Online gambling must be hard to control but where is the evidence that licences will contain and not promote the addiction?
What was the parliamentary process for creating this legislation?
Angela Yatri, Ōrātia.
Government must act
Another 50 Palestinians killed overnight. A hospital or a school bombed. A doctor loses nine of her children in an explosion. It is heartbreaking to wake each morning and hear the news of more suffering and immoral actions.
New Zealand has almost no power to stop this massacre but we should voice our rejection of the actions of the current Israeli Government. One action that I urge our Government to take is to formally recognise Palestine as an independent state. Our Foreign Minister has said that we will do this but at the right time. If this is not the right time, when will it ever be? If we do not do it now, there will be nothing to recognise as it appears that Israel wishes to remove the people of Gaza and the West Bank and declare the land part of Israel.
History will judge silence as complicity.
Keith and Jo Ballagh, Mt Eden.
J K Galbraith’s message
Frank Olsson (May 27) is quite right. There is such a thing as The Good Society. It is a book by the late J K Galbraith, subtitled The Humane Agenda. It was published in 1996 and repeats and consolidates notions on the balances required in establishing a good economy (chapter 5) that Galbraith first wrote about in The Affluent Society (1958).
Unfortunately, the United States has neglected to take the path Galbraith advocated.
I would differ with Olsson on pursuing “audacious” goals. We simply need the worthwhile purposes that Galbraith offers. He outlines care about deficits (ch 7), notes the distribution of income and power (ch 8), and outlines the decisive role of education (ch 9).
There is even something for David Seymour and all of us – the basic principles of regulation (ch 10). I have a mind to email every MP a copy. They can all do better with its help.
Nick Park, Ōrākei.
Time to end the blame game
It is getting tiresome hearing the coalition Government blaming the previous Labour Government for all the issues of infrastructure and staffing deficits in the health sector, education, housing, roading, et al.
They got voted in to deal with them and to deliver, and we all know that takes money. So, just cutting taxes and handing back money to a few sectors of society (landlords, charter schools, business assets tax breaks, spring to mind) is a failure to address the real issue.
As any household budgeter knows, you can only spend what you earn or you have to borrow. So if you don’t want to borrow, you have to find ways to increase your income. It is clear that without borrowing we need a bigger tax take. Just cutting costs has been a dismal failure. Time to bite the bullet and look at how to raise additional revenue.
Neil Anderson, Algies Bay.
More health budget ideas
What a great idea for health savings by correspondent Dr Art Narhill, (27/5) to request private hospitals to pay for their use of public hospital services when surgeries go wrong.
A further cut to our health budget would be for a brave government to impose a tax on all sugar, processed foods and takeaways and to remove GST from fresh fruit and vegetables, eggs and meat. Tax any items processed and reduce the cost of unprocessed foods.
We would be a far healthier nation as a result.
Marie Kaire, Whangārei.
American foreign policy
Dear editor, Larry Mitchell (May 26) has a wonderfully rosy view of American foreign policy goals since 1945.
The people of Vietnam and Cambodia, Chile, Guatemala, Panama, Cuba and even Anguilla surely have a different view as their countries were invaded or manipulated by a United States intent on dominating half of the world.
Trump is continuing the same policies but is not hiding his self-interest behind the rhetoric of democracy and freedom. Nothing has, in fact, changed.
Ian Pashby, Montsenelle, France.
