Palestinians flee intensified Israeli army attacks in Gaza. The New Zealand Government needs to listen to the public and stop "dithering" in its response to Israeli actions, a Herald reader says. Photo / Getty Images
Does the Government actually have a policy on Israel/Palestine relations, and if so why won’t they reveal it?
In the past few weeks, the Prime Minister has appeared indecisive when questioned and prefers to avoid the subject altogether.
Winston Peters claims it is his patch, but he will not announce anything yet, while David Seymour’s unsympathetic statements seem to follow Netanyahu’s line.
The mood of the electorate was demonstrated in last week’s Free Palestine march, which was notable for the broad spectrum of participants as well as the large number of ordinary people who came out on a cold day to express their concern regarding what the UN states is genocide.
With the current state of the polls and an election next year, it is high time to listen to the voters, take action and stop dithering.
Alan McArdle, Glen Eden.
Gaza conflict
Many people respond to criticism of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians by asking why the critics are not also commenting on the Hamas terrorist attack that triggered the conflict.
This is classic “whataboutism”. Every right-thinking person condemns the Hamas attack, but many also believe Israel’s response has been disproportionate in the extreme.
Expressing compassion for the innocent civilian population of Gaza does not equate to excusing the terrorism of Hamas.
Rowan Hill, Mt Eden.
Not all Govt’s fault
While it is of course correct that the current coalition Government has been in power for two years and there had been expectations things should now be getting better economically, sadly – at least so far – they have not.
However, overseas events have conspired against the current Government, such as the Ukraine war, Trump being elected and tariffs imposed by him resulting in an international slowdown of trade.
Yes, blaming the previous Labour administration is not helpful, but let’s also remember that for six years, whenever something went wrong, they were very quick to endeavour to justify the bad figures by pointing the finger at nine years of National neglect.
Labour should be very happy that the current Speaker of the House does not permit National to blame the former administration during Question Time, which has certainly not always been the case in the past.
Mike Baker, Tauranga.
Key to victory
The economic bad news continues unabated and the second-quarter GDP decline of 0.9% should not have come as a surprise to anyone in touch with the real world.
Ongoing media reporting of factory closures, business failures and job losses have been widespread and part of the daily economic landscape for many months.
A disconnect between the Reserve Bank monetary policy and reality continues to be of great concern, given it controls one of the few levers, namely interest rates, that can provide stimulus to a struggling economy.
Bedevilled by over six years of Government borrowing coupled with poor-quality spending (including the Covid pandemic response and recovery ) and the debilitating, ongoing interest costs are just part of the challenge.
Calling for the resignations of Luxon and Willis is a reaction, not a solution.
Any political party or parties that can articulate a sustainable economic vision of how to get New Zealand back on its feet deserves to romp to victory next year.
Bruce Eliott, St Heliers.
Four-year term
Politicians get holiday time off for their families. They resume on October 7.
They should have call-back days just like teachers, but instead they want a four-year term, complaining not enough time to implement their laws.
Sir Brian Roche wants eight more call-back days in his latest bargain offer to teachers. A real bargain offer.
He even suggested teachers should consider striking in their holidays. Now that’s another idea for politicians.
They could campaign in their holidays, too. Where did they find Roche? He’s quite innovative in his thinking, if a tad unrealistic.
Steve Russell, Hillcrest.
Losing talent
Between mid-1980 and 1995, the West Indies cricket team didn’t lose a test series. Then the team went into slow decline and their test-match wins are now few and far between.
Former players and observers attribute their poor standing to the fact American colleges secure the tall, lean men (who had been part of a production line of fast bowlers) for their basketball teams.
When discussing the future prospects of the All Blacks, we should not discount the “Steven Adams effect” – large numbers of our teenage boys have said goodbye to footy to follow their own hoop dreams.
Matt Elliott, Birkdale.
It’s the economy ...
It is interesting reading the voices of ghosts from the past commenting on the country’s present GDP fluctuations.
One I remember vividly that should be quoted is: “It’s the economy, stupid!” from Bill Clinton’s campaign for the US presidency.
That’s the one that has the most bearing on our chances of improving today’s financial situation.
A good economy relies on building our taxpayer pool, and I think I know which of the existing triumvirates is more likely to do that. No offence to the public service, but the taxes they pay are just government money getting handed back to the Government.
We need the economy to be grown and to do that it needs feeding with lower taxes, opportunities for business development, higher employment in the private sector and lower interest rates. I will be listening for the voices that advocate those policies, as will most of us leading into next year.
Larry Tompkins, Waiuku.