Horizons Regional Council is budgeting to spend $696,694 to run empty buses around Whanganui during the 2019-20 financial year! They expect the Government to subsidise 51 per cent of this, leaving $341,380 to be paid by Whanganui ratepayers.
This is a scandalous, irresponsible waste of our money, and I am disgusted that, presumably, our Whanganui representatives voted for this travesty.
I have made submissions about this previously, and the response has been to add services. More empty buses.
Every Whanganui ratepayer should make a submission to Horizons against this highway robbery. Consultation is open until March 25, so do it now.
I am sure that, with just one iota of imagination from Horizons' bureaucrats, a better solution could be found to provide transport for the small part of our community that needs it. They just need to lift their sights to the horizon.
STEPHEN PALMER
Bastia Hill
For clarity's sake
Readers deserve to know that the title on my recent column (Chronicle, March 13) describing the failure of our parliamentarians to respect democratic norms of student protest was an editorial choice and not mine.
The original title, was "A study in wilful ignorance".
I choose not to call politicians "stupid" for many reasons, not least because it's exculpatory in this context. Nor do I believe these folks are lacking intelligence.
In fact, I was stupefied by the behaviour of our elected representatives, which is what led to my writing the piece.
JAY KUTEN
Whanganui
House prices hit nurses
Oh dear, what a terrifying headline on the Chronicle's front page: House prices up 24 per cent.
You Whanganui folk have really shot yourselves in the foot this time, raising the cost of buying a house for increasingly hard-to-find specialists such as hospital staff by $100,000 or more.
There are 52000 nurses in New Zealand, but nearly half of them were born before the contraceptive pill was introduced in the 1960s. About 1700 of those highly skilled Baby Boomers are now retiring each year, or else heading overseas to earn double their present salary so they can retire in comfort.
Meanwhile, only 1100 replacements have been graduating from our nursing schools each year. And many of these young people are moving into hospitals that are
grossly understaffed: Auckland hospitals are short of 550 nurses, Hamilton 300, Wellington 200, and Manawatu 40.
Consequently many young graduate nurses are being thrown into jobs they are not fully trained for, are stressed, abused and consequently either leaving the nursing profession or else moving to attractive, centrally located small towns with cheaper housing and better-staffed hospitals like Nelson with only eight nurses short, Masterton seven, Upper Hutt five, and Whanganui two, the best staffing rate in the country. Much the same staffing situation exists for medical technicians and doctors throughout New Zealand.
Like most of us oldies, I need medical repairs more often now, and over the last decade I've received prompt attention at Whanganui Hospital from a wide variety of calm, relaxed and highly competent hospital staff.
But now that Whanganui's ace-in-the-hole for attracting these experts has been thrown away, the middle-aged citizens of this town will need to find alternatives pretty quickly if they want the same wonderful care my generation has received.
JOHN ARCHER
Ohakune
Stand united
The words of Jacinda Ardern are succinct, beautiful and at the heart core ... rare, if ever heard, from a politician. These people (those killed and their families) are us. Those perpetrators are not us.
This was perpetrated against all of us who call NZ home — and, if we do, we have to stand united.
PAUL BABER
Whanganui
Tackling extremism
At least 49 people who were worshipping in a mosque of Christchurch, New Zealand, have been killed in the recent horrific terrorist attack. More than 20 injured seriously.
The attack is the fatal terrorist attempt on the base of religious hatred. The question is not about the religion of the persons who attacked the worshippers, but it is about developing a counter-narrative of terrorism and extremism. Another question is about relating a particular religion or nationality with terrorism.
It has been clear, as many times in the past, that terrorism cannot be related to any religion or country.
In the contemporary era, every country is feeling the enduring challenges of extremism and terrorism. These issues have become global core challenges that have no boundaries, no humanistic values and no particular religious identification. Thus, the world powers along with the countries that have been fighting against the challenges should sit together to take precautionary measures to weed out the issues.
The question is not about who did this. However, it is all about why the world is not united to root out the challenges that have tormented the brain of international community.
Blame game against other religions and nationalities must be stopped now, as it aggravated the situation by giving benefits to terrorist wings. In spite of blaming, world religions and political entities should develop a comprehensive and common rational narrative to thwart such kind of happenings in the womb of time in any part of world.
It is time to save humanity but not to so-called national interests. Thus, world powers and most influential religious scholars should take precautionary measures to adopt a path to counter terrorism and extremism by promoting tolerance and peace. It is time to learn but not to blame — it is enough now.
CHANGEZI SANDHU
University of the Punjab,
Lahore, Pakistan
Send your letters to: The Editor, Whanganui Chronicle, 100 Guyton St, PO Box 433, Whanganui 4500; or email editor@wanganuichronicle.co.nz
A Chinese cameraman brought a unique camera to film Luxon in Beijing.