Letters: Doctors will leave if they’re not paid; Tory Whanau’s self-confidence knows no bounds

Senior doctors and nurses strike outside Auckland City Hospital. Photo / Jason Dorday

Letters to the Editor

Letter of the week

Striking doctors

I have not heard one person say they are against the striking health professionals. I remember my son training to be a surgeon, he rang me one day after working 20 hours in the operating theatre and more patients needing surgery urgently, would you want someone to operate on you after working 20 hours?

These health professionals have your life in their hands. No other job allows you to work these hours, the cost of qualifying to be a doctor is well over $120,000. Surgeons are required as part of their training to go to Australia to work. My son, after completed his training, wanted to return to New Zealand but was told they didn’t require more orthopaedic surgeons at the time. He stayed in Melbourne, has a good life/work balance, one he doesn’t feel he would have here.

If the Government does not give the money the health professionals want, more will go and work overseas.

Wendy Galloway, Omokoroa

Ferries

We were categorically informed that the Interislander ferries could last another 4-5 years. One is to be retired, so what is the reason given? To “make way” for wharf infrastructure.

That’s rich. The cost of wharf infrastructure Labour incurred was ridiculed and the coalition never quantified any costs. The cost is actually begins with one less ferry. More demand with less supply – means prices rise. More stress on two ships means more repairs more frequently and more costly delays.

Who pays for these ballooning costs? The consumer pays in a multiplicity of ways – as fares rise, more trucks are on the road so more potholes and the inevitable suspension costs. More trucks, slower trips, oh my god – does that mean time isn’t money? Don’t you hate trucks speeding up in passing lanes? More accidents so insurance premiums increase. Tally it up as you’re going to pay for Willis’ kerfuffle.

Steve Russell, Hillcrest

EV chargers

It puzzles me why the Government is paying for all the EV charging stations to be installed around the country for the convenience of EV drivers. Correct me if I am wrong but don’t the electricity supply companies get paid when the EV users charge up at these stations?

So why aren’t the electricity companies paying to install the charging stations? Does the Government pay to build the petrol stations? EV users have already cost taxpayers a fortune in the many years that the Government subsidised their inflated pricing. Isn’t it strange how dramatically EV prices have dropped now the subsidies are off? The importers made a fortune at taxpayers’ expense. When we are short of electricity in the future, will EV charging stations be given priority?

Jock MacVicar, Hauraki

Tory Whanau

Tory Whanau, soon to be former Mayor of Wellington, unfortunately never really had a great public image. In 2023 she admitted to a drinking problem in the past, for which she quite wisely and thankfully sought professional help. She had admitted earlier that year to being “tipsy” when she unintentionally left a restaurant without paying the bill.

Also, in 2024 on TVNZ’s Q+A she referred to some councillors as “riff-raff“. Hardly a reassuring public statement about colleagues. Then there were the inconsistencies and confusion over her stance on the sale of Wellington Airport shares.

These instances and comments hardly raised confidence in her as a public figure in charge of a city the size of Wellington. However, despite all this, Whanau’s self-confidence knows no bounds as she rates her term as mayor with a 9/10 and that she will run for the Maori ward on Wellington City Council. This might even see her as Deputy Mayor of Wellington City. She could even consider running for Parliament and becoming a minister. If sheer audacity is all that is required in a politician, then she has it in spades. In a recent interview she has stated that modelling indicates “there is a one-in-10 chance of Wellington being hit by a significant earthquake in the next 50 years”. We might just see that happening earlier than expected if she gets into parliament.

Bernard Walker, Mt Maunganui

Defence spending

Finally we see a substantial uplift in defence force spending. There are of course many naysayers but realistically the world will never be benign and so you need to be ready to play your bit. It’s also a matter of how that money, some $12 billion, is going to be spent and most likely hardware will be a priority. My view would be to firstly increase wages and salaries, upgrade living conditions and then look at hardware.

Usually, though, it is done in the reverse order, with the result that expensive and highly trained military personnel will not stay in the forces. They get the best of training on offer and then leave simply because of the low pay and poor conditions and who can blame them. So here is a chance to firstly get the basics right and make defence a really attractive place to work so that people can afford to stay.

Paul Beck, West Harbour