America's Cup cash
I am a fan of the America's Cup, but I don't think it's appropriate for Auckland Council to give a further $20 million to a rich man's sport in a time of major belt tightening.
Cuts to council services across the board in the face of a $525m Covid-19 shortfall make this decision look indulgent. Libraries, street cleaning, road safety have all been sacrificed to budget cutbacks. The council has even put on hold buying clean electric buses to tackle toxic diesel pollution levels, a major health issue. Yet $20m more is being thrown at a ridiculously expensive yacht race that is getting $250m in council and government investment.
The Covid-19 border restrictions mean few of the expected America's Cup economic benefits will materialise so why can't the event's organisers cut back accordingly on their extravagance in these extraordinary times. It could be a much simpler but still exciting event.
I love the racing but the America's Cup is a monument to excess and self indulgence when we need to prioritise spending on what's important.
Jeff Hayward, Auckland.
Reliant on foreign students
The National Party say they want foreign students back as soon as possible. On the face of it that, easy to say, statement sounds quite reasonable.
However the Covid-19 pandemic has shown up some big deficiencies and grave errors in how things were done in the past. One of these was the excessive dependency by universities on fees from foreign students. When this stopped they were in financial strife. Universities are funded by our taxes. Which is fine. But they cannot act without regard to how their policies can impact on us as taxpayers.
Therefore, before they rush in again to attract foreign students there have to be some conditions and a clearly stated Government policy on foreign students.
There must be a percentage limit on the amount of total income that each university earns from foreign students. I do not know what the percentage was pre Covid-19 but it was obviously too high. I would suggest perhaps half that rate or something in the order of 5 per cent.
So before the National Party start demanding foreign students be allowed back can they please give some thought to the conditions that would apply and also the limits in numbers.
Russell Armitage, Hamilton.
Council folly on traffic
Just when Auckland Council is crying poor and wants to cut more basic services, we see another expensive folly being installed without consultation or cost-benefit analysis.
Money can be saved by firing those who thought it was a good idea to further restrict traffic in the CBD by widening footpaths, along with the managers who approved it. This is another of the unwanted and badly thought-out schemes that have been wasting rate-payers' money ever since the Super City was created.
Alan McArdle, Glen Eden.
Destruction of history
I wonder if generations of the future will look back on today's generation and see the intent and violence in so many things that have caused them to destroy their history, and take the law into their own hands such as damaging statues and everything in their path that they don't agree with.
Where have they been until now to march and complain about history? What are these mass groups really prepared to do about it? It is the present that matters and they being part of it and should put their energy into making it a better place to live in.
I hope they will manage their present and future much better than they think we have managed ours.
P. Salvador, Hobsonville.
Exercise in hypocrisy
Rewriting history, renaming places and destroying statues is political correctness gone mad, and an exercise in hypocrisy.
In the US South there has been an orgy of such activity. Meanwhile ex presidents remain revered as before. Many of the early presidents talked of noble causes like freedom while they personally owned large numbers of slaves.
So will they "punish" those slave-owning presidents by pulling down the Jefferson Memorial or renaming Washington DC? Hell no. Selective morality reigns supreme.
Let's not practice the same nonsense here.
Andrew Tichbon, Green Bay.
Traditional jobs needed
In the year prior to Covid-19 job seeker numbers grew by 14,000 despite a buoyant economy, jobs abundant. It is ironic a coalition seemingly soft on welfare is now entrusted with job creation and restoring a battered economy. In two years Government "burned" through an inherited fiscal surplus and resorted to debt, now amplified by the pandemic.
History confirms, varied construction activity and horticulture can spawn major job creation, however apprenticeship schemes have been compromised by escalating pay scales and inflexible labour laws hindering employers.
A thought, partially subsidise apprentice wage rates, incorporate a practical employee trial period with a start, not in classroom tuition but on site initiation, the traditional format, this at a time of unprecedented need for state rental construction.
With so many able bodied unemployed idle, it is scandalous we rely on so much imported labour for the construction and horticulture industries.
P. J. Edmondson, Tauranga.
Elite big beneficiaries
So now I see that the $50+ billion spend-up and 2-months restrictions were to make New Zealand safe again for elitist film crews, families of America's Cup yachties, and mates of the ruling elite.
Tom Brooks, Gisborne.
Health Minister's role
Janet Boyle of Orewa wonders when the re-evaluation of the Minister of Health's position will be carried out as promised by the Prime Minister during lockdown
I expect the re-evaluation will happen when the dust clears a bit from the Covid-19 situation. As the minister with oversight of a ministry which includes Dr Ashley Bloomfield, there might be a glowing report for the handling of a complex multi-dimensional situation.
In that event I expect Janet Boyle will be among many congratulating the minister .
Peter Nicholson, Ruatangata.
Cost of quarantine
At a cost of $6200 per person for a hotel stay in quarantine, how much of this does the quarantined person pay towards the cost?
If they were entering NZ under normal times, visitors and returnees would fund their own food and lodgings. Therefore those who wish to enter should at least be required to pay something towards this mandatory stay instead of getting a fortnight's free accommodation. Why did the government not use the facilities originally used at the beginning of lockdown before our borders closed? They still had to pay security whichever the accommodation. And some ungrateful people had the grace to complain as well. There would be many NZ families living in rundown high rent houses, who would give their eye teeth for a fortnight's accommodation in a city hotel.
Now that we are at level 1, those who are returning need to pay for their own quarantine costs.
For how long is the taxpayer expected to fork out?
Marie Kaire, Whangarei.
