NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Letters: Traffic, Lotto, political donations, Donald Trump and coronavirus

NZ Herald
23 Feb, 2020 08:37 PM8 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

One writer says Auckland motorists need some perspective on the plague of road works in the city. Photo / Dean Purcell.

One writer says Auckland motorists need some perspective on the plague of road works in the city. Photo / Dean Purcell.

Opinion

Ignore the bleaters on traffic woe

My heart bleeds for those unfortunate souls whose lives are being blighted by traffic delays from roadworks so thoughtlessly thrust upon them by "idiot" Auckland Council employees who are trying to rapidly improve the city to be ready for events of world importance such as Apec and the America's Cup.
I, too, have to drive across downtown Auckland in the morning rush hour, but always think how improved the city's going to be when the work is finished, how myriad visitors will enjoy their visits here much more, and how countless millions of Aucklanders to come will benefit.
Someone should send these bleaters on a one-way trip to Syria, Iraq, or one of a score or so other such countries, and let them see first-hand just how hard done-by they really are. Perhaps they should be ignoring an early morning radio person who seems to have a massive ego but remarkably little worth saying.
D.B. Leslie, St Heliers.

READ MORE:
• Auckland commuters set to return to 33 street roadworks maze
• Auckland roadworks: MP Nikki Kaye's crisis briefing with Auckland Transport on 'perfect storm'
• Sleepless locals fuming after all-night road works next to Devonport apartments
• Auckland traffic: CBD chaos about to get a whole lot worse with closure of major intersection

Lotto jackpot

Here we go again, $42 million is an absurd amount of cash for a single Lotto win and takes money away from essentials that people should be buying, rather than this frenzy of extra ticket purchases for Lotto.
The proof is in the telling statistic that big jackpots have lured New Zealanders into spending $894m in 2014-15 to $1.25 billion in 2017-18 on Lotto; that's $350m more going to gambling and not on food.
Lotto should jackpot at $10m.
Glenn Forsyth, Taupo.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Political donations

It seems in many countries political parties are descending into corruption, which soon becomes a way of life.
Even the once bastion of democracy the US has succumbed to dodgy dealings within the justice system.
I just hope that what we are seeing with the donation scandals does not herald the ending of NZ's name as corruption free. Hiding money by splitting it into small amounts is not in the spirit of the law.
And anyone who wishes to donate a large sum should do it openly and with pride, with only a big thank you as reward.
Vince West, Milford.

Balanced view

I urge those who desire a more balanced view of American politics to seek additional sources other than the liberal ones that monopolise the New Zealand media. There are a number of articles about Trump in Saturday's Herald, two at least presenting a one-sided view. The article on Trump being helped by a campaign of interference by Putin's Russia fails to mention the US Intelligence Committee suggests they are equally helping Senator Sanders. The article claiming the sentence of Roger Stone was inappropriately influenced by the Attorney-General failed to mention that the Obama-appointed judge gave him a sentence about half of that initially recommended by justice officials. Trump is an easy target because of his unattractive personal qualities, but New Zealand readers who rely on our media to understand what is happening in America are again likely to be shocked when he wins a second term in November.
M.A. Pollock, Mt Eden.

Free speech

Lizzie Marvelly (Weekend Herald, February 22) regrets that Sir Bob Jones has the right of free speech but Renae Maihi does not in response.
But the right of free speech, though fundamental, is not and cannot be an absolute — it does not trump all. It is not available to falsely and wrongly denigrate another, causing damage or adverse perception in the court of public opinion.
Jones has a point that Maori are the beneficiaries of European know-how and skill. But I would not condone or defend the insensitive way he said it, nor his omission that European settlers, hungry for the land they were denied in Britain, often wrongfully took Maori land causing great loss and hurt.
But Maihi's point could have been made thus, so as to avoid using the "racist" allegation itself designed to stifle debate, to denigrate. If this wrongfully causes harm, it goes beyond the outrageous and bereft opinion that free speech allows.
John Collinge, St Mary's Bay.

Covid-19 effects

Even once the Covid-19 virus subsides, hibernates or mutates, it will take lots longer to assess the long-term effects.
We all must be wondering about the honesty of information supply, and transparency of China and other Governments as to what is really happening, and their political considerations in harm reduction.
Travel is now off the agenda for many hundreds of millions of people, as is gathering in crowded spaces. Economies, like NZ's, are suffering from "China dependency" as the factory of the world shuts its doors to contain the virus. Maybe we don't need all that stuff made in China?
The rich countries now can see the problem of poorer countries having few medical facilities, testing and quarantine capacity. Countries like war-torn Syria may just explode with viral cases soon to further exacerbate its ruin. Ironically its brutal leaders may just succumb to this virus rather than a bullet fired in anger.
The safety and dependency of cities may be questioned globally as towns fortify themselves fiercely in Ukraine and China and even Italy now ... paranoia is being heightened as it appears 14 days is not sufficient quarantine period and that advice was proven erroneous.
So who holds the ultimate power on Earth? A virus? Maybe it is co-operation the world's people need to cope, rather than scrapping greedily for the available crumbs.
Rob Buchanan, Kerikeri.

Boult batting

One can only stand and admire Trent Boult's revolutionary batting technique which can best be described as swatting the cricket ball. And even when swatting the ball for a single he spends so much time admiring the shot his partner doesn't need to bother running. I hope he writes a book for tail-enders on his revolutionary batting technique and we see a lot more tail-enders adopting the swatting technique locally and internationally, as for entertainment value and a crowd pleaser it leaves the openers and even the middle-order batsmen for dead in the five-day game and, in my opinion, is more than worth the price of admission.
Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Hosking responses

Radio host Mike Hosking's recent views have attracted a mixed response from Herald contributors, many resorting to personal attack, little response devoted to the content of his subject matter.
Hosking has this past week suggested the economy is sadly underperforming, his case substantiated with stark statistics relating to social assistance. Hardship, housing and emergency food grants have increased 45 per cent, 146 per cent, and 65 per cent respectively, record numbers of major concern. Add those seeking unemployment benefits which have risen 15,000 and his claim is validated, simply too many "on the sidelines", their potential untapped when jobs abound.
Little wonder since the advent of the coalition governance the inherited fiscal surplus is all but spent and state borrowing is very much back in vogue.
P.J. Edmondson, Tauranga.

National anthem

The article regarding the singing of the national anthem at Carlton School in Whanganui (Herald, February 22) raises interesting questions about the appropriate path schools should navigate when addressing concerns around the anthem. Given the overtly religious connotation of the lyrics, it straddles the boundary separating ordinary songs from those deemed to have the character of a religious observance such as hymns. Not all parents are comfortable with their child's involuntary conscription into something that goes against their personal convictions, religious or otherwise.
Some parents object to the anthem on religious grounds. Others object on moral grounds, on the conviction that the anthem is really a treatise on collective self-abasement, given its allusions to dutiful deity boot-licking.
The primary school's principal, Gaye O'Connor, shows what it is to have a mature and considerate understanding of the diversity that comprises a school community. The text communication to parents at O'Connor's behest, informing them that their child can be opted out should the parents so wish, demonstrated that. For this gesture she ought to be commended and seen as an exemplary model for other principals to emulate.
Joshua Barley, Napier.

Discover more

Opinion

Letters: Coronavirus, Concert FM, child abuse, gangs and Elton John

18 Feb 04:00 PM
Opinion

Letters: Truancy, climate crisis and cycleway

19 Feb 04:00 PM
Opinion

Letters: Disabilities, Oranga Tamariki, NZ First Foundation, China and Bjorn Lomberg

20 Feb 04:00 PM
Opinion

Letters: Traffic management, Lizzie Marvelly, man's inhumanity, Northern Pathway

21 Feb 04:00 PM

Fraudster's release

Convicted fraudster David Ross is due to be released from prison today. He is an accomplished conman yet has served only about six years of a nearly 11-year sentence. His victims have learned the hard way that our legal system is entirely inadequate for returning the $115 million of defrauded money to its original owners.
Most investors only got back 20 per cent of their investment. Why so little? Because our courts let some investors keep money defrauded and illegally redistributed by Ross as payouts. His practice of robbing Peter to pay Paul has been legitimised by our Supreme Court.
As usual the big winners are the liquidators and lawyers, whose costs of $6m were paid from victims' investments. Victims should not have to pay to untangle Ross' dishonesty. The finance industry should pay. It needs to take responsibility for the long line of crooks produced from within its ranks.
Andrew Tichbon, Green Bay.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Lotto: Powerball not struck, one First Division player $1 million richer

12 Jul 08:04 AM
New Zealand

Wall of water floods Kaiteriteri holday park

12 Jul 07:55 AM
New Zealand

Landslides, flooding, fallen trees: Nelson-Tasman residents urged to stay home

12 Jul 06:34 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Lotto: Powerball not struck, one First Division player $1 million richer

Lotto: Powerball not struck, one First Division player $1 million richer

12 Jul 08:04 AM

Time to check your Lotto numbers to see if you are $1 million richer.

Wall of water floods Kaiteriteri holday park

Wall of water floods Kaiteriteri holday park

12 Jul 07:55 AM
Landslides, flooding, fallen trees: Nelson-Tasman residents urged to stay home

Landslides, flooding, fallen trees: Nelson-Tasman residents urged to stay home

12 Jul 06:34 AM
Second venomous sea snake washes ashore in Coromandel

Second venomous sea snake washes ashore in Coromandel

12 Jul 06:00 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP