Editorial: Message getting through at last

The zero road toll over the holiday weekend is a triumph not just for police and safety educators, but also for the idea of persistence helping to get a message across.
No one died on the country's roads over Queen's Birthday weekend - up till then, the lowest road toll for Queen's Birthday was one death in 1956.
Police are crediting driver responsibility as playing a large part in the drop, coupled with publicity of the new permanent police policy of a 4km/h speeding tolerance on all public holidays.
Transport Minister Steven Joyce has gone further, citing advertising, stronger enforcement and higher fuel prices as playing a part.
Whatever the reasons, it's a positive change, and one which it can only be hoped will prove to be ongoing.
It would be foolish to think people will stop dying on our roads. That's just not going to happen.
But when you consider the drop in road fatalities compared to this time last year - earlier in the week, the national toll stood at 121, down from 186 in 2010 - the trend is heading in the right direction.
The road safety message is not a new one, but just maybe, that message is now finally getting through.
Hopefully drivers will now start developing positive habits, like sticking to the speed limit, to replace some of the more unsafe habits that some may have indulged in in the past.
The challenge for authorities now is to keep reinforcing the safe driving message, so that as younger drivers gain their licences and start using our roads, safety is at the forefront of their minds.
If the rumours (and there's plenty) are true, Wanganui rugby fans will be supporting a largely new-look Hurricanes in the Super 15 next year.
A poor on-field performance by this year's batch has led to speculation of discontent between senior team members and new coach Mark Hammett.
All Blacks Ma'a Nonu and Andrew Hore have already been told their services are not required for next year, and speculation is rife fellow ABs Cory Jane and Hosea Gear will also be leaving.
Given the surprising departure of Hore and Nonu, logic would suggest there's some truth to the talk of dissent.
If so, Hammett has displayed his coaching inexperience in choosing to deal with the problem by systematically sacking the players he was unable to get on with, rather than working to bring them into the fold and get the best out of them, something which clearly wasn't a problem for All Blacks supremo Graham Henry.
Not having the likes of Nonu and Hore in the Hurricanes' ranks next year may make Hammett feel more secure in his job, but it will hurt the team where it really counts - on the field.
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