Letters: Travel insurance, party politics, school closures, positives and berm trees

Cancelled flights during a pandemic are understandable but why should insurers pocket all the travel insurance for a trip which never began? File photo / Grant Bradley

Opinion

Pandemics exempt

I have just had to cancel an intended holiday due to travel restrictions imposed by the country I intended to visit.
I had paid for the holiday together with travel insurance that included cancellation but the travel insurer has informed me that I cannot claim under the policy because pandemics are specifically excluded. However, the insurer made no offer to refund the large premium I paid.
While I would accept that I was not covered if I incurred expenses due to contracting the virus including cancellation, doubtless like many other policyholders who have found themselves in the same position, this is not the case, so the insurer is retaining the premium while covering absolutely no risk whatsoever.
Boy, what a bonanza that must be for travel insurers. I am writing to the Ombudsman and suggest that anyone in the same position does likewise so that the position can be fairly handled.
Gerald Payman, Mt Albert.

Political responses

Spotted yesterday, amid all the dramatic announcements, was the future leader of the National Party and potential Prime Minister Paul Goldsmith.
He acknowledged that Grant Robertson had made a great start in fighting the virus; he further commended his frugal management that had helped; he went even further, giving credit to Michael Cullen in the Helen Clark-lead government, leaving the country in good financial shape which helped the National Government deal with the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes.
He did exactly what the current Prime Minister appealed for, and what every New Zealander is hoping for, politicians to stand united and fight this contagion. He offered some mild but constructive criticism.
Contrast that with his leader, indulging in petty party point-scoring, which only frightens and confuses the elderly, the frail, the less informed.
As a person in my seventies, with serious but manageable health issues that come with age, I'm among the age group that will pay the price if we don't get this right.
S. Turner, Greenlane.

Berm view

I agree with Warren Prouse (NZ Herald, March 16) about Auckland Council's inconsiderate planting of trees on berms, in order to "beautify" the streets.
People coming out of our driveway have difficulty seeing oncoming traffic because of a tree planted on our berm a few years ago.
And I'd love to sit in the sun on the deck in winter, have a cup of coffee and do the Herald crosswords, except that there is no sun till about eleven o'clock, because of the pohutukawa.
Who owns the berms, anyway? If the council claims ownership, they should mow the grass. If we own them. we should be able to plant what we like.
Ailsa Martin-Buss, Glen Innes.

Tree protection

I find it fascinating that 90 per cent of people I meet say "Oh, I love trees and we shouldn't cut them down but I just want to cut down this tree as it has leaves/seeds/roots/shade etc that are annoying".
Imagine if we allowed everyone to cut down their one annoying tree!
I quote from a Guardian article: "Planting billions of trees across the world is one of the biggest and cheapest ways of taking CO2 out of the atmosphere to tackle the climate crisis, according to scientists". So, what can we all do? Plant more trees, protect those we have and lobby parliament to re-install the tree protection legislation that National removed.
Evidence suggests one-third of urban forest in Auckland has already been removed since blanket tree protection was removed in 2015.
Viv Allen, Freemans Bay.

School closure

In early 1948, all Auckland schools were closed for the first term by Health and Education authorities. Teachers continued to work from their schools, writing up lessons and forwarding them to pupils by mail. Why? An outbreak of the awful disease poliomyelitis infecting children in the Auckland region was considered serious enough for the quarantine measures to be put in place. By the second term the danger of an epidemic appeared to have passed, and we all trooped back to our classrooms. At that time, most mothers were at home, and able to oversee their child's lessons. Today, such a drastic decision to close all schools would result in huge challenges for families where both parents work.
Diana Simpson, Great Barrier Island.

Up sides

The current pandemic is a blessing in disguise and will lead to a massive reduction in global warming.
With the rapid build up of "carbon" in the atmosphere (surely carbon dioxide) attributed to air and cruise liner travel, the decimation of these industries will pay huge dividends, give colder winters, increase polar bear numbers and discourage teenage protesters from missing school.
Fewer tourists here will leave a glut of empty hotels and motels which can be bought at bargain prices by the Government and used for low-cost housing. Fewer flights will mean less noise pollution near airports , runways will need fewer repairs and parking will be less of a problem
John St Julian, Clover Park

Social distancing

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to play out, the NZ government is putting in place sensible measures to #stopthespread and #flattenthecurve. I do have concerns about the regular use of the term "social distancing" which to my mind immediately conjures up a sense of isolation and lack of social connection and support - very unhelpful for those experiencing anxiety or distress, or feeling isolated already.
I appreciate "social distancing" is probably medical jargon, but believe use of the more descriptive and accurate "physical distancing" would be better. We need to keep physically healthy and safe by staying 1-2 metres away from others. And we need to stay mentally healthy and safe by staying socially connected and supported.
Joanne Harland, Mt Eden.

Stay home

When there is a community outbreak of Covid-19 I believe all adults who do not need to leave the house to work should self isolate, especially older people. This is not just for their own protection but to ensure that they do not clog up the health system for those people out in the community maintaining our health and support systems, our supply chains and our economy.
Margette Campbell, Waihi Beach.

Isolated elderly

Homes for the elderly are asking for visitors to stay away from elderly residents to avoid
possibly passing on the coronavirus.
Surely they can keep the visitors and residents separated on-site, while denying direct contact with families.
Lack of contact with families is often the only pleasure the elderly get, without this their lives are probably worse or as bad of suffering from the virus.
Bob Wichman, Botany.

Border contact

How about some common sense at the border? Tales of hundreds of arriving passengers jammed in the same lines at the airport are enough to raise hairs on the back of one's head.
A more sensible approach would be to have clear signs and segment passengers into risk-based lines: those from Europe and other high-risk nations including the US should be in one line while those from the Pacific, say, should be at the opposite end.
There is no reason to compel those from virus-free nations to be near those from affected ones.​
Gehan Gunasekara, Remuera.

Blow me down

In these difficult days I had a little light relief and chuckle to read that National has selected Liam Kernaghan, the New Zealand Solo bagpiping champion, as their candidate for Dunedin South in the upcoming election.
He will no doubt face some serious competition from the other windbags in Parliament and raises the possibility of a Parliamentary pipe band all blowing at once.
Bill Rayner, Devonport.

Short & sweet

On understanding

Aids similarly once dominated our headlines but eventually brought a greater understanding towards homosexuality. Now our attention is concentrated on coronavirus, the upside could be a greater awareness of our long-term personal hygiene needs. John Norris, Whangamata.

On self-isolation

Asking some arrivals to NZ to self-isolate is like asking some gun owners to relinquish their weapons. Admonishment from Jacinda Ardern is as likely to be effective as her ethics lectures for Shane Jones. J. Livingstone, Remuera.

On Bridges

The Leader of the National Party did more for the Labour Party than his own when delivering his reply to the financial package. Surely the current situation requires one to forget about political differences and throw support behind the Government? Margaret Wyatt, Tauranga.

We are all in this together, except for the National Party. Tony Barker, Glenfield.

In times of severe adversity, such as these, politicians need to unite. Rose Panidis, Silverdale.

On fuel

A message and challenge to Phil Goff and his money-hungry council. How about removing the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax for the duration of this crisis to help the city and it's citizens, or will you prove the saying "the great thing about greed is it is limitless". Murray Johnson, Silverdale.

On talkback

It's good that Eamon Sloan (NZ Herald, March 18) gets varying opinions from talkback. But I fear he would be in a small minority as I reckon most listeners tune into their favourite host for a reaffirmation of their own fears and prejudices. John Capener, Kawerau.