Letters: Sad state of New Zealand’s seas; Three strikes won’t work; why do Auckland roadworks take so long?

The seabed off The Noises islands. Photo / Shaun Lee

Letters to the Editor

The sad state of New Zealand’s seas

It’s now nigh on 60 years since I washed ashore in Auckland. The same Auckland that future British MP Austen Mitchell later wrote a book about entitled The Half Gallon, Quarter-Acre, Pavlova Paradise - and so it was.

What a heartbreaking opinion piece by Sue Neureuter, one of the trustees of The Noises islands, was (NZ Herald, April 22). Soon after I arrived, I did my first scuba dive - off those very islands. I still remember it vividly. What a fright! Just below me was a school of sharks? No! They were huge kingfish. The sea life was amazing, and abundant. Crays plentiful. Living at Pātaua, out from Whangārei, I would oft go and get a large cray or two. No scuba gear required.

Ten years ago, my son took me out off Pātaua for a dive once again. How sad. Once every small cave contained several crays, a couple of large striped moki and a school of golden big eye, while all around were blue maomao, demoiselles and more. Now all I saw was the odd single fish, while the caves were mostly bare. There was, however, a proliferation of kina. Thriving because of a lack of fish.

Fish belong to the people of New Zealand, yet are now an exorbitant price, which many can’t afford. Tonnes of crays are commercially taken, only to mostly go to China. Fish used to be caught by local fishermen. One could buy them off the wharf even.

Some years ago, the Herald’s editorial addressed the worry of donations to political parties (he who pays the piper calls the tune) and considered electoral expenses coming from the public purse. Long overdue, many of my generation would say.

Terry Harris, Mangawhai.

Three Strikes won’t work

So we have the Three Strikes legislation back, with, thankfully, some changes which will hopefully prevent gross miscarriages of justice. We’re also going to crack down on gangs, in the presumption that the public will feel safer with more people locked up and gangs somehow intimidated into not wearing patches. (Apparently the ram-raiders haven’t yet heard about the new Government’s “tough on crime” stance, as I note there were two recently, though they weren’t given headlines.)

Putting people in prison gives the public a perception of increased safety, but there is no evidence that this is so in reality. We are surely all aware of the cost of keeping people in prison - described by Sir Bill English as a “moral and fiscal failure”. Prison may give a chance for rehabilitation, but if a prison does not provide this - again at huge cost - the prisoner is likely to emerge in a worse state than when they entered prison.

Being “tough on crime” is simply not sound economic strategy. Sound economic management means spending money to keep people out of prison. We do this by looking after our children, especially those in need. You would therefore think that any Government would support school lunches, free, high-quality childcare, and housing that is affordable and secure. Instead, this Government is bowing to popular opinion, and a weakly negotiated coalition agreement. It is building material for future prisons.

Judy Mills, Whangārei.

Mega tunnel v ferries

Let me get this straight. The Government is cancelling the contract to build two new Cook Strait ferries because of cost - even though the existing ferries are unreliable and past their use-by date. Yet it is floating the idea of constructing a mega tunnel at a cost of billions so that you can get to Wellington airport from the city 15 minutes quicker. This in addition to the additional Mt Victoria tunnel promised. I would have thought safe transit across Cook Strait would trump 15 minutes of travel time. But then I never ran an airline.

Paul Cheshire, Maraetai.

Roadworks frustration

Is it just me? Every time I go past the multitude of roadworks in Auckland, I see men standing around in high-vis vests talking on mobile phones, and nothing much else going on.

The road repairs on the northern busway, between Sunnynook Station and Smales Station, reducing the busway to one lane, is a case in point - very little going on for months, or so it appears every time I go past.

Surely we can do better, or is this a classic example of where we are at with New Zealand’s work productivity?

Randal Lockie, Rothesay Bay.

Anzac Day hours

None of this half-pie business, all shops need to be closed 24 hours on Anzac Day. No one is going to die because of this, but plenty did back then to give us what we have today.

Glenn Forsyth, Taupō.