Your say: Whanganui's Thain building must be saved

The Thain heritage building at 1 Victoria Avenue is threatened with demolition

Here is a plea for the old Thain building, standing four-square and handsome on the corner of Victoria Avenue and Taupo Quay.

An absentee landlord, I think, who is perhaps not aware of the historical significance and value to the city. We've lost a lot of beautiful buildings - let's not lose this one.

I ask the council to look for a way to keep this treasure for the city. I know it's a big ask and am all prepared for rants from ratepayers but, if restored, strengthened and beautified to the standard of those by UCOL, the old girl would be worth a great deal to the heritage label the city promotes itself by to draw in tourists.

Install good apartments - even luxury ones - and it is right on the spot for art, cafes, restaurants, the market, uptown shopping, the library, the river ... everything.

With an already tenanted ground floor, it'll be a money machine.

J HANNAY, Whanganui

Euthanasia ploy is a sham

Jay Kuten in his op-ed piece "Sham concern for the elderly" (May 9) is trying to persuade readers that those who oppose euthanasia do so for religious reasons only.

This ploy is itself a sham. If that were so, why is euthanasia firmly opposed by most doctors, the hospice movement and the disability sector? Are they not the ones at the forefront of this matter and should not we listen to them?

It is not only Simon O'Connor who is speaking out about the potential for abuse, but the great majority of the medical community.

I know of nurses and caregivers in the hospice movement who are terrified of what David Seymour's bill will mean for themselves and those they care for.

It is nonsense for Kuten to claim that the terms proposed in the End of Life Choice bill are "stringent".

The first clause of the bill is meaningless when it is followed by the words "OR" and then goes on to include just about any medical condition which constitutes the normal path of ageing as justification for being killed by your doctor.

CHRIS O'BRIEN, Christchurch

Surnames please

I must add my voice to that of Susan Shand (Letters, April 30) regarding the steady disappearance of honorifics/Christian names in your stories.

This surname-only style of address is, I suspect, popular with some reporters, but it's ugly, unnatural, and does nothing to improve the clarity of most stories.

At a time when newspapers are battling to hold on to circulation, it's puzzling to see the Chronicle risk annoying its readers this way. Surely you have enough natural predators without starting to dabble in self-harm.

You're running an excellent newspaper - please go back to communicating with us in our idiom.

RICHARD RAYNER, Whanganui

This is the 'good news'

Re: D Partner (Letters; April 24) on "selective faith" and Israel Folau's statement.

A loving father does not punish his child eternally for mistakes made during a short mortal life.

If you are referring to the eternity of torment and suffering, this is not our punishment but the devil's.

That old serpent and one-third of the angels that fell with him ... these spiritually immortal beings cannot die. They are to be shut in the "outer darkness" forever, not us.

Neither do we go to heaven. Why would we, when God plainly states he is bringing his kingdom to the Earth. This was Christ's message - the "good news".

J TIMMINS, Whanganui

Thanks for $6 saver

Thank you I wish to thank the lady who gave me the extra $6 so I could buy the two cards I needed for my granddaughters' birthdays. They were both nice cards and the only ones that were in Whitcoulls like them.

This was on April 30, and I did not have enough money on me.

It really meant a lot to me - may God bless her.

D SUTTON, Whanganui

Fluoride dosage

Ms Johnston seems to have problems with fluoride dosage (Letters; April 22).

The drinking water recommended standard for New Zealand is 1.5 milligrams per litre; the level normally used is .7 mg/l - half the recommended level.

The Institute of Medicine in the United States established the upper level, from all sources, to be 10 mg/l.

Let's say the average water intake for adults is 6 litres a day. The CDC says 75 per cent of ingested fluoride is from water - 4.2mg.

So a person who drinks 6 litres of water a day only ingests 5.6mg of fluoride - just over half the established upper level.

Before the upper level of 10mg could be reached, water toxicity would be the concern, not fluoride.

Then we have the comment: "Fluoride has never been tested for human consumption" - but it has been part of human lives since time began.

There is no documented illness caused by fluoride levels at .7mg/l.

CHRIS PRICE, Palmerston North

No middle road

Ann David (Letters, April 24) needs to look carefully at her support of the NZ Nursing Organisation's relationship with the End of Life Choice bill.

Neutrality, politically correct attitudes or silence are seen as weakness by the radical changes sometimes asked of us.

Nursing is a great profession though remarks like those by Ann David would stress Florence Nightingale to hear such contrary views to her own outlook.

Our letter writer has been caught in a trap of referring to the bill as assisted dying. The bill can also be referred to as assisted suicide, which can in turn be seen as assisted murder. Suicide is self-murder.

You said your profession was from cradle to death. Do you mean conception to death? For if you accept abortion, then nurses are going to accept assisted suicide as you have done.

There is no middle road. It is yes or no for every human life.

I went to the Dawn Parade on Anzac Day and melted at those young lives represented by crosses and references in speeches.

Surely, no person favouring assisted suicide could attend such a gathering for those who lost their lives in our defence. Shall we make their efforts null and void by considering this legislature?

F R HALPIN, Gonville