Russell Coutts’ outburst when the presence of dolphins forced the cancellation of a day of SailGP racing was sadly predictable.
The real reasons kids miss school
It’s a positive initiative that the Government is addressing truancy and launching an attendance action plan.
Covid is only one factor in poor school attendance and truancy numbers have been increasing since 2015. Associate Education Minister David Seymour wants to start being a bit clearer about what exactly is a valid reason to stay home, illness being one factor among many systemic issues, but it isn’t the role of the Government to measure an appropriate level of illness for a child to be kept at home.
The steepest drop in attendance has been in lower decile schools with a higher percentage of Māori and Pasifika students, and the reasons are many and varied for chronic absenteeism. Research has identified a major contributing factor is a lack of economic stability in employment, housing, and affordable, accessible transport.
Many lower-income families need both parents to be wage earners to survive and children can become collateral damage when mental health issues, persistent bullying, and even the ability to afford a school uniform become barriers to a child consistently attending school.
It belies Seymour’s intelligence not to understand that many of these factors can be directly linked to government policies. There has been some success in the Far North working across agencies to reduce barriers for children attending, but as with all innovative and successful programmes they urgently require more financial support.
Increased productivity and future creative business development can’t be achieved with our current high percentage of children not gaining a qualification. It’s self-evident; low school attendance equals low employment prospects and a greater drain on the economy.
What further proof does the Government and David Seymour need?
Mary Hearn, Glendowie.
Echo chamber musings
Russell Coutts’ outburst at the cancellation of SailGP racing was sadly predictable, but the outburst by your columnist Bruce Cotterill is much more alarming (Weekend Herald, Mar 30).
He argues that we are being held to ransom by “minority interest groups claiming to represent the birds, dolphins, trees, marginalised communities and ethnic minorities”.
But according to Mr Cotterill, “none of the above contribute anything substantive to our economic success on the world stage” so should be ignored.
In other words, the views of powerful moneyed interests – people like Mr Cotterill, presumably - should hold sway over the less powerful and less wealthy, regardless of the social or environmental costs, or (in this case) any pesky contractual obligations.
Mr Cotterill also asserts that the SailGP cancellation was forced by groups who are “against everything that the rest of us, the great majority of us, see as desirable or necessary”.
If he were able to escape his neo-liberal echo chamber for a moment, he might be surprised to find that a great many of us do not see Mr Cotterill’s opinions as either desirable or necessary.
Bryan Simpson, Wellington.
Backside bite
I agree with Herald writer Paul Lewis that Russell Coutts gave us a view of a wealthy 62-year-old man expressing his frustration and entitlement.
Or put more succinctly, Coutts gave us a view of a wealthy 62-year-old simply getting a key risk assessment wrong. And it hurt him commercially and publicly.
It seems he signed up to the risk of dolphins knowing they were there. Resorting to bullying or chiding officials ought to have been beneath him.
But I disagree with excellent columnist Bruce Cotterill. High-speed racing yachts pose a different risk to most nautical traffic. It seems Coutts accepted the risk protocols in order to achieve his commercial objectives.
And the risk he accepted bit him on the backside. That’s business.
Paul Jamieson, Ōmaha.
Academic freedom
Correspondent Christine Keller Smith is quite correct (Weekend Herald, Mar 30) - in the past women students on the Auckland University campus enjoyed the safety of their own spaces, and it was essential.
It remains essential, should continue, and should continue to be based on biological reality.
I trust she fully supports the right of women, not only on campus, but more widely, to speak up freely. They need to be able to do this to defend their continuing right to female-only safe spaces, off-limits to all males.
I trust she also supports the right of academics to use their academic freedom to defend biological truth. That truth is that sex in humans is real, binary, determined at conception and unalterable.
Those of a different opinion should, of course, also be free to express themselves. As should, say, flat earthers. But, exactly as with flat earthers, the onus is then on the biology deniers to produce the extraordinary evidence needed to back what really are quite extraordinary claims.
Colin Parker, Onehunga.
Thai arrests
Your feature article on the Thai arrest of two brothers who assaulted a police officer and disarmed him appears to be written to attract sympathy for the Kiwi families and their children (Weekend Herald, Mar 30).
What you appear to have overlooked is that in many Western countries such as the US an assault on a police officer and discharge of his weapon would result in a lengthy prison sentence.
If we were to discharge from our prisons fathers who had young families on the outside, it is likely that some of our prisons would be nearly empty. The old saying,” if you do the crime, you do the time” comes to mind.
Bruce Woodley, Birkenhead.
‘Idiots’ abroad
It is just so interesting when I read of the flurry of weeping supporters of the pair of spoiled and self-entitled Kiwi siblings who ran amok in Thailand after being pulled over for a traffic infringement.
Where in the world is it acceptable to violently assault an officer of the law carrying out his duty, throw him to the ground in a potentially life-endangering “choke hold”, and steal his pistol?
Attacks on police and first responders seem to result in the proverbial slap over the wrist with a wet bus ticket here in New Zealand, but for any other jurisdiction in the world one would care to name, the outcomes would be very, very different for such misdeeds, with an absolute zero tolerance by the respective justice systems, not to mention the immediate incident police back up attending, where consequences could very easily have escalated rapidly with lethal force.
Perhaps future airline boarding cards should include a “Behave yourself when abroad” leaflet expressly designated for the stupid among us.
Peter Cook, Lynfield.
Bad brothers
My sympathy goes out to the families of the two brothers at present in custody in Thailand.
I have worked overseas in several countries and prior to leaving our instructions were clear while you are there you are subject to the rules of that country. We cannot and will not rescue you from law-breaking within that country.
Overseas justice in those countries is severe and they are not a soft touch like NZ. Discounts for earlier circumstances (for example poor family upbringing, age etc) are not taken into consideration.
Those brothers have been there before and know the drill. It really does throw a shadow over the behaviour of Kiwis visiting.
Mike McFarlane, Pakuranga.
Enriching English
Correspondent Philip Lenton’s distress that New Zealand English is being “diluted” by Māori words being “scattered” throughout it is both illogical and alarmist (Weekend Herald, Mar 30).
It’s illogical because he thinks (correctly) that the language was enriched by the importation of “kindergarten” and “omelette” from German and English respectively, because there was no English word at the time for the concepts they expressed.
For the very same reason, “whānau”, “mana”, “koha”, “wairua” and dozens of other Māori words have found their way into our English: they have no precise English equivalent or express concepts unavailable to English speakers.
He may like to ask himself why he welcomes French words but fears Māori ones. Additionally, it’s alarmist because the Māori words in common English use are few and far between, and the last time I checked, it was not forbidden for him to say “gidday” if “kia ora” upsets him so.
For my money, our regional variety of English – and my conceptual world – are enormously expanded and enriched by the adoption and normalisation of Māori words and phrases.
Peter Calder, Westmere.
A former NZ sports champion who was arrested for importing cocaine has name suppression. This unfortunately casts suspicions of guilt on all past NZ champion athletes aged between 33 and 37. We will all know sooner or later.
Dave Miller, Tauranga.
Christine Keller Smith appears to have confused race with gender in her letter (Weekend Herald, Mar 30). Only a minority of Kiwi males would try and deny women the right to their privacy in designated toilets and areas for breastfeeding etc, but setting aside space based on race is another matter. Imagine the outcry when the All Blacks fly to South Africa this year if business class was designated for Pākehā team members only and economy for others.
Gavin Baker, Glendowie.
While one feels some sympathy for victims of scams, we should all know there has been a huge amount of publicity around them for some time now. Scam artists are becoming more and more cunning and sounding more and more plausible. If there is an urgency to transfer money, don’t. If they say they’re from the bank, hang up and call the bank or call family or a friend. Sadly the old adage “if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is” may become our best friend.
Janet Boyle, Ōrewa.
Labour is incorrect that increasing benefits reduces poverty. It only entrenches dependency on poverty. Worklessness is the main cause of poverty. To lift people out of poverty, people need to work and increasing benefits is a disincentive to work. What beneficiaries need is help up, rather than a hand out.
Andrew Parsons, Orakei.
If David Seymour was a true Libertarian, he would allow parents to choose whether or not to send their children to school.
Greg Cave, Sunnyvale.
Is it just my impression, or is it those who say that stores should be open over Easter as most don’t commemorate Easter’s real significance, take those same days off as a holiday?
Neil Arnold, Mt Roskill.
Do utility companies, banks and insurance companies deliberately have the most awful “hold music” just to make you give up and hang up? I was 20 minutes on hold at an insurance company yesterday and the music was a genre that I can’t even begin to describe. It was simply awful; a kind of torture. I then called another insurance company and it was just as bad, if not worse for another 10-minute hold. I stayed the course but I’m sure it’s deliberate.
Glenn J Pacey, Glendowie.
Why is the same urgency not applied to the deliberately defaced English version of the Treaty at Te Papa as there is to the K Road rainbow crossing?
Wendy Tighe-Umbers, Parnell.
Can I respectfully suggest that Christopher Luxon add one more item to his 36-point plan: “Seek ways to persuade New Zealanders that Government policies are designed to benefit all.”
Greg Cave, Sunnyvale.
The killing of seven aid workers in the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces is a tragedy. The explanation by the Israeli government (”it was a mistake”) is a farce. The workers were travelling in a clearly identified foreign aid vehicle. The only thing keeping Benjamin Netanyahu upright is his own hubris.
Des Trigg, Rothesay Bay.
The Israel Defence Force blows up three vehicles carrying aid workers in Gaza. I have two questions: How does this defend Israel? And, who are the terrorists?
Alistair Woodward, Freemans Bay.
Brendan Attrill was named the 2025 National Ambassador for Sustainable Farming.