Letters: Sin stocks, Auckland airport, civic building, EV vehicles and Lizzie Marvelly

Letter of the Week: Rene Blezer, Taupo

While Europe is struggling under mid-30 degree, early-summer heatwaves, we are investing nicely into making matters worse.

Your editorial (Weekend Herald, June 29) wakes us up to the hypocrisy or irony of investing in deforestation (for palm kernel production), yet the current Left-Green Government does not seem to be pulling out all stops to change the entire investment portfolio for the benefit of future generations.

To future generations, it probably makes little difference if we invest funds in alcohol, gambling or weapons, but if they can't breathe the air or have clean water, they may well ask our generation some serious questions. The problem is that we may not be here to give an honest answer about the reasons why we did what we did.

The naming of sin-stocks investments makes our generation even more ridiculous, we are just not getting the urgency. Here's a generation of laughing stock investing in sin stock.

Woeful airport

Auckland International Airport's record profits and share price noted by Brian Gaynor (Weekend Herald, June 29) will be received with delight by the investor community and Auckland Council, which owns 22.4 per cent.

The airport has had a share market return of 37.9 per cent since the end of 2018 with an operating profit for the year of $504 million at a profit margin of 74 per cent.

Retail income was $190m with carparking reaping $61m extracted from the travelling public using the airport, almost as much as the $301m paid by airlines for aeronautical services.

In spite of this commercial largesse, the airport operates a completely substandard passenger drop-off and pick-up facility.

The domestic terminal is particularly bad where there is no direct kerbside access for the public, very limited stopping space, and no covered weather protection for people crossing to carparks or waiting in the designated public pick-up lanes.
This is a real problem for seniors and families, in particular, quite apart from the health and safety risks.

Auckland Airport must fix this situation urgently recognising that quality customer service must include accessing the terminal building from transport, dry and safely.
Bill Rayner, Grey Power, Devonport.

Civic building

In response to David Rankin (NZ Herald, July 4), senior manager at Panuku, which oversees selling of Auckland Council-owned land.
David did not tell you that between 1989 and 1992 a significant asbestos removal programme was undertaken on the CAB Building. If the building is leaking, it's because of poor maintenance by David's team.

You will recall that Panuku bought the 26-floor ASB Tower and waived warranties on it so it could house the council staff. That left the ratepayer to pay $38 million to fix its leaks.
Let's do some numbers. Land in the CBD goes for up to $12k a square metre. The CAB footprint is 5500sq m, which equals $66m. Panuku is selling it for $3m with an 18-storey building already built and standing. On top of this, the developer gets to build a 100-room hotel and gets to sell 18 storeys refurbished into apartments.

You do the numbers.

The developer hasn't paid a proper deposit or met a development agreement that I helped approve in 2016. I know that that developer is in breach of the agreement and the land and building should have gone back to the market to be tested for a far better price to be returned to the ratepayer.

This deal was rammed through by Mayor Goff four weeks ago.
I have referred this to the Serious Fraud Office.
John Tamihere, Auckland mayoral candidate.

EV delays

Yes, EV owners should eventually pay some kind of road tax but there's no rush. EV production is so slow due to battery availability that those coming into the country, at the end of the supply chain, will form a negligible dent in revenue from petrol taxes into the foreseeable future.

I ordered one in February and was told it might be here by June. That blew out to possibly next June. I cancelled that and went for a more expensive one. That is now looking like another six months' wait.

The idea of pumping our solar power into a car still fills me with excitement, despite the wait.
Richard Kean, Ngongotaha.

Asset sales

We have sold the banks and supermarkets to Australia, the South Island to Americans, now China is buying up numbers of dairy companies or building new ones. Is any one else concerned that we selling off our only remaining asset (apart from Watercare)?

The farmers think they should be running the country and by god, nothing will get in the way of a National candidate in a rural electorate – will Fonterra be next?
Paul Cheshire, Maraetai

Folau and Marvelly

Lizzie Marvelly's letter to Israel Folau (Weekend Herald, June 29) left me very cold. Once again we see a far left attack on anyone whose beliefs don't match theirs, aiming for the messenger, not the message. She tried to cover her bigoted opinion with the icing sugar she called love and compassion.

Let's just add a few facts she left out. First, in Australia, it is illegal to sack a person because of his or her religious beliefs. Secondly, any large company or organisation, like Qantas, who puts pressure on another large organisation, like the Australian Rugby Union, to sack a person faces a very hefty fine. Qantas was named as such in the NSW Parliament by Mark Latham, MP.

Lizzie Marvelly criticised the large organisation putting in to help Folau fight for his right to publish his beliefs, but no mention of the organisation putting pressure on the ARU to sack him.

Your columnist's true character comes out when she says "no" to her fiancee's suggestion to invite Israel Folau to their wedding, then signs her letter, "With love, Lizzie".
B P Morrison, Ohaupo.

A quick word

Under the rules that were going to be introduced would a school no longer be able to ask children to take to school egg powder, flour, butter and milk so they can be taught to make scones? Would that be a "donation"? Mike Wells, Kawerau.

Where is the sanity in legalising marijuana when fatalities from crashes involving drug-impaired drivers have increased from 14 to more than 70 in the past four years? Jeannette McCallum, Waihi Beach.

Alan Duff's well-said views on the way forward for Māori are a breath of
common sense. How about standing for Parliament Alan - you could lead your
people to a brighter future. Rex Beer, Whangaparaoa.

We need more Alan Duffs in this world who aren't afraid to address the root causes of the problems we have so we can move to help those who need it the most without the incessant do-gooders standing in their way. Christine Wroblenski, Pakuranga.

Marvelly is so lacking in empathy she seems to think we Christians somehow "know" we're deluded, that we made God up, or that we can bend our made-up God to our own will. Not so, we really mean what we believe. Gavan O'Farell, Lower Hutt.

Lizzie's in a tizzy with Izzie, zzzzzzz. Mike Wagg, Freemans Bay.

What an excellent article by Simon Wilson in Saturday's Herald , Costco versus the climate emergency. This should be compulsory reading for every person in New Zealand. Linda McGrogan, Taupo.

No need for boy or girlfriends. All the delights and mysteries are there in your smartphone. Whoever would have thought it? P Skipworth, St Johns.

Congrats to Heather du Plessis-Allan. Her weekend piece was one of the best I have read.
Factual, incisive, and easy to understand. Brilliant! Dave King, Avondale.

If this Government, especially the Green Party, is serious about saving the planet, banning plastic bags is just a token gesture. How about banning disposable nappies? Now, that would help save the planet. Jeanne Bell, Epsom

What nitwit installed the main sewer in Taupo right next to the lake? Bob Wichman, Botany.

Around Pt Chevalier shopping centre this morning, I saw five subgroups of e-scooters. My God... they are breeding! Gillian Dance, Mt Albert

Surely the time has come when those involved in world tennis stop inviting those two spoilt Australian brats ( Kyrgios and Tomic ) and sent them to their rooms without any dinner. Des Trigg, Rothesay Bay.