Pokies and other forms of gambling have contributed heavily to family violence, poverty and dysfunction for innocent partners and children.
It is appalling to read (May 27) that in nearly 1000 venues around New Zealand, more than $1.023 billion was lost on pokie machines alone last year.
Mary Tallon, Hauraki.
Message for Peters
Winston Peters complains that the picture painted by “certain protesters” that New Zealand is complicit in the horrors of occupied Gaza is “fictional”.
Why is it then that it took almost three months of Israel’s total blockade of food, water, fuel and medical supplies, with mass starvation now obvious, before our Foreign Minister finally spoke out last week to say the situation is “simply intolerable”?
Why is it that at every opportunity for a year and a half, Winston Peters has condemned Palestinian resistance groups but has not uttered a single word of condemnation of Israel for its blatant war crimes and crimes against humanity so evident to all of us?
Israel only continues its industrial-scale killing of Palestinians and starving the Palestinian population because it has never been held to account by New Zealand or other Western nations.
The Holocaust was the human rights issue of the 20th century. Palestine is the human rights issue of the 21st century. Meaningless platitudes from Western governments in both cases has brought shame to us all.
That is what complicity looks like, Mr Peters.
John Minto, Christchurch.
Time to take a stand
Watching the slow unfolding of worldwide responses to the daily horrors witnessed in Gaza, my frustration towards our national coalition in continuing to sit on the fence and not come out and openly support a separate Gaza state is beyond belief.
The last time we stood out openly on the world stage was when Helen Clark said we are not sending troops to Iraq and she was dead right.
Surely it’s high time for some more statesman-like behaviour from Wellington.
Still waiting and hoping.
Stuart Bayes, Coromandel.
GM and the right to choose
New Zealand’s supermarket duopoly is recognised as limiting consumer choice, but so do the decisions of food authorities.
Food Minister Andrew Hoggard is being asked to sign off on increased levels of glyphosate in food and to approve Food Standards Australia NZ (FSANZ) Proposal P1055, which will end the labelling of gene-edited foods in supermarkets.
The social licence for gene technology is based on the right to choose and maintaining the integrity and reputation of our world-class food system. Traceability of GE foods is important for farmers, exporters and consumers.
Wherever people sit on the GMO debate, most people agree there should be the right to choose. It must not be taken away.
Jon Carapiet, Sandringham.
Cost-of-living query
The Prime Minister maintains that, among other things, his party wants to lower the cost of living. How does that work?
Are landlords going to lower rents now that they can claim back interest? Not a chance. And is the price of groceries going to come down? Once prices have been raised, they don’t go backwards.
It seems like politics is more about spin these days rather than actual results.
Hamish Walsh, Devonport.
Waring taking up cudgel
Dame Marilyn Waring, despite political affiliations, often became the voice of the people and once again, as per the Herald headline (May 27), is taking up the cudgel again.
Dame Marilyn is right, the current legislation was passed without any real evidence. It would appear the reason for cancelling the previous legislation was because they assumed that the 33 applications in the pipeline would have prevailed.
There is a saying, decide in haste, repent at leisure, and many of the decisions made by this Government will come back to bite them.
The problem is they are trying to run the country like a business whose purpose is to generate a profit instead of realising they are here to serve the population of this country.
If we were not so short of doctors, one would suggest a transplant of a heart for the abacus be performed on Nicola Willis.
Reg Dempster, Albany.
Teen’s tragic death
The absolute tragedy of the teenager who died while taking part in a private run it straight challenge throws a spotlight on the dangers of this so-called sport.
Unfortunately, many youth think of themselves as invincible, and love the thrill and the adrenalin rush of taking part in risky activities, so this challenge will possibly continue.
Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.
