The Blues were crowned Super Rugby champions on a rainy night at Eden Park. Photo / Photosport
Raining on Blues’ parade
The mighty Blues’ ceremonious dispatching of the Chiefs at Eden Park on Saturday night gave me hope for Auckland’s future.
Team Tuipolotu’s wairua, manawaroa and hard māhi shone as they brutalised their opposition up front and dazzled out wide in atrocious conditions.
Adoring Blues fans drowned out the cowbells from the Waikato as we enjoyed a masterclass in live rugby production from CEO Andrew Hore’s team, they just nailed it.
Or so I thought –- until my neighbour told us about his hardy daughter and young grandson who were seated on level three of the South Stand. As the northerly deluge blew through all night they were soaked to the skin and were lucky not to be washed away like drowned rats.
It is time to call out the shambolic process run by our compromised officialdom. Our wāhine and mokopuna deserve better than this.
Time for those with the wherewithal to step up and build a covered stadium at Te Ara Tukutuku (formerly Tank Farm Wynyard Point) rather than another bloody windswept park.
Andrew Higgs, Northcote.
Talk v torque
Has Nicola Willis recent experience of maintaining an old dunger? Her profound “used Toyota” comment in relation to replacing Interisland ferries suggested personal experience of the legendary ability of their engines to go round the clock several times.
Her experience is not as a grease monkey, but at debating or she would know old Toyotas rust away.
Likewise, it is crucial we interrogate Transport Minister Simeon Brown’s experience with a torque wrench. He insists that we can speed safely on the road now but has he ever done the brakes? You can’t speed behind a convoy of trucks.
Brown insists KiwiRail maintains its ferries to a higher standard. If that’s the case expect them to be in dry dock more frequently for inspection, fail more frequently and require special replacement parts despite adequate maintenance at 25+ years. They eventually become too excessively expensive to repair.
Are politicians arrogant telling grease monkeys how to do their job without ever having rolled up their sleeves and got their hands dirty? Have they adequate funding from their airline executive boss?
Who decides when a ship should be scrapped as unsafe? A practised debater trained in deceptive “talking” – or an experienced marine engineer trained in greasing and “torquing”?
Steve Russell, Hillcrest.
Dickason sentence appalling
I don’t for one second believe Dr Lauren Dickason was insane as suggested by some, the jury rejected this defence.
If she was insane at the time of the murders, can anyone please explain why upon his return to South Africa, Graham Dickason found three sets of cable ties “strung together” in a wardrobe at the home he’d lived at with his wife and children? This shows a level of pre-meditation which negates any insanity defence.
The sentence is also appalling as Dickason has been sentenced to 18 years with no minimum term and could theoretically be released after only serving six years. Let that sink in - if the full term is served, that is six years for each victim and only two years if she is released after serving a third of her sentence.
She has been sent to start her time at Hillmorton Hospital, which is unusual when you consider her insanity defence was rejected.
It is little wonder people are losing faith in the judiciary when no minimum term of imprisonment is imposed for the murders of three children.
Mark Young, Ōrewa.
Real kindness
It is interesting that Jacinda Ardern has been appointed leader of a programme run by the Centre for American Progress Action Fund which has as its stated aim to draw on the “strength of kindness and empathy to develop and build public support for progressive policy solutions to complex problems” in the context of politics.
Maybe Ardern’s altruistic aims are to be applauded but the word kind came to be sickeningly associated with dependence during her reign as Prime Minister when money seemed to be indiscriminately handed out to the point that now the country is experiencing a collapsing pride in itself as more people become reliant on government handouts that suffocates ambition, aspiration, hard work, innovation and independence.
This scenario is hardly kind. Surely it is better for a government to try to create opportunities for people to look after themselves rather than to be dependent on the state.
Now that would give a more positive dimension to the meaning of the word kind.
Bernard Walker, Mt Maunganui.
Anchor examplar
How refreshing it has been over the weekend to have Wendy Petrie presenting 1News at Six.
Her lovely demeanour and professionalism draws the viewers into the core of each news item without distraction. It is relaxing and absorbing having such quality presentation.
The absence of snide remarks and bias really highlights just what viewers have been subjected to in recent times.
Wendy Petrie provides an exemplar all newsreaders could follow.
Barbara Graham, Tokoroa.
How bizarre
Can this get any more bizarre.
If she genuinely desired to leave politics, why did she not pursue a straightforward resignation? Opting for shoplifting instead appears not only unconventional but also unlawful, which complicates her situation rather than resolving it.
It seems counterintuitive to deliberately engage in criminal behaviour as a way out of a career path, especially when lawful and dignified options like resigning were readily available.
Additionally, her choice risks undermining her credibility and reputation, both personally and professionally. It is important for public figures to uphold ethical standards and adhere to the law, setting an example for others rather than resorting to actions that could potentially damage their integrity.
Alan Walker, St Heliers.
Assange and innocence
Whatever one’s opinion about whether the benefits of Wikileaks outweighed the harms, the willingness of Julian Assange’s supporters to dismiss the allegations of rape and molestation against him by two Swedish women is a concern, in particular the word “hero” being bandied about since his release.
Even if the original Swedish prosecutor decided that it would be too difficult to prove the charges, and Britain and the US used the allegations to try to extradite him to Sweden and from there to the US, that does not necessarily mean he is innocent.
Raewyn Maybury, Tauranga.
Protesters tore flags, including those representing Islam and the UN.