Blues player Beauden Barrett celebrates a try with Caleb Clarke during the win over the Waratahs. Photo / Photosport
Enabling more to go is dumb
Jacinda Ardern, when she was Prime Minister, announced an agreement with the United Kingdom government to extend the age range for Kiwis to work in Great Britain. Now, Chris Hipkins is proudly announcing that it will be much easier for Kiwis to get residency and citizenship in Australia. When we are so short of doctors, nurses, teachers, builders and such, why are we encouraging people to migrate overseas? Peter D Graham, Helensville
Beauden Barrett’s decline
It is heartbreaking to watch the demise of one of our greatest rugby players. Beauden Barrett is a mere shadow of the great player he once was. Watching him try to play against the Waratahs on Saturday was tragic. It was so bad I stopped watching. He has never had a good kicking game and Saturday night proved it. A coach once said that the difference between good and great players is 2cm and poor old Beauden has lost his. This applies to Sam Cane as well and, for his future health, he should be made to retire. How many head knocks and concussions can he sustain? Jock MacVicar, Hauraki
Live animal exports ‘barbaric’
Nearly choked on my dinner on Wednesday night when Christopher Luxon announced that if National got in they would allow live animal exports again. Immediately contacted my local MP and asked him to pass on a message that, as a National supporter all my life, I will not be voting for National if they bring back this barbaric treatment of animals. The reply the next morning was along the lines of we will treat the animals better than some other country would; and so that makes it all right, does it? Not for me, and I know many other people feel the same. Cows and sheep belong on the ground, not on the seas. Send semen over by air and impregnate their own cows. I will not vote National if this is what they are going to do. Gill Court, Howick
Go back to old Plunket days
We take care of our animals and require a vaccination certificate to go into kennels or catteries to prevent infectious diseases spreading, and yet our babies and pre-schoolers do not have this requirement when placed in daycare. Do we not value the lives of our babies enough to protect them from potential illness and death? We live, supposedly, in an era of technology and enlightenment and yet our babies were better protected, cared for by their parents at home, were loved and treasured, and had a better start in life during the advent of Plunket in the last century where every child had a record book of their milestones, feeding, health issues and vaccinations to the age of 5. Many issues were picked up and rectified before the child started school and parents had a written record to refer back to. Many children born in this time still have their Plunket books. It is typical New Zealand thinking that if a system works but it costs money then dump it! Money, greed, selfishness and materialism have become modern-life power tools to our detriment. Marie Kaire, Whangārei
NZ public transport amazing
My partner and I have just returned to the United States after two months in New Zealand. We had an extraordinary time visiting your country. We were delighted by Kiwis’ warmth and openness, awed by the beauty of your islands, and also amazed by your excellent urban public transportation systems. We were surprised to hear many complaints about Auckland Transport. Both in Auckland and Christchurch we experienced timely, clean buses. Bus drivers and train staff were kind, helpful, and patient with our moments of confusion. We couldn’t believe we could get from Mission Bay to Auckland Airport for $2! We have been telling all of our friends at home about your wonderful public transport (and clean public toilets everywhere!) Thank you for the incredible welcome to New Zealand. We would move there instantly if we could. Rebecca Dorr, Maine
Co-governance ‘catastrophic’
Brodie Stone (Weekend Herald, April 22) reported on the canning of Jason Momoa’s film with measured clarity. If a group of local iwi and hapu can’t reach consensus over the filming of a scene for the series Chief of War, what chance has co-governance on a national basis got of succeeding? The economic damage to the Whangarei Heads community is tragic. This idealistic approach on a national scale would be catastrophic! Chris Parker, Campbells Bay
Kiwis’ rights in Australia
I take issue with Fran O’Sullivan’s bouquets (Weekend Herald, April 22) tossed to our former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, that she played a key role in gaining more rights for New Zealand expats. Ardern may have kept the issue highlighted with the Australian powers that be, but I don’t accept for one minute hers was the final push to get it over the line. My wife and I moved to Australia in 2001 and remained there until 2017. Throughout this period there were numerous groups, highly active in continually raising the inequities of citizenship with successive Australian governments. This was in addition to various, regular submissions made by NZ parliamentarians to Australia. O’Sullivan gives little or no credit to any of these lobby groups. For her to suggest Ardern swept in “to publicly call successive Australian Prime Ministers to account and shame them” is totally erroneous. Knowing Australians as intimately as my wife and I do after many years of living and working there, Australians aren’t shamed by any Kiwis. On the contrary. More likely the current Australian government saw a brilliant opportunity to bolster their workforce in a tight international labour market by offering an excellent carrot to Kiwis to make the move across the Tasman. Murray Brown, Hamilton East
Easy Great Walks
One option for some of the Great Walks other than the Milford is to walk halfway on the first day and then walk back to your car. Some days later, drive to the other end of the track, walk halfway and back. You’ve done the whole track twice. It costs nothing, and best of all, no booking required. No pack needed — other than a day pack with your parker and lunch. Pick a day with good weather. I did the Routeburn this way at the age of about 60. Or go with friends — walk the whole track starting at opposite ends, swap keys along the way. Susan Grimsdell, Auckland Central
On NZ Commonwealth Games
Like all big projects these days, the benefits are grossly overestimated. Look at the Olympics and Commonwealth host cities spending years and years paying back the debt. Birmingham is still paying it back and still proclaimed the event a success. I really love my sport, but New Zealand wanting to host the Commonweath Games is just another ego trip of this country wanting to play with the big boys. Ian MacGregor, Greenhithe
Easy fix for public transport
Auckland Transport’s chief executive Dean Kimpton must start improving public transport by first getting more out of Auckland’s existing transport system. More dedicated bus lanes and priority measures, such as a separate bus transit signal at traffic lights. Give buses the right of way on all roads. Cheaper, flexible and time-differentiated fares can reduce congestion and make public transport more attractive. Higher fuel prices will also encourage more people to use and try public transport. To stop the public loathing of AT and its services, it must continuously improve and promote public transport upgrades. Kimpton can change this perception by getting the buses moving so people can enjoy reading a library book on the bus. Only then will public transport be loved as much as libraries. Patrick McFarlane, Ōnehunga
Police criticism unjustified
There is nothing wrong with having a review of the riot at Parliament grounds so that any loopholes could be plugged up for future protests, but it is galling that the police and their leaders should be maligned for their handling of the situation. What is not appreciated is there is a fine line between peaceful resolution and an all-out riot. When a large group gather to protest a very contentious issue, flashpoints can occur for no real reason. Had the police dispersed the protest earlier, no doubt they would have been criticised for heavy handling of the situation. Reg Dempster, Albany
Short & sweet:
On West Island
Now might be a good time to start the debate as to whether Australia should become part of New Zealand. James Gregory, Parnell
On Gore blimey
As more facts emerge of the Gore Council standoff, the inevitability of this conflict becomes more apparent. Long-serving, ageing and crusty CEO meets youthful, self-serving opinionated first term mayor. Larry Mitchell, Rothesay Bay
On foot-in-mouth
Are MPI workers doing their job properly? There appears to be a severe outbreak of foot-in-mouth disease in Wellington. Martin Adlington, Browns Bay
On Kiwaussies
Now Australia has returned most of the 501s they feel confident enough to offer well-behaved New Zealanders living in Australia citizenship. Neil Hatfull, Warkworth
On TV complaints
RNZ and TVNZ complained that Twitter called them government-controlled entities. NZ Herald reports “Minister wants changes” to TVNZ programming. Perhaps they complained too much. Nick Hamilton, Remuera
On Braunias
Steve Braunias’ “The secret diary of Elizabeth Kerekere” (Weekend Herald, April 22) absolutely nailed it. Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth
Police say the death is not being treated as suspicious.