Letters: Tax cuts will be costly for all New Zealanders; China is not our enemy; housing help for young cops

'The words 'tax cuts' have an appealing ring to the majority of Kiwis [with the exception of economists].'

Letters to the Editor

Tax cuts will be costly for all Kiwis

The words “tax cuts” have an appealing ring to the majority of Kiwis (with the exception of economists). Half our population - largely the voter constituency of the coalition Government - can survive well enough without them. For the other half, getting only a few extra dollars to combat the cost of living, the tax cuts will be costly.

Why don’t people think more clearly about the long list of public sector services that will be impacted (NZ Herald, April 18) by the determination to make the savings to fund the cuts? The now unsupported front-line workers bearing heavier workloads. The large number of newly unemployed who might well take their talent and training outside the country - or end up on an unemployment benefit.

It is obvious that state services are not always valued or needed by those who are securely employed, own their own houses, can use private schools and private health services, and have their own cars and use of taxis rather than buses. But law and order will certainly remain a priority for them.

An underfunded public sector will not be able to deliver as well, especially to those who are reliant on it. Society as a whole will suffer, not just the needy. Did we really vote for this?

Barbara Darragh, Auckland Central.

‘Trickle-down’ bureaucracy

Trickle-down economics: The theory that giving billions of dollars to the leaders of government departments and spending billions more to create new bureaucracies will trickle down to provide improved services for the general public.

Implemented in New Zealand from 2017 to 2023 and only partially reversed in 2024 by a new government that was terrified of journalists who continue to promote the theory despite a complete lack of evidence to support it.

Dave Christian, Howick.

China is not our enemy

I had never thought to see the day I would be agreeing with the views of Richard Prebble. However, I heartily congratulate him on his column (NZ Herald, April 17) arguing against joining a global anti-Chinese alliance through Aukus and other alliances touted by the Five-Eyes countries.

Prebble points out the obvious: that security in today’s world is mainly economic and that soft power is increasingly more important than formal military alliances and hardware. There is an unabashed attempt by our supposed allies to disrupt this country’s highly successful economic relationship with China – one in which we are in surplus – and we would be acting against our own best interests. He is right to point to the timing of the disclosure of China’s intelligence hack as orchestrated.

It is also hypocritical – have we forgotten whistleblower Snowden’s revelations regarding the NSA listening to then-German chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone? It is still a dangerous world, as witnessed by the Ukraine and Middle East conflicts, but China is not our enemy.

Gehan Gunasekara, Stonefields.

Housing help for cops

Successive governments have struggled to find ways to attract more boys and girls to a career in the police, then the secondary challenge of how to retain them.

It must be terribly frustrating to invest thousands on training, only to see them cross the ditch for higher pay.

When police rejected their latest pay offer, evidently the cost of living was the main factor. While food and petrol play a part, by far the biggest outlay for anyone these days is paying either rent or a mortgage.

Maybe a solution is to relieve police of this burden entirely by investing in accommodation for them. Purpose-built police barracks could be constructed in cities and towns throughout the country. Our boys and girls in blue could live there either for free or a peppercorn rent.

Then they could focus stress-free on the job of keeping us all safe. This is not an entirely new idea, as it has been done with nurses’ homes attached to hospitals.

It wouldn’t solve anything for those older officers in the force who are married and have children. However, it could be great for those who are younger and single.

Glen Stanton, Mairangi Bay.

Arts to-do list

New Zealand author and Minister for Arts, Heritage and Culture, Paul Goldsmith, has put his stake in the ground (NZ Herald, April 17).

It’s a good thing to remind us that he’s here and to encourage public input. It’s excellent that he specifies IP and copyright. Indeed, artists’ resale rights should be top of his list. The required secretariat should be established without delay so that our visual artists can benefit immediately. And one other thing: he must fix the management of our national art collection at the Museum of New Zealand. More of our collection, including international art of all eras, should be displayed, either in the sadly inefficient spaces of the Te Papa building or lent to art museums around the country.

Christopher Johnstone, Grey Lynn.