Letters to the editor: On vaccination, New Zealand is actually not divided

More than 90 per cent of eligible Kiwis have had at least one Covid-19 vaccination. Photo / Getty

Luke Kirkness is wrong when he describes New Zealand as a divided country (Opinion, December 7).

As at December 7, 93.3 per cent of the eligible population has had at least one vaccine shot and we are closing in on 90 per cent for both.

There are thus less than 7 per cent who have either been unable to access vaccination or have chosen not to do so.

They are more at risk of contracting the virus and also of infecting others.

The overwhelming majority, therefore, deserves protection from this miserable minority.

This is not a division.

Ian Thomas
Ōtumoetai

New Zealand has an awful lot of empty dwellings. A figure was given that showed 200,000.

Presumably, this figure counts houses that, for some reason, were merely empty at the time of the census for very simple reasons - people away, houses being decorated, fumigated, rebuilt, etc.

We can reasonably safely accept a figure in excess of 90,000 empty properties that could - if under a compulsory purchase order - provide a safe and happy environment for 90,000 of our homeless. Perhaps this is an avenue down which our government should plot a course.

Many houses are used as Airbnbs, this is something that should be looked at cautiously. While families are living in cars and tents and sleeping rough is it right that people should own houses that are empty 80 per cent of the year?

I believe New Zealand should rethink its housing situation.

Jim Adams
Rotorua

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