZ Herald, January 28), receive a mere 21 months in prison for distributing objectionable material following the Christchurch mosque shootings?
That he is due to be released very soon after serving a pathetic seven or eight months of that 21, is all I need to be convinced of the veracity of the axiom from Charles Dickens. Ass, indeed.
Tony Potter, Remuera.
I certainly had a giggle at Steve Horne's description (NZ Herald, January 27) of the proposed design for the LegendNZ Centre at Wynyard Pt as more like a cockroach than a boat. I couldn't agree more.
I fully support selecting a boat as the most appropriate symbol for our Auckland City; we just need some better boat-like designs to choose from.
Boats have always best represented Auckland, from early waka to colonial arrivals, P Classes and the latest America's Cup inventions.
Numerous attempts over many years by the council and promoters to re-label Auckland have always failed and "The City Of Sails" maintains its popularity every time to identify our beautiful city.
Let's keep the boat as the ideal symbol for this new building, but please, not the cockroach.
Carol Scott, Birkenhead.
Robert Burrow brings up a very good point about the numbers of rental vans, busily polluting our atmosphere, driven by tourists and locals as well (NZ Herald, January 27). There should be a regulation or incentive for these companies or manufacturers of these vans to go electric (and with waste tanks) just as there should be more incentives put in place for all driven vehicles to convert to electric.
How can we claim clean and green with so much pollution being pumped into our air plus the tonnes of roadside rubbish and excrement that results from this low-budget travel? How many well-maintained camping grounds have closed down within the past five years? We stupidly let foreigners buy our land, forests and farms or give them free public access to our best scenic places.
The emissions savings one half of the population are making are being cancelled out by the greedy other half.
Marie Kaire, Whangārei.
In response to A J Forster (NZ Herald January 27), the point of my suggesting a strict proportional system for returning candidates to parliament was to remove an obvious disproportional anomaly and to ensure a principled approach for the purpose of improving our electoral system and hence our democracy.
It has nothing whatsoever to do with temporary partisan political objectives. The current system (of disqualifying votes below the 5 per cent threshold when no electorate member is returned) can favour or disfavour any party, large (depending on alliances) or small, depending upon election results.
So a windfall in one election for one group can easily become a loss in another. It is an apolitical issue - one of producing what is best and fairest for the country.
John Collinge, St Mary's Bay.
Hearing about the passing of Gordon McLauchlan, I remembered that the scrapbook I've kept over the years included several of his NZ Herald articles written in the early 1970s. Examples: "The Golden Age of the Practical Joke"; "Ranting's Guide for Raving Bigots"; items about such topics as the low standard of swearing in New Zealand (lacking creativity and verve compared with European swearing); and the sight of topless women on an Auckland city beach, (with alleged comments by Mayor Dove-Myer Robinson: "It would depend on the size and shape of the woman!").
Not politically correct these days but hilarious. Thanks for the laughter.
Anne Martin, Helensville.
On religion
Why is religion popular? It comforts people. We are descended from bacteria and serve no purpose in the universe. Like much other life, we are facing functional extinction, and no gods will weep. Dennis N Horne, Howick.
On Trump
The announcement by FBI Director James Comey about reopening the investigation into Hillary Clinton's email server 11 days before the 2016 election indisputably helped Trump win the White House. So it makes total sense that Trump felt it vital that Ukraine announce investigations into his main political rival Joe Biden. This is learned behaviour. Charlie McClellan, Hauraki.
On Labour
National has no chance of winning the next elections. Call me conspiracy theorist but all Jacinda has to do is to walk down the aisle with Neve as the flower girl. Mahendra Kumar, Ōtāhuhu.
On rents
It is primarily landlord greed that is pushing up the rents. They do it because they can get away with it, in our very short supply market. Hey landlords, why not show a little kindness? B Darragh, Auckland Central.
On Holocaust
Your correspondent Robyn Jackson (NZ Herald, January 24) states "surely New Zealanders would have wanted representation at International Holocaust Memorial Day". To which, I respond: This New Zealander would have expected it. Greg Smith, Waitoa.
On plastic
Fresh fruit in little plastic boxes is taking more display space than loose fruit, and plastic boxes of pre-cut and grated vegetables are creeping into the vegetable display space. If people can't find time to dice and grate vegetables at home, try putting the phone down. J Leighton, Devonport.
On golf
How appropriate that Mark Leishman, an Australian who is also raising much needed funds for fire victims in Australia, should win the PGA Golf on January 26, which is Australia Day. Murray Hunter, Titirangi.
The two NZME cars sported signwriting to advertise the company's radio stations.