Mandy Sibanyoni, former nanny of the three daughters of Graham and Lauren Dickason, holds photographs of the Dickason family. Photo / Sebabatso Mosamo, AP
The hearing delays, time and cost of our court system are unacceptable in this modern digital age.
Recent news that the High Court trial of the tragic case of Lauren Dickason, accused of murdering her three children, is set down for March 2023 - 17 months away - and the current Supreme Court two-week hearing of the latest of a number of re-considerations of the Peter Ellis trial of 1993, who died in 2019, highlight the issue.
Also featured is Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt's problem of a legal bill of $448,000 following his defamation case involving Invercargill City Council.
There are regular complaints of the time taken to get a hearing in civil cases, and concerns of the time some accused spend on remand in prison.
Core elements of our legal system are a legacy from medieval England and the challenges of the nobility against the absolute authority of the monarch, blended with the upper-class social mores of British Victorian times.
The social and financial cost of the delays and process of the current system are enormous, denying many any real justice.
Time for Government action, aimed at serious modernisation and change.
Fiscal fairies
The Thomas Coughlan article (Weekend Herald, October 16) was journalism gold.
Grant Robertson's opening of the books did indeed unveil a fiscal fairy tale that even J K Rowling would have been proud of.
For the year ended 30 June 2021, the budgeted/Treasury forecast was for a deficit of $29.6 billion and the actual deficit recorded was $4.6 billion, a massive $25 billion less than the budget. This mind-boggling difference, for a small country of 5 million people, raises some very serious questions.
The 2021 government budget was launched over a year ago with the customary fanfare and applause. A mere year on how could Government/Treasury get its budget so dramatically wrong? If this happened in the private sector, say a listed public company, the directors and senior management would be held to account by shareholders, financial analysts and regulators.
We are led to believe the Government's budget process is rigorous. Clearly, there was a massive underspend of so-called urgent public sector investments without any accountability or explanation.
The taxpayers of this country deserve more than a flippant fairy tale analogy and the Government can't continue to hide behind the cover of the fiscal uncertainties embedded in a global pandemic.
Bruce Eliott, St Heliers.
Eastern islands
Congratulations on your terrific coverage (Weekend Herald, October 16) of the Vaxathon. You have excelled yourself. Another world first for Aotearoa/New Zealand in these Covid pandemic times.
But looking at your Top Town competition for first place to get to 90 per cent, why has nobody mentioned the Chatham Islands - already 95 per cent. Give them some credit.
Russell Armitage, Hamilton.
This is us
Following the incredible and amazing response by Kiwis to the Super Saturday vaccination event (Weekend Herald, October 16), this is the first time for months that I feel positive; that together, we can beat Covid.
Well done all.
Peter Bowyer, Dannemora.
Leader's whereabouts
Fran O'Sullivan argues (Weekend Herald, October 16) that the PM should visit Auckland; I would argue that now is the time for her to stay away from Auckland and remain in Wellington.
In times of crisis, it is a comfort to have the PM visit a location, such as after a natural disaster, to reassure the public that the government is responding and has the situation under control. However, as we are currently in the midst of an outbreak that could very quickly spiral out of control, I do not want the PM to be put in a position where the chances of her catching Covid-19 are heightened, nor spending time in self-isolation while trying to keep the country safe and steer the response to the outbreak. To potentially jeopardise that for the sake of performatively suffering with us on the ground here in Auckland is not worth the risk.
Stay in Wellington, stay safe, and get on with the job of getting us through this.
John Deyell, Ellerslie.
Blinding jalousie
I learned an interesting new word from Fran O'Sullivan in her Saturday column - "shuttering" - as in, shuttering up shop.
Surely, shutters are for shutting up shop; as drivers are for driving a car, not drivering a car; and bakers are for baking a cake, not bakering a cake?
R Williams, Kohimarama.
Dollars and sense
Like Roger Pheasant (Weekend Herald, October 16), I too hate specials ending in 99c as foolishly some people think it sounds cheaper while, as Roger says, 1c coins no longer exist.
Two years ago, I wrote to Countdown and asked them to stop all specials ending in 99c and they sure did it for me. Their big special signs in shops ending in a dollar or 50c etc look so professional, as do their newspaper adverts
Murray Hunter, Titirangi.
Will this no jab, no job mantra apply to Members of Parliament too? Vicky Williamson, Bucklands Beach.
Let's stop using the term "vaccine-hesitant". What we really mean is ignorant, lazy, stubborn, or brainwashed, or all of the above. Richard Donnelly, Browns Bay.
Grab them and jab them or simply keep them away from the rest of us. L. Clark, Katikati.
A Brian Tamaki supporter had a T-shirt with "Jesus Created you and me" printed on it. I would suggest he reads the Bible. Robert Stilwell, Ngatea.
Always remember to have clean undies if you embark on any protests. Hing Yu, Pakuranga Heights.
Mayor Sandra Goudie has made a "personal choice" to catch Covid. Hopefully, her friends and family are similarly comfortable with that decision. Steve Dransfield, Karori.
Interesting that the archived parliamentary biography page for Mayor Goudie lists her only educational qualification as being a leadership scholarship endowed by Kelloggs. J Cameron, Remuera.
Karl van de Water writes (Weekend Herald, October 16) "Winston come back, your country needs you." Just to advise that not everyone agrees and to put it on record: I don't. Mike Crosby, Papakura.
Some praise to Sir John Key for releasing into the wild the term "Hermit Kingdom". Without that, we would not have reaped the reward of its joyful infection in the mind of Steve Braunias. Glen Hathaway, Te Atatu.
Have the heralds of the Hermit Kingdom ever carried such splendid satire as that of the most excellent jester Master Braunias? R. Pearson, Totara Vale.
Like most Aucklanders, the rest of the country have had a gutsful of this inane performance by rule-breakers and those we rely on to enforce the law. Stuart Perry, Hawera.
At this time of the year, the dairy farmers' cup literally runneth over. Supply and demand should give a reduction to the supermarket price. Leo Neal, Ellerslie.
Few could doubt that if Steven Joyce (Weekend Herald, October 16) had his hands on the finance portfolio, or was in charge of Covid-19 entry and exit strategies, we would now be a whole lot better off. Larry Mitchell, Rothesay Bay.
Thank you for another insightful and pragmatic article from Steven Joyce. Wouldn't it be great if he became Mayor of Auckland? Nigel Gerbic, Parnell.
Forty-two million dollars. Weeks of splashing out; hoping for a share; all to see it go to one winner. New Zealand's version of Squid Game. Glenn Forsyth, Taupō.
Former Act president's lawyer claims sentence was too harsh, calls for home detention.