Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown and his wife Toni. Photo / Jed Bradley, File
Letter of the week: Barbara Graham, Tokoroa
What great interest Wayne Brown has created in local body elections since being elected Mayor of Auckland (not so) Super City.
Journalists are obsessed with him, scrambling to turn any minutiae they can find about the man into headlines, while cartoonists lampoon him.
In fact, the media coverage of him has been so intense that in the space of a few short weeks, thanks to the lightning-rod effect, Wayne Brown has become a household name.
There has been despair over voter apathy in local body elections again this year, but Brown has now invigorated voter and media interest in a way that has eluded the highly-paid local government officials and other meeting-heavy think-tanks on the vexed problem of a 35 per cent voter turnout.
Much has been made of the $290,000 mayoral salary and whether Wayne Brown will work hard and long enough to warrant the money.
Others may argue, that Brown has already earned his first-year salary by the way he has shaken up the dreary local body system and put the serious issues squarely in front of all New Zealanders.
If a 70 per cent voter turn-out is the goal for 2025, then give Wayne the job.
Justices celebrated
Last Saturday night, my wife and I attended a dinner celebrating the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Auckland Justices of the Peace Association. At the time of its formation, it included the then Auckland Province, the upper half of the North Island.
I write this to publically record two particular aspects of this event. Firstly, the historic nature of the Justices of the Peace role extending in an unbroken line of service to the Sovereign (The State) for over 700 years within, and also outside, Commonwealth countries. For this reason, it is the oldest quasi-legal office in the world.
Secondly, to recognise that Justices of the Peace are the first rung on the judicial ladder and therefore part of this country’s official judicial structure now supported by the Ministry of Justice. All Justices of the Peace are volunteers, unpaid, and without them, the basic legal services in this country could not function.
Allan M Spence, Waiuku
Fear or fond
Yevgeny Prigozhin accuses Nanaia Mahuta of Russophobia (Weekend Herald, October 15). When I last looked at the dictionary, the word phobia implies fear of something, so Prigozhin’s comment is right on the mark. The actions of the Russian Federation this year have been designed to instil fear in her neighbours so that Putin can have his way.
Comments about the possibility of nuclear war do nothing to reduce this atmosphere of fear.
In the late 1930′s Germanophobia was common in much of Europe and as it turned out this phobia was well justified. The world would be a much better place if we could instead have a reason for Russophilia.
Greg Cave, Sunnyvale
Thumbing noses
John Roughan is correct (Weekend Herald, October 15) when he says that the concept of the so-called Super City in Auckland was conceived by the Helen Clark Government.
However, the actual setup was designed by Rodney Hide; this was a sop to the Act Party from John Key. As a result, we have CCOs who are able to thumb their noses at the mayor and the council.
Good luck to Wayne Brown in sorting it out
Donald Anderson, Papatoetoe.
Home upheaval
Moyra Cooke and Keiko Pulin (Weekend Herald, October 15) convey the frustrations and concerns that many of the elderly residents of 7 Saint Vincent have with Metlifecare’s “regeneration” plan for their village.
I am 86 and my wife is 82, and 7 saint Vincent has been our home for 16 years, so we are amongst those affected by the plan to demolish the Raukura building, the heart of our village.
Saint Vincent is the patron saint of charitable societies so, hopefully, Metlifecare will come to understand the meaning of “charity begins at home”.
John Potter, Remuera.
Across town
Thank you to Moyra Cooke and Kelko Pulin for their letters (Weekend Herald, October 15). I too live in a Metlifecare village, Hillsborough Heights, and our village also has planning under way for “regeneration”. This includes the demolition of three buildings of residents’ homes, and a rebuild. This is going to cause demolition work, ground work, excessive noise, dust, rebuild work, contractors’ vehicles etc, ruining the last years of our once peaceful retirement. And that is just stage one.
I too do not greet the regeneration (whatever that is) with delight.
Can we please just relax and enjoy our retirement years in the peaceful grounds of our village?
Heather Stonestreet, Mt Roskill.
Seeing the trees
Further to J Davison’s comment on kauri dieback (Weekend Herald, October 15), this disease, like its predecessor, the cabbage tree disease of 20-plus years ago, may well have “blown over”, or stabilised to some extent.
Perhaps it is now time to adopt a “living with kauri dieback” approach, like we have done with other epidemics in recent times, and open the Waitākere Ranges and other parks for the enjoyment of the people of Auckland.
Peter Dodd, Chatswood.
Showing courage
I began reading Steve Braunias’ piece (Weekend Herald, October 15) while waiting to board a plane and commend the paper for having the courage to publish this.
Hitler and Goering were masters of propaganda and sadly the suffering of millions - including my own parents, who emigrated to NZ after the war in search of peace and a certain “freedom” - left psychological and, for some, physical scars. The courage of these immigrants, who mostly tried to leave the horrors of the past behind and contributed significantly to this country, deserves to be honoured and remembered.
It is sad that these Nuremberg files have been deemed unworthy and my recent reading of the book Nazi Billionaires reminds us that we must learn to forgive but never forget to prevent a potential repeat of potential human rights abuses. Propaganda is a subtle tool that often changes the world we know to something more sinister without us even noticing.
Ingrid Memelink, Dunedin.
Many people think that supermarkets are in the business of selling groceries. They’re not. They’re in the business of making money and selling groceries is the means by which they do it. Alan Jenkinson, One Tree Hill.
Whatever happened to the “let the bus go first” policy? D. Cook, Torbay.
“National / Act could govern alone - poll” (WH, October 15). I’m confused, which of the two is it that could govern alone? Fiona Sneyd, Hamilton.
Pilot whales’ sense of direction seems decidedly questionable. Peter Jansen, Henderson.
The NZ First conference was not even over and already there were more sensible, doable remits than the National Party have thought of this century. Graham Steenson, Whakatāne.
Wayne Brown finds his new job “ponderous, bureaucratic, and inefficient”. It’s called having to work with other people, and most of us have to do it. Gavin Kay, Remuera.
Have Aucklanders asked for light rail? For $16m, you might extend the existing heavy rail from Swanson to Kumeu. That would bring considerable relief, I imagine, to West Auckland commuters. Euan Macduff, Titirangi.
If the name “Queen Elizabeth II Square” was abandoned, that was an insult, and the name must now be changed back, as Charles Fraser (WH, Oct.15) suggests. Roger Barnes, Burswood.
So, $370 million to restructure the media. Alzheimers units closing because of a lack of staff. Enough said. Glennys Adams, Oneroa.
Liz Truss is now entitled to £120,000 a year until death as an ex-Prime Minister, a token of the nation’s eternal gratitude for absolutely nothing. Rob Buchanan, Kerikeri.
The median age of ram-raiders and smash-and-grab criminals is 15 years. By coincidence, NZ’s anti-smacking laws were introduced 15 years ago. Peter Judge, Taupō.
Presumably, every single person in the world could argue that they alone are responsible for an insignificant impact on the climate, and therefore need not change anything. Rowan Hill, Mt Eden.
The Greens will demand more action even when we are begging for food whilst sheltering in caves during the next Ice Age. Stewart Hawkins, St Heliers.
Is this an “imperialist canon” which I see before me? Mike Wagg, Freemans Bay.
Police say they are following lines of inquiry to catch the offender.