Your views: readers' letters

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Repealing law for the sake of it

Why go to the cost of repealing the three strikes law if it is not working? What harm is there in leaving it alone? The law might not be working but given the rapidly increasing crime rate surely the best use of our tax dollar is in fixing the rapidly increasing crime rate.

To me this is change for the sake of it. So rather than senseless grandstanding how about actually coming up with something that fixes the issue and spending the money wisely.

Craig Dalton, East Tamaki.

Poplars gone

Who on earth sanctioned the execution of dozens of majestic mature poplars from around the large fountain in Cornwall Park on Manukau Rd? What a shocking act of vandalism.

At a time the Government and the council are talking about planting trees and reducing carbon in the atmosphere this simply does not ring true.

R. Howell, Onehunga.

Terrorism

I wonder if journalists at the Herald could dig a little deeper and discover the name of the imperialist colonialist political philosophy behind the latest New York terror attack, as well the other 1753 attacks worldwide in this year alone that have killed and injured nearly 25,000 people? All of the Herald's readers already know its name, but it would be nice to see it recognised.

Stewart Hawkins, St Heliers.

Sexism

Women must be pretty naive if they worry about men who call women girls, love, or dear at work. One must be prepared for this when one works in a mixed environment. I worked with men for all of my working life and it did not worry me. What I would object to is being mishandled by anyone and I would tell them so in no uncertain manner.

Sheila Sivyer, Pukekohe.

Jacindarella

Jacinderella wanted to go to the ball at the Beehive but her evil stepsisters Ms Bennet and Mr English said, "No. You shall not go to the ball". Jacinderella and the Little folk were destined to the backbenches.Then the Green fairy godmother, Jamie Shaw, said, "You shall go to the ball".

Jacinderella was destined to turn into a pumpkin at midnight but was rescued by the brave and handsome prince, Sir Winston, who put New Zealand First. Sir Winston made her Queen and all was good within the realm, and everyone lived happily ever after.

Darren Long, Hamilton.

Tram hazards

One of the downfalls of having such a young Prime Minister is the loss of learning from history. Her preoccupation with providing a tram network for Auckland is a prime example. When Auckland was awash with trams (before her time) they were banished because of Auckland's narrow streets and I remember particularly in Queen St the large number of accidents to pedestrians and cars.

The naysayers will bleat on about Melbourne and it is true they are a roaring success there, but over there streets are much wider. If she is to implement such a plan the prerequisite as in Melbourne must be a road of a safe width to accommodate all cars, buses and pedestrians.

Winston should remember the tram accidents as they were often reported in the newspapers of the time.

Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.

Tram patronage

Mr L H Cleverly challenged my comments on bus capacity on Dominion Rd and wondered if I was a bus user. I average five to six trips on Dominion or Mt Eden Rd buses a month, mostly outside peak hours.

I have figures for the number of bus journeys each month on Dominion Rd. In the first six months of this year the total was over 1.5 million trips, up 6.5 per cent on the same period in 2016.

Mt Eden Rd bus demand is growing even faster. The space for parking buses in the central city is limited, so faster, higher capacity trams are the best long-term solution.

David Holm, Mt Roskill.

Relationship property

The lead letter yesterday drew attention to young foreign women taking advantage of older men who may be widowed or divorced and likely lonely. There are already expensive court cases appearing, instigated by the families of these men.

The writer is correct in stating the division of assets really does need an overhaul. If the gentleman is 65 or over, the younger woman conniving to wed also qualifies for superannuation.

This loophole that is causing the widespread rorting of super will ultimately affect it's viability. Both of these issues need to be revised with urgency.

Colleen Wright, Botany Downs.

Publicity staff

After reading the brilliant explanation in Monday's Herald about how and why we get huge soaring bureaucrat numbers, I finally understand how the Auckland Council Communication staff has leaped from only three people under Mayor Dame Cath Tizard to 234 under the current Mayor, Phil Goff.

What on earth do they need to communicate? Let's get back to Dame Cath's three people please and we ratepayers can then enjoy the huge savings in un-needed nonproductive salaries.

Murray Hunter, Titirangi.

Tipping

In an editorial on May 27 the Herald wrote, "A billboard at Auckland Airport used to advise tourists tipping was not part of our culture. The sign should be restored".

Attending the Auckland International Airport AGM on October 26, I asked: Will the board consider restoring the sign? Mr Adrian Littlewood, the chief executive said they would not restore the sign.

Tipping is not expected or required in Australia. This is because the federal Government protects the rights of workers with a minimum wage.

Here our new Government will raise the minimum wage. I trust this will mean tipping is not expected or required in New Zealand.

Warren L. Johns, Remuera.

Centenary dispute

The 1917 "Balfour declaration" is a simple letter in which a British Foreign Secretary expressed his support for the idea of Palestine as a home for the Jewish people. Columnist Juliet Moses sees the letter as giving legitimacy to the subsequent establishment of Israel. She forgets that the end of the Ottoman Empire after World War I was seen by the people of the region as their chance to realise freedom and independence.

Balfour had no right to "offer" Palestine to the Zionists or to anyone else. The Palestinian people who made up more than 90 per cent of the population at that time, are still waiting to fulfil their right to self-determination.

Last week the UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territory said Israel's claims of sovereignty over the West Bank and Gaza have no foundation in international law and moreover that Israel is in non-compliance with more than 140 resolutions in the UN Security Council and General Assembly.

Maire Leadbeater, Mt Albert.

Dairy future

In 1943 it was said, "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers" (Thomas Watson, president of IBM).

In 1946, "Television won't be able to hold onto any market it captures after the first six months" (Darryl Zanuck, 20th Century Fox). In 2017, "There will always be a global, growing market for dairy ... it's clear that the natural, nutritional strength of dairy will be the premium nutrition of choice" (Fonterra).

I suspect this will prove as accurate as the earlier predictions.

Keith L. Muir, Mt Maunganui.

Co-leadership

It seems that many New Zealanders, who have previously not had any affiliation with the Greens, are very accepting of James Shaw as a moderate, sensible, attuned-to-business leader. It is to be hoped that he will abandon the concept of dual leadership, which did not work too well for him before the election, and is out of step with modern political parties.

Colleen Stephenson, Howick.

Drug damage

In response to Shaun Smith, it is naive to think that just smoking weed "a lot" has been a contributing factor in his friends' behaviour. Most informed people know that alcohol and prescription drugs do far more harm. My late father was an angry, bitter man who became very violent after drinking. I wish he had been a "stoner". Cannabis does not turn an angry person into an angrier person. In the case of his friends, it's all on dosage. Some people just seem to have addictive personalities.

Margaret Dagger, Parau.