The US Coast Guard has declared the loss of five lives aboard the Titan submersible to be a 'major marine casualty'. It seems unlimited resources were deployed to rescue these folk, two of whom were billionaires. Contrasting this was the migrant boat that sank with up to 700 lives lost off the coast of Greece. Photo / AP
Refugees drown as rich helped
Recently the world gave huge media coverage to five adventurers in a submersible in the Atlantic while virtually ignoring more than 500 refugees drowning in the Mediterranean. A squadron of planes and ships went to the rescue of the five, while a ship that could have rescued the asylum-seekers stood off and abandoned them. Is there a lesson to be learnt by both the international media and world authorities? Nick Hamilton, Remuera.
A tale of two tragedies
The US Coast Guard has declared the loss of five lives aboard the Titan submersible to be a “major marine casualty”. It seems unlimited resources were deployed to rescue these folk, two of whom were billionaires. Contrasting this was the migrant boat that sank with up to 700 lives lost off the coast of Greece. The coast guard from that country did nothing to stop what was a preventable tragedy and there was minimal deployment by Western countries to rescue these migrants. The huge inequity of these two contrasting maritime incidents is truly shameful. I guess what happens to poor people just doesn’t matter? In my view, the inequality between rich and poor, both globally and indeed in our own country, is one of the greatest challenges facing us today, along with climate change. Glen Stanton, Mairangi Bay.
Super Rugby final
You heard the groan from the crowd when the referee hesitated on seeing the huge forward pass to the wing in the lead-up to Richie Mo’unga’s try and opted to let it go. It got worse when he failed to see the obstruction on Damian McKenzie. The No 6 actually knocked McKenzie off-stride. McKenzie then tried to make up for the delay in stopping his opposite scoring but it proved too much. In the space of 10 seconds, two refereeing errors decided the fate of the championship and all the magnificent rugby played by the Chiefs went out the window. Joe Naden, Mt Roskill.
Rugby rules
Watching coaching staff reactions to referee decisions during the Super Rugby Pacific final would suggest that something is not quite right in the state of world rugby. The complex rules are one thing, but their interpretation coupled with sensible judgment calls by the referees are another. With regular frequency, throughout the 80 minutes, the referee’s whistle set off a chorus of disbelief. For example, how on earth can you expect a player trapped under 600kg of human bodies to roll away? The trapped player has no impact on the flow of play, yet is penalised and play stops again. Millions of World Cup fans and coaches are in for a wild ride and the referees have a huge challenge to ensure the best team holds aloft the Webb Ellis Cup on October 28. Bruce Eliott, St Heliers.
Razor sharp
He was All Black number 974, a player in a winning Super Rugby team four times, and played in Europe and Japan. After this, head coach success in the ITM Cup and with the New Zealand Under-20s, then became the first “rookie” Super Rugby coach to win three successive titles for the Crusaders from 2017-2019. It didn’t stop there for coach Scott Robertson either, continuing his winning crusade right up until this year, and being rewarded with the head coach role for our national rugby team from 2024. An old coach of ours said winning on the rugby paddock was 20 per cent skill, 20 per cent fitness and 60 per cent attitude. Standing at a commanding 6′3, whatever Razor’s recipe is, it works. If this was a movie script, it would as read too much “out there” to be true. He is quirky, unique and special, and the scary thing, he is not even 50 years of age. He now has the biggest job in the field for New Zealand Rugby, and on the world stage. Is this movie going to go on for another four, eight or even 12 more years? That we don’t know, but one thing is for sure, Razor does. Glen Forsyth, Taupō.
Act of kindness
Act plans to introduce policies that will make life harder for poor people and easier for those already well-off. I can’t get my head around this. Surely it’s human nature to want to help people who need help, not to walk past them and go to those who are clearly doing well. I can’t believe anyone, especially a smart guy like David Seymour, still thinks trickle-down works? It never has and it’s been tried over a long period of time. Helping the comfortably-off get richer and ignoring those who can’t even feed their kids goes against basic human decency. It’s perfectly possible to adopt policies that help poor people have a decent life without causing even the slightest hardship to the well-off. Why would anyone not want that? Susan Grimsdell, Auckland Central.
Gun register
Your correspondent Jeff Hayward (NZ Herald, May 15) may not be aware that in 1983, New Zealand had a firearms register but the Police Commissioner abandoned it because it was a huge administrative burden on police and never actually solved a crime. He may also be surprised to learn that gang members and criminals will probably not enter details of their firearms on the register. John Walsh, Green Bay.
Taxing debate
Do we need more taxation or less? Bruce Cotterill (Weekend Herald, June 24) sees a squandering of taxpayers’ cash — especially at the Beehive — that could be remedied. The National Party is promising tax cuts derived from less wasteful spending. But let’s be very careful about spending cuts to those public services which are in genuine, desperate need of more funding. So many things demand fixing, immediately. We must train more doctors, nurses and teachers (not cheap) and then raise their pay to retain them, in the job and in New Zealand. Police numbers are up but even more are needed to keep communities safer and to fight internationally-connected crime. We need more money for cyclone/flooding recovery and water and transport infrastructure. State housing, mental health programmes, the very poor who are simply unable to manage the cost of living. However, greater governmental efficiency cannot possibly provide the extra funds for this (incomplete) list. “Growing the economy” in the face of global disruptors of inflation, war and climate change is not a guaranteed immediate solution — but the use of tax dollars from the high end of town more likely is, to ensure a well-functioning society that benefits us all. B Darragh, Auckland Central.
Educational achievement
Great letter from Steve Liddle (NZ Herald, June 23) advocating for rehabilitation to get more funding and support than incarceration. The important parallel is education. We need more funding and support for education and truancy reduction. Giving our children the tools and motivation to make their own way in the world should be our number one aim. Excessive expenditure on social welfare and health can be reduced only by addressing the causes: slipping educational achievements and unhealthy lifestyles. Alison Beer, Whangaparāoa.
White guys
Paula Bennett (Herald on Sunday, June 25) asks, “how hard is it to be a white guy in New Zealand at the moment?” The latest available data from 2019 says life expectancy at birth for Māori men was 73.4 years, compared with 80.9 years for non-Māori men. In 2022, the gender pay gap was 9.2 per cent. One interesting adaption of racism over time is the idea that racism is conscious bias held by bad people. Articles like Paula Bennett’s highlight this and that so many white people believe themselves to be the exception, one of very few somehow exempt from a lifetime of racist conditioning. Living longer, getting paid more — no, it’s not hard to be a white guy, but it is challenging to listen, and to think about your responses and the role they play. Huw Dann (white guy), Mt Eden.
Longer in the tooth
I love the Herald, especially the Canvas story (Weekend Herald, June 24) Steve Braunias wrote about his birthday and going by train to Papakura, how soon he would have a SuperGold card and how he was feeling. Well, I can understand this as I will be heading that way very soon. When we are growing up and our parents are looking after us, we do not think about old age, however when we reach the 60s that is another matter. I guess we must keep positive and hope that our health will be good, so I say to you, please keep positive as we grow older. Theresa Prinsen, Royal Oak.
On Super Rugby
Congratulations to the Crusaders; with just one-fifth of the population of NZ they have maintained over many years an exemplary record against the Northern Infidels. Rob Park, Surrey Hills, Victoria.
Three yellow cards, penalties 14/7 against, and forward passes not picked up. It’s not the players who decide the outcome. Perhaps it’s only fair officials get rated for their performance as well. Reg Dempster, Albany.
On gas and oil
In response to Gary O’Meeghan (Weekend Herald, June 24), Norway is ahead of New Zealand because they have taken advantage of their abundant gas and oil reserves while our Government has locked them up. Bryan Leyland, Pt Chevalier.
On school leavers
As employers and universities are finding, “School leavers flunking the workforce test” (NZ Herald, June 21), it must be nonsensical to lower the voting age to 16 as proposed by the Green Party. Perhaps it should to 25 to allow some real-world experience. R McIntyre, St Heliers.
On China
Chris Hipkins said, “the form of government that China has is a matter for the Chinese people”. This is an appalling statement by the leader of a democracy who should be promoting freedoms and human rights. Rod Matthews, Melbourne.
Father-of-three "cut his teeth in the shearing industry" and had achieved home ownership.