Letters: On regional rail, Threads, gangs, sport and jury service

Te Huia passenger train service between Waikato / Hamilton and Auckland.

Letters to the Editor

Need for trains

In the Transport and Infrastructure Committee’s report on inter-regional passenger trains, 97 per cent of the submissions supported the re-establishment of a connected public transport system utilising passenger trains wherever possible. The report recommended that the Government set up a steering organisation to coordinate these developments and made some recommendations for initial services to be looked at. It was disappointing, therefore, that National and Act party members dissented from the findings of the committee preferring to remain with car and air transport solutions and a profit-making bus system serving the regions. Currently, 30 per cent of the population cannot use cars as a way of getting around and most of this group cannot afford air travel. These people, the young, old, disabled or poor are dependent on public transport. Many more from the remaining 70 per cent would use public transport if it was attractive, efficient and reasonably priced. It is extremely disappointing that these two backward-thinking parties in this time of climate change, have decided that the most dangerous and most polluting forms of transport are to be favoured, leaving just one form of public transport in the form of an uncomfortable, infrequent, slow and over-priced bus ride to serve regional New Zealand. Niall Robertson, Chair of the Public Transport Users Association.

Questioning trends

It is ironic that a local trans activist calls to exclude ‘exclusionary’ feminists from posting on the new Threads social media platform. None of us wants toxic and hateful social media posts. But have we reached the point where it is forbidden to question anything promoted by the trans lobby? We should all acknowledge diversity and be kind to others. However, can nobody raise genuine concerns about the trend to offer potentially dangerous medical solutions to young people who may be simply going through the confusing stage of puberty? Have our corporations so bought into their rainbow tick status that their first response to a call for banning speech is to agree wholeheartedly? I am glad that a day later, wiser heads prevailed at Spark and OneNZ to both offer ‘clarifications’. I am worried we will follow a trend that has been happening in England – to question the new orthodoxy could see you lose your job as an employee, or be dropped as a customer. P. Jones, Remuera.

Jury service

Just how unfair is jury service? Unless you have a really good reason, you are compelled by the Ministry of Justice to undertake jury service when they say unless you want to be fined or serve time in jail. The length of these jury trials could result in anything from a week or many more away from your place of employment. During this time, your employee is under no obligation to continue to pay you wages or salary during your time away but you can use your holiday allowance to get paid (who would want to sacrifice their holidays for Jury service). The ministry will pay you between $31 and $40 per half day to attend or in the facility of a paltry $8 per hour. Admittedly you can apply for more if hardship is proven but in almost every case this would only be a fraction of your normal pay so how are young couples already experiencing difficulties with daily expenses or those on a mortgage supposed to get by when they are forced to undertake this service on a reduced income. If anyone is forced by law to assist the justice system with jury duty then conversely they must be forced to ensure those that attend are reimbursed in full for lost wages. Surely that is fair. Alan Walker, St Heliers.

Captain Cane

I’m not a great follower of rugby, but of one thing I can be sure. Not knowing the intent of the pitch invader, following Argentina’s loss to the All Blacks, Sam Cane did exactly the right thing in trying to stop him. The only pitch invaders we can trust not to be armed and with havoc on their minds are streakers. They’re the only ones who obviously have nothing to hide. Sadly, that is the world we live in now. Cane has nothing to apologise for. He was playing the captain’s role in looking after his teammates. Good on him. Jeremy Coleman, Hillpark.

Double standards

Steve Clark, in his letter today, raises the obvious point of double standards in what we call sport. Much is being made of the harmful effects of head injuries arising from head jarring, as the programme made of Carl Hayman’s problems from numerous concussions illustrated. The Football Association has even considered the banning of “head balling”. In contrast, we have boxing, Mixed Martial Arts and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (cage fighting) where the goal is to pummel one’s opponent into submission, preferably by knockout. What about protection of the head in these so-called sports? MMA and UFC are particularly barbaric. Their spectators remind me of those who would have attended the Colosseum in Rome or bullfighting in Spain where the more blood spilled the happier they were, whilst keeping themselves at a safe distance of course. If the safety of participants is to be taken seriously boxing, MMA and UFC should be condemned by the medical profession as dangerous and outlawed as a sport until appropriate safety measures are imposed. Alan Thomas, Silverdale.

Gangs and history

In ‘The Strange Story Behind the Rise of Gangs,’ Dr Jarrod Gilbert falls into the usual trap of academics and the fields they make their careers in. He deflects to global frameworks, specifically the vagaries of a universalised gang history, which ultimately leads nowhere. Gilbert’s portrayal of Aotearoa’s gang scene suggests connections with romanticised notions of World War II veterans on motorcycles and implies that media hype helps create gangs. Gangs have been a part of human life since our days of hunting mammoths. They exist throughout childhood, with even a knitting circle being a type of gang. These groups tap into a core aspect of humanity — the need for belonging and communal power. Is Gilbert talking about gangs or gangsterism, the latter an activity and behaviour associated with criminal gangs or organised crime groups? Is the media wrong to associate Aotearoan gangs with violence, antisocial behaviour, and the drug trade? If we can’t get that basic principle right, how can we shift the conversation to going somewhere instead of endlessly repacking the bags? With our world-leading rates of youth suicide, infanticide, domestic violence, and methamphetamine use, where are the voices on solutions or is it just too hard? Greg Boyle, an American Catholic priest of the Jesuit order and founder/director of the world’s largest gang intervention and rehabilitation programme, emphasises the importance of focusing on gang members, not gangs themselves. He warns that by fixating solely on gangs we inadvertently ‘reinforce their cohesion and provide them with oxygen’. Gilbert does just that. Ultimately, there is no ‘them’ and ‘us’; only ‘us’. Less ‘strange stories’, more logical pathways towards all being part of the gang of ‘us’. Russell Hoban, Ponsonby.

Solar systems

“Sunny initiative meets a wintry brouhaha, (NZ Herald, July 10) tells of a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) pilot project. VPP would allow the electricity grid, access to thousands of PowerWall batteries to prop up the grid when there is a short-term power shortage. I have wondered why SolarZero is installing Tesla Powerwalls in their solar grid-tie systems. The whole idea of having grid-tie solar systems is that they don’t need an expensive battery. Grid-tie systems have solar panels on your roof supplying most of your power needs. If the sun isn’t shining, you use power from the grid. No battery is required. If you have excess solar power, you sell it back to the power company. Unfortunately, in New Zealand, the power companies only pay back a fraction of what grid power costs, so usually grid-tie solar systems give a lousy payback. Why is the $14.6 trillion company BlackRock that owns SolarZero, fooling around with small change power in New Zealand? Is New Zealand a VPP test case for BlackRock? Hopefully, the Herald will keep digging into the VPP pilot project. John Caldwell, Howick.

Impressive linkway

With the imminent opening of the impressive Patuone walk/cycleway in Takapuna, behind Barry’s Point and linking the Esmonde Road junction to central Takapuna, we have an important link in both the greenway from Devonport to Takapuna and the as-yet-not-properly-thought-through path from Takapuna to Northcote Point. This is part of an imagined route from Devonport that ultimately ends up at the Harbour Bridge. This path could be a great asset for Auckland. I recall a fantastic day in San Francisco where my wife and I easily hired a bike each in downtown, rode out past Haight-Ashbury and the Botanical Park to the Pacific coast, then across the Golden Gate Bridge to lunch in a Sausalito cafe. Instead of catching a ferry there as many did, we rode on to Tiburon wharf where we caught a later boat with seemingly hundreds of other bikes, to cruise past Alcatraz in the bay and finally back to Fisherman’s Wharf and downtown. What a great way to see a city! Has Auckland got the vision to do something like this? We have all these ingredients. Simon Shanahan, Takapuna.

Complex issue

Lin Mussell (NZ Herald, July 10) proposes a very naive approach to crime. If there were foolproof answers to reducing crime most countries would be implementing them. To claim ‘the pathway forward is clear’ and that the problem will be solved via ‘community-led restorative and transformative justice’ totally underestimates the complexities involved. To also say ‘imprisonment does not stop crime happening’ ignores the fact that whilst in prison a person cannot commit crime. Corrections do seek to rehabilitate. Time out from unhelpful circumstances and friends can change people’s lives. Parole systems seek to require acknowledgment and addressing of wrongdoing via programmes such as Kowhiritanga. For many victims, justice may need to be served. Tough-on-crime approaches, whilst not ideal, may be more popular and realistic than theoretical but unproven recommendations. Chris Chrystall, Epsom.

Crime footage

One-sided opinion pieces such as Mike Munroe’s (NZ Herald, July 8) add nothing to the need for a serious discussion on crime. Dismissive statements about television viewers being exposed to distressing footage such as contributed videos, CCTV cameras, a cameraman’s video diary of serious crimes in Auckland, offenders posting their misdemeanours online, underplay the seriousness of the situation. Of course, the focus needs to also be on the underlying causes of violence but the implication that if the public was protected from such images all would be well is demeaning to those of us who are concerned about violence including family violence. Glennys Adams, Waiheke.

Sentence discounts

I am a survivor. To read that Sir James Wallace got a 30 per cent discount on his sentence due to letters of support from benefactors of his philanthropy truly abhors me. There is no amount of money that can take away the anguish a victim of abuse suffers. No matter how long ago the abuse takes place, the effects last forever. The fact that an offender can get benefits from being of “good character” is a travesty of justice and needs to be rectified. Survivors have suffered enough already. Kevan Leadbeater, Totara Vale.

Short & Sweet

On youth justice

Simon Wilson forgets that under the National Government we had Charter Schools where youths were often sent after being expelled. A lot were very successful in rehabilitation. Labour abolished them and chose to put them in Youth Justice Facilities. Wendy Tighe-Umbers, Parnell.

On humour

I note there was outrage at the Spanish Women’s Football team doing a mock haka. For goodness’ sake, where has our sense of humour gone? Go with it. Janet Boyle, Orewa.

On bus strike

The strike by bus drivers in Auckland once again does not endear many of us to them. I understand pay is a priority but surely the management could avoid this scenario. With Fifa on our doorstep, hundreds of volunteers, fans, etc using public transport to get to/from Eden Park deserve reliable transport. Millions of people all around the world will be watching. Does Auckland Transport wish to be in the news for their failure to deliver? Jude Collins, Ellerslie.

On truckies

The story of the 64 truckies who turned up to make a 7-year-old truck fan happy on his birthday is heart-warming! Well done, all those big-hearted truckies for making a lot of people smile! Anne Martin, Helensville.

On potholes

Kieran McAnulty says “the Government was focused on developing and maintaining a high-quality transport system”. Having just ruined a new tyre on a pothole on State Highway 2 near Paeroa, I am not interested in the developing part, but just maintaining would be nice for now. Neville Cameron, Coromandel.

On RATs

The hundreds of millions wasted on expired rapid antigen tests suggests to me a new proverb - ‘they who do not hesitate, before making a hugely costly confiscation, is liable, if a huge sum of money is then lost as a result’. S Hansen, Whangarei.

The Premium Debate

The All Blacks are still plagued by Sir Graham Henry’s conservatism

I agree with Paul’s comments. The media is an avenue where the writer informs readers of their opinion or the reasons they are taking a particular stance on a matter. We all get annoyed when that opinion is not what we want to hear but that’s the way it is! I’m consistently challenging many stories I read but isn’t that the whole idea? Gosh, it would be so boring if we all agreed on everything we read. Allan R.

That’s all very well. But Henry’s systems won two world cups. and the ALL Blacks have always been the team that try to play open rugby. This goes back to the start of the All Blacks. Through Fred Allen and onwards. Teams have succeeded by shutting us down and smothering us. With the rush defence, they have succeeded. But yet overseas teams have caught up, especially in the forwards. I don’t think we have tried to be conservative. It’s just it is impossible against the rush defence. The other point that has to be made is we simply do not have the advantage with raw talent we used to have. Ross W.

Sir Graham Henry should have been kicked for touch a long time ago. As soon as he was appointed to the panel to select the next ABs coach everybody knew Ian Foster would get the job because Henry could not see past succession and that’s why some of our best did not even bother to apply. Henry only wanted Smith back in because he knew he could not win a world cup without him. David S.

Outside of the Graham Henry comparisons, I’d say there is quite a level of newness in the ABs already, within the last 12 months. We have 2 new excellent assistant coaches, De Groot, Lomax, Taukei’aho, and a highly likely Narawa in the main starting 15. Frizell, Mounga, Jordy, Ioane all appear to be settling at their preferred positions, after 3 years of experimentation. Marcus H.

As for the conservatism of our highly successful AB coaches, it has delivered better results than the few times we appointed less conservative coaches (Deans, Mitchell etc.). Any educated rugby follower knows that more innovation and progress have been made incrementally by conservative coaches. Darren W.