Letters: Public hearing into abuse in state care, Queen Elizabeth II

Abuse in State care is a highly common trend. Photo / File

Opinion

Left wanting by public hearing into abuse in state care
The public hearing into the abuse in state care of the disabled and mentally ill has come and gone.
Quite frankly, I feel ripped off.
If the object of the exercise was to finally bring justice to those children and adults abused in the care of the state.
In what other area of law would being listened to be considered justice?
The various government departments entrusted with the care of our most vulnerable have acknowledged allowing the most appalling abuse to occur.
But it seems now those individuals whose lives were trashed are expected to take on the State in the court system all by themselves.
The hearings showed how badly damaged many of the abused still are, yet in this damaged state, one by one, it seems their only recourse is to attempt to again "prove" abuse the State knows full well has occurred through the very thorough investigation of the Royal Commission legal team.
As a survivor of abuse in State Care, my belief is that the State should be offering each survivor full and just compensation for the abuse the Commission has uncovered and the State has admitted to.
Name and address withheld.

Raiders' remorse
Where is the manaakitanga among our children?
I am shocked that children under 16 continue to conduct countless ram raids.
I am extremely disappointed that the parents of these offending children have not taught their children the basics of manaakitanga.
Manaakitanga is about showing respect, decency and care towards the community and whānau.
We seem to have lost even the basics of bringing up children today.
I feel we need to adopt a zero-tolerance policy. We need to nip this problem in the bud quickly before these offending children conduct even worse crimes as they get older.
If the parents cannot control their children, then the parents should be severely fined and even jailed in recidivist cases. This is how this problem is dealt with in the US and UK.
Sudhir Rajagopalan, Auckland

White Lady
The White Lady food truck was operating long before most (all?) of the adjacent businesses which are now complaining about its presence.
There are shades of those who buy houses near Eden Park and then moan about the noise etc.
Jocelyn Olesen, St Heliers

The White Lady mobile takeaway food outlet on Commerce Street, Auckland. Photo / Michael Craig

ER II
Queen Elizabeth II was a truly amazing woman and a selfless servant to the people over her 70-year reign.
However, will Canada, Australia, New Zealand and many Caribbean countries now transition to becoming republics?
Glen Stanton, Mairangi Bay

Who to believe?
According to Mike Hosking, radio host and opinion writer, we have almost certainly been in recession already this year and many commentators say there will be a further period during this year.
However, Tony Alexander, 20 years chief economist for the BNZ and commentator on the state of our economy, says there is a 20 per cent chance we will go into recession and gives well reasoned points as to why he thinks this is so and, of course, no mention of us already having been there.
Joe Silcock, Kauaeranga Valley.

Rail services
Reintroducing distance rail services is a no-brainer especially to Tauranga and Rotorua.
The trouble is that the links from Auckland were cut off by visionless councils and governments.
The back-breaking routes through the scenic Karangahake Gorge and Kaimais into the heart of these tourist cities was destroyed several decades ago despite public opposition.
So what happens now?
Mary Tallon, Hauraki.

Bus services
After a chilly 35 minutes of waiting on a busy commuter route for a bus which is supposed to arrive every 15 minutes I then discover the next two buses have been cancelled.
In the meantime, three buses for route 162 have come and gone.
Just what does Auckland transport expect people who are stranded to do? I don't believe this has anything to do with Covid, as few people now are either sick or in isolation.
What about fewer fancy ideas and more down to earth services guaranteed. Of course there won't be any discounted rates for this lack of service.
Linda Lang, Henderson.

Home detention
With the preference recently for home detention over prison for offenders, the least that the sentencing judges could do is to sentence the offender to the same time of home detention that they would have had if the offender had gone to prison.
It is so ridiculous that the recent rape offender be given nine months home detention when he could have expected a three- to five-year prison sentence.
Ross Harvey, Remuera.

Soft sentences
When you read repeatedly about the light, ridiculous non-deterrent sentences being handed out by judges you do wonder as to who it is that is actually being punished. It often seems that a criminals best friend is in fact a sentencing judge whereas the victim of the crime is simply cast aside and may take, in some instances, years to recover from the event.
Simply put the pendulum has swung far too much toward the criminal element and it's time these judges took their job seriously by assisting the police and making it crystal clear that crime doesn't pay. The country has had enough of soft sentencing.
Paul Beck, West Harbour.

Responsibility
Now I know why Kelvin Davis is proud and boasts of the prison numbers dropping. Recently rapists, aggravated robbers and gang leaders are at home enjoying life on PD. Responsibility? It does not appear to be an issue now.
Ian Doube, Rotorua.

Where's the backbone?
I totally endorse Bruce Anderson's letter of September 8 in the Herald. Time and time again we see judges dispensing weak, unfair, sentences to the perpetrators of serious crimes. Judges are the only ones to give fair and applicable sentences but many lack the backbone to do so or are ignorant of the requirements of the Sentencing Act.
Kay Robinson, Henderson.

Justice system?
When conviction for the rape of four teenage girls leads to a sentence of nine months home detention, does the term "justice system" have any meaning?
As CS Lewis observed, so-called humanitarian theories of punishment - which dispense with uncivilised notions of revenge, focusing solely on deterrence and rehabilitation - may in fact be profoundly dehumanising. The concept of "just desserts" is the only connecting link between punishment and justice. The horrors of Guantanamo Bay and Lake Alice Hospital are just two examples of what can happen when that principle is ignored, with public protection or psychological treatment being the over-riding concern.
And what about rehabilitation of the victims? A 2018 report commissioned by the Ministry of Justice found that discounted sentences for offenders may trigger similar reactions to the sexual violence the victim experienced, whereby the crime was somehow minimised and the victim's experience diminished.
The Sentencing Act 2002 stipulates that judges "must take into account the gravity of the offending in the particular case" and "must take into account the seriousness of the type of offence". They should also remember that "to provide for the interests of the victims of crime" is a core purpose of the legislation.
Stephen Bayldon, Mt Roskill.

Cost saving
Soon our prisons will be empty and the Government can trumpet it as a great cost saving.
Jock MacVicar, Hauraki.