Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Finance Minister Grant Robertson pose with the 2021 Budget papers on Thursday. Photo / Getty Images
Auckland Councillor Desley Simpson may think a 5.5 per cent rates rise is not a "bombshell" (NZ Herald, May 21), however she and her fellow councillors', on their six figure-plus salaries, seem out of touch with reality.
They may not consider
it significant, but for the many ratepayers on fixed or low incomes I am sure it is. Many ratepayers on superannuation rely on interest and have had a drop in income due to interest rates on their savings falling from 4 or 5 per cent to less than 1 per cent. I am sure they will consider a 5.5 per cent rates rise a "bombshell".
Ken Graham, Greenlane.
Vaccine centre spot-on
John Roughan, (Weekend Herald, May 22) writes of all that is possibly wrong with the vaccine rollout. The view from the ground was different where I got my first jab last week. In Birkenhead, whoever is in charge has set up a vaccination centre run by friendly, efficient people who are great communicators, treat everyone with respect and get through the process quickly. They get 10/10 from me.
Christina Milligan, Birkenhead.
Jab rollout won't end well
My concerns about the vaccine rollout were echoed by John Roughan and things are not going to end well. It would seem that those at the top have a vision on how the rollout will work but don't seem to have a hand on the practicalities.
Group 3 is next on the list with 1.7 million to vaccinate, with many of them in the Auckland district. As an example, the North Shore has only one mass facility at Highbury and this is already booked out until at least the start of July. All medical centres which have the facilities and expertise should be carrying out vaccinations. Having tested the current system, it needs urgent revaluation and reconstruction.
Reg Dempster, Albany.
No benefit in benefits
There is an interesting process when a selected group of people starts getting Government or other benefits and the process continues for years.
If a group is in strife and gets a benefit — say a billion dollars here, a hundred houses there — if it remains in strife, the best way forward is to ask for more from the Government. A beneficiary group nearly always sees that as the easy way — even the only way — forward. But if you never get the benefit, your only choice is to pull yourself out of the problem with hard work and self discipline.
So we have two groups — people who claim benefits and people who do not. One test of this is to compare the progress of those getting the benefit to those not receiving one, where both live in the same place with similar challenges. Another test is to check how the people who claim the benefit put themselves outside the scope of the claim and go elsewhere to live — like Australia. Are they doing well over there without the benefit?
The beneficiaries are not doing themselves a favour. And the people supplying the benefits are contributing to the problem and not solving it.
Kerry Farmer, Otaki.
Job non-seekers overlooked
In his Budget address, Finance Minister Grant Robertson proudly expressed a decline in unemployment to 4.2 per cent. Misleading statistics only capture a fraction of those unemployed, those seeking work. No consideration is given to the many beneficiaries who do not seek jobs. The increases in welfare payments, although virtuous, will further entrench dependency.
The Budget failed to inspire, apart from an overheated housing market, a post Covid-19 recovery will be tepid at best. Unless the able-bodied unemployed are integrated into the workforce the low-growth, low-wage economy will remain. Simply too many "on the sidelines", ever reliant on the state.
For those with aspirations, distant shores may beckon.
P. J. Edmondson, Tauranga.
Govt feels vaccine pressure
I note there are large ads in the Herald for the Covid-19 vaccination. This strongly indicates the Government feels under pressure about the speed, or lack thereof, of the Covid-19 vaccination process.
The ads are designed to have us, the general public, believe they are doing a great job. However, New Zealand is nowhere near the fastest country in the world to administer the vaccines — it's not the great position the Government wants us to believe.
Janet Boyle, Orewa.
Vote must be every two years
Four-year Parliaments? Every day we hear about business getting things done faster, much faster. Organise a meeting for next week, perhaps? No, start the meeting right now, on Zoom.
Instead of giving Government more time, to sit around in committee meetings, or set up commissions of inquiry, or deploy other excuses for getting nothing done, we should give them less time.
Americans can change the profile of their legislature every two years, using "midterms". New Zealand should have a general election every second year.
And extend the vote to 16-year-olds. Our young people have to wait so long to see any progress that they often lose interest.
And should two-year elections also apply to local government? You just know it, that's what you want!
Arch Thomson, Mt Wellington.
DJs give fans headache
Did anyone ask the fans if they wanted loud music at rugby games? It is so loud you can't even discuss the game with the person next to you.
Not only that, it is the same tunes week after week, such as Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline.
When the intrusive music was first introduced it was only played during stoppages now it is still being played while the game is being played. Do we really need this?
I go to watch rugby, not to have a DJ abuse my eardrums. I am sure I speak for the silent majority .
Jock Mac Vicar, Hauraki.
Consistency lacking
Claire Trevett's excellent interview with the Prime Minister (Weekend Herald, May 22) won a surprising admission from Jacinda Ardern.
Asked if it was a moral failure by the Clark Labour Government of 1999-2008 not to have lifted benefits, Ardern told Claire it was not fair to compare the present with a government from more than a decade ago. The question was sparked by Finance Minister Grant Robertson saying he was "righting a wrong" from a National budget of 1990.
It is okay to criticise actions from 30 years ago but not to make comparisons from more than a decade ago?
Katherine Swift, Kohimarama.
PM delivers only charisma
Jacinda Ardern is the consummate politician and popular overseas partly due to her personality and ability to show empathy in a crisis. Not traits males are encouraged to show.
As for our "male" business fraternity reacting negatively to her, maybe that is more to do with the lack of actual delivery once the rhetoric stops. I remember Britain had a strong "female" leader without Ardern's charisma but with a record of achievement. Not so much about gender, more about achievements.
James Archibald, Birkenhead.
Answer blowing in wind
Using at least four vehicles and eight personnel — excluding the crew that placed no-parking signs and cones for a few hours — after three days, Downer's leaf-sweeping of Grey Lynn's Selbourne St is unfinished, great piles of leaves remaining. There must be a huge amount of fat in Downer's contract with Auckland Transport to enable them to be this inefficient and ineffective.
C Johnstone, Grey Lynn.
Ardern critics' sour grapes
I have nothing but praise for how Jacinda Ardern and her Government handled the terrorist attack in Christchurch, the White Island explosion and now her internationally lauded Covid-19 response and low infection rate.
I doubt any other leader could have handled them in such a clear-minded manner. Cynical viewpoints aired by National-affiliated columnists, ex-Nats politicians, disgruntled Ex-Labour/Act politicians and whining radio jocks reek of sour grapes.
Jon Stafford, Hastings.
Emergency services were called to the scene about 8.30pm.