Letters: When travelling, do not rely on the good faith and help of strangers

An Air New Zealand Boeing 787 Dreamliner landed at Washington Dulles International Airport this week after stormy conditions forced the New York-bound flight from Auckland to divert. File photo / Michael Craig

Letters to the Editor

Helpful travel tips

My sympathies go out to the young woman abandoned by Air NZ in Washington DC due to weather conditions preventing Air NZ from landing in New York. Having flown more than 4 million miles (mostly on Air NZ and United) I’ve had my fair share of travel glitches related to airline problems.

The worst for me was to be stuck at Sydney airport for 48 hours from rolling mechanical delays on a holiday weekend with no accommodation available within two hours of Sydney. My advice to anyone travelling far away, such as the US, is as the old Boy Scout motto says: “Be Prepared”.

I recommend the following preparations: Carry a credit card with a minimum limit of $2000, do not wait for the airline to issue a hotel voucher. Get on the phone or internet and grab a hotel room by the airport even before landing if possible. Have an international plan with your NZ phone provider, take the airline food voucher, and keep all the receipts for services and food you have to pay for.

On a trip to the US, everyone should have travel insurance including health coverage. Yes, it is daunting to have to look after oneself as an 18-year-old, as this young woman did. But relying on the airline or the “good faith and help” of strangers is a big gamble in these circumstances, in my opinion.

Quentin J. Durward, South Dakota.

Unemployment

Thank you, Jeremy Shelley (Letters July 5), for so clearly spelling out the reality that unemployment is a function of economic policy. So too is child poverty, driven by the increasing gap between those with a comfortable start to life, and those who are not so fortunate.

Yes, some are able to overcome their disadvantage, but they are the exception. And the corollary is also true - it is the exception if those who started off in easier street fail. There is ample research, which identifies with high levels of probability, those children who are destined for a life of poor outcomes including imprisonment. Yet the policy of the current government is to reduce funding for the most vulnerable in our society and to build more prisons.

Oranga Tamariki (OT) has just published a paper, Understanding Reports of Concern, which identifies the increased risk to this community since the sweeping and reckless cuts to the OT budget. This is borne out by the 60% increase in reports of concern and the increasing failure to respond to these within the target time. The lack of action on the recommendations of the Royal Commission into abuse in care, with fewer than 10% implemented, is further proof that weasel words and negative actions are the real response of this Government.

Margette Campbell, Waihi Beach.

Outdated trade union views

What a load of tosh Jeremy Shelley (Letters, July 5) espouses in which he believes, quite seriously, that Government ensures a measure of unemployment to control its populace and also reduce wage demands. He believes that our economy and Government policies are structurally designed to make sure unemployment is used as a tool to achieve this.

His position smacks of long-outdated trade union arguments. We have around 5% unemployed, so that’s certainly not a large enough number to control the populace, or the economy, as he envisages. He also fails to mention that there is unemployment pay support schemes, plus many incentives to get people into work. We also have a range of other welfare measures to support the unemployed.

Does he not recognise the fact that our Prime Minister and business leaders have been travelling the world, knocking themselves out, to increase our exports and provide more work opportunities?

The only time I can remember low unemployment was in the 1970s and 1980s where New Zealand had a whole system of tariffs that provided artificial protection to NZ companies, which was aimed at preventing cheaper imports. Car factories and TV assembly operations come to mind in using labour quite uneconomically.

We now must compete with the world and ensure that we balance the economic books, as every household does.

David Hallett, Mt Maunganui.

Lost Kiwi satellite in space

I’m amazed that New Zealand paid $29 million towards a satellite (which has now disappeared) to test emissions from our limited gas and oil production.

I wonder how much other countries contributed based on production levels. Rocket Lab is worth (market cap) around $16b, I understand. Could it have not paid the $29m?

Or maybe even the University of Auckland could have contributed something as they were going to take control of the satellite? I’m all for climate change research as current events are proving it is causing devastation. However, it’s a global problem and this country could use that kind of money in the many areas where it’s needed back home.

Charles Adler, Kerikeri.