A slide into insurrection
Simon Wilson (NZ Herald, February 15) is on the button with his analysis of the current Wellington protest occupation. He rightly highlights the concerning link to far-right organisations, both local and international.
Yet there is no clear or overarching leadership with whom mediators can negotiate a resolution. This is no "ordinary" protest. It is a mixed bag, seemingly united only in promoting self-centred and self-serving protestations, with more than a little touch of anarchist anti-establishment sentiment. A clutch of dissidents, a vocal minority, voicing petulant objections to mandates, the vaccine, or whatever else they perceive as infringing their imagined right to do as they please.
Since when are peaceful protests in our country accompanied by internationally phoned-in threats to private businesses and citizens, warning them to not take legitimate action as requested by lawful authorities? Is the widely respected right to protest here being honoured, or is it being abused? When, I wonder, does such protest slide into an insurrection? What then?
G. D. Pratt. Waiheke Island
An embarrassment
The Speaker of Parliament is our third-ranked individual behind the Governor-General and Prime Minister. The Speaker has traditionally had the supreme task of upholding the dignity of Parliament. As a consequence, it has always adopted a position of being above politics and continuing neutrality in all situations,
The present Speaker, Rt Hon Trevor Mallard is the first person in NZ's history to deviate from this honoured and respected stance. His biased conduct on several occasions over the last four years was such that the Prime Minister was asked to seek his resignation - but he survived.
Mallard's present childish and embarrassing behaviour concerning the protesters at Parliament has, however, broken all accepted rules. This time he most certainly must resign. Serious matters require deep thought.
Hylton Le Grice, Remuera.
Duty of law
While observing the antics of the demonstrators outside Parliament, I have been amazed at just how restrained the police have been.
Contrast the behaviour of the police to their actions when the Springboks toured in 1981. To reinforce the rule of law at that time the police attacked demonstrators. People were hurt and maimed and there were many court cases.
This time though the demonstrators are intimidating people and they have created a public nuisance as well as trespassing.
I was also astonished by the remarks of one aggressive lady who stated that her partner was out of her life because they had chosen to get a booster shot. She has demanded her right to demonstrate but, seemingly, she has denied her partner the right to choose to have a booster shot.
Johann Nordberg, Paeroa.
Goodwill hunting
"That which is not good for the beehive cannot be good for the bees" - Marcus Aurelius.
Any politician who delights in spraying children and babies with water (including their parents) looks Machiavellian.
I had hoped that the Commissioner for Children would have made a plea for mercy on their behalf. Similarly, it is unacceptable for schoolchildren to be jeered at for wearing masks, as they are necessary for prophylaxis, so is hand hygiene.
Street congestion caused by adult protesters is also unacceptable. Clearly, "all wrongs never make one right".
It is manifestly clarion that there is a thread of despair running through New Zealand, Aotearoa at the moment. Misery loves company and it can draw people from all walks of life united in a common cause of suffering.
Progress is impossible without change and I think the public is entitled to an estimated time of delivery when the borders will reopen and finally when the mandates will be lifted, albeit consequentially.
A dose of reassurance, goodwill and communication might just help this nation to heal.
E. Smith, Henderson.
Basic economics
It is unsurprising that Peter Davis argues the merits of the Labour Government's proposal on unemployment insurance. It does have merit but it is very costly.
Ironic, therefore, that on the next page economist David Schnauer gives a basic economic lesson on the inconvenient truth that governments cannot proceed with every good proposal. They simply do not have enough money.
Therefore, they must choose those which give the most overall benefit and which can be funded within the available resources.
The employment insurance scheme will cost $3 billion. How many deaths could be averted and lives could be improved if that $3b were to be spent on our creaking health system? What benefits would accrue if it were invested in education? What needs to be shelved to afford the $10b-plus light rail?
You don't need a degree in economics to understand that we are only being told half the story. You just need common sense.
Peter Donnelly, West Harbour.
Money avalanche
The Reserve Bank, the sentinel of price stability is required to tame current inflation, an annual increase of 5.9 per cent the highest in 30 years.
The Reserve Bank implemented the Covid Response and Recovery Fund, vital but excessive and prolonged. This avalanche of "printed money" largely engulfed the property market, igniting house prices and rents with dire social consequences.
External supply-chain issues and higher oil prices do contribute but the bulk of recent inflation is home-grown, attributable to unprecedented credit creation and profligate government expenditure.
The irony, partly instrumental in fanning the "flames of inflation", the Reserve Bank is now entrusted to "put out the fire".
P. J. Edmondson, Tauranga.
Not so grateful
Lincoln Tan (NZ Herald, February 15) quotes Leo Molloy as saying what most of us believe to be true, that Phil Goff is a "decent man" but then adds that he is "deserving of our gratitude". Goff's leading role in the mismanagement of Auckland Council's finances is a deeply troubling indictment, hardly grounds for any "gratitude".
Financial data supplied by Auckland Council to Councillor Greg Sayers and reported in the Herald disclosed the extent of the mismanagement. In the last 10 years (six under Goff), Goff has presided over a quadrupling of rates and fees to $5.3 billion, total liabilities more than tripled to $16b and payroll swelled from $443 million to $963m with 25 per cent of staff now paid over $100,000 per year. So much for Goff's election promises to control rates and practise financial rectitude.
After 40 years of public service, we wish Phil well for his retirement. We can only hope that Auckland's 2022 mayoral candidates are capable and committed to restoring more prudent and sustainable council finances.
Larry. N. Mitchell, Rothesay Bay.
Selectivity of rights
The Herald is to be applauded for publishing John Minto's op-ed (NZ Herald, February 15) which raises so many questions. The selectivity of human rights concerns that MFAT chooses to champion is a grave abuse of its mandate and power which it uses to inform the Minister and other MPs. Public scrutiny of the advice of these officials is so rare and usually through labyrinthine processes of select committees. And how often are these bureaucrats held to account?
Aotearoa-NZ has a reputation for challenging injustice, principally led by its citizens e.g. overcoming apartheid in South Africa and the liberation of Timor-Leste from Indonesian occupation. Our elected lawmakers must take heed of the evidence chronicled by the human rights organisations which support the struggles of Palestinians, West Papuans and other peoples who seek freedom from the abuses of prolonged colonisation and occupation.
Janfrie Wakim, Epsom.
Healing spaces
Having spent the last few days at Ascot Hospital in Greenlane, next to the racecourse, reminded me of the invaluable role racecourses and golf courses play in healing the human spirit with their inherent landscape and open space values.
The fact that they are there and can be looked at is very important and they do not have to be necessarily used in the physical sense.
Sadly, because of financial pressures, some racecourses and golf courses are being nibbled at for townhouse and apartment developments and are suffering "a death by a thousand cuts".
The only way to continue their current role as "living legacies" is to immediately classify them as recreation reserves in perpetuity under the Reserves Act 1977.
Time is of the essence.
Bruce Tubb, Devonport.
Fuels rush in
Don't bother drilling for oil or gas, or mining for coal in our own backyard, let the other countries do the dirty work, we'll stay "green".
Close down our oil refinery complex, it doesn't matter, we will always be able to afford to buy what we need from them.
Won't we?
R. F. Pearson, Hillsborough.
Truck and trailer
Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand (Business Herald, February 14) criticises "ideology and rhetoric" and "ideologically-captivated politicians" who favour rail.
This trucking lobby group seems to say that "second-order... externalities such as safety, congestion, and environmental outcomes" should not be prioritised.
Are they not aware of the poor safety record of their industry? Do trucking companies enjoy congestion? Are they climate-deniers?
"Externalities", by the way, is economists' jargon for factors that do not fit a theoretical economic model; i.e. inconvenient truths.
Martin Ball, Kelston.
Short & sweet
On mandates
The mandate is past its use-by date. It was introduced to lift vaccine rates. This has been achieved. Judith Browne, Cambridge.
On Zoi
Is it a bird; a helicopter; an aeroplane; or a Kiwi evolved with wings? An angel? No, it is a Sadowski-Synnott, model 2022. Hing Yu, Pakuranga Heights.
On protest
I wonder who is responsible for the payment of royalties for the songs played publicly in the vicinity of Parliament? Or indeed if payment will be made? Avi Modlin, Orewa.
Appalling, Aucklanders have had a long and hard journey, keeping the rest of NZ safe and now they can't get a test? Meanwhile, there are people in Wellington making such a fuss. About what? It beggars belief. Carole Burley, Mt Wellington.
On Russia
All Western eyes are on Ukraine. Meanwhile, Putin has "invaded" and occupied Belarus. Quite an easy prize. Ukraine can wait for a bit, no rush, and no extra nasty sanctions. John Mellor, Albany.
On Mallard
Of all the Speakers in the House, Trevor Mallard is the best at ensuring a level playing field for all parties, although initially, he was a little soft on Jacinda Ardern. A pity about his taste in music. Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.
The Premium Debate
All European heads of state along with the US foreign secretary need to go to Kyiv now with a big pink envelope inviting Ukraine to join Nato in response to aggressive movements by its neighbour. If nothing else, it will make Putin stop and think. Tim B.
The US would not be keen to see Russian forces in Canada or Mexico. Nato needs to reconsider the possibility of Russia joining them. Keeping your friends close and your enemies closer it seems is good advice. Paddy G.
Putin's aim is to show he can invade if he wants to, and that Nato is impotent to stop him. That's the win for him - it will give him the "power" over those former Soviet states that Russia has always wanted back in its fold. The bigger winner from this is China - it will see Western weakness and see nothing stopping it from taking Taiwan. Murray B.
Are these the same people that said there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? What we are forgetting is that the US has a multibillion-dollar defence industry and, since pulling out of Afghanistan, has no ongoing conflicts. Tony G.
If Ukrainian troops do attack the Donbas via a false flag attack, Russia will retaliate. Why are Ukraine's troops on the ceasefire line not agreeing to the Minsk Agreement so this whole affair could be settled peacefully after the US-backed coup of 2014? Gordon P.
His population is plunging, his economy is a shambles. What does Putin honestly gain from an occupation he will never win over land where he will never get one dime of profit? Welly G.
This is about geopolitics. If Nato expands into Ukraine, the leverage from the presence of Western forces there threatens Putin's survival. While we in the West won't launch a war, the political leverage is significant and can pressure Russia and its people to move more towards our system and away from Putin's regime.
Colin K.