Lessons to learn for those who voted for Todd Barclay too

The Todd Barclay debacle deserves to be disposed of in the political wastebasket but not without a few lessons being learned by those responsible. One might have expected a seasoned party hack to be anointed as the successor to favourite son Bill English in the Clutha seat political sinecure but, no, it was considered appropriate to select a young, wet-behindthe-ears 27-year-old political parvenu with little political qualification other than as a lobbyist for the tobacco industry. What did the good people of the deep south expect of their candidate? At the very least some honesty, common sense judgment and an ability to make the right decision. Sadly, they have been let down. Politics is a very serious business. If you are selected as a local political representative you can expect to participate in decisionmaking that affects the whole country. One expects capable people with experience and integrity to be selected by political parties at a local level as you never know what decisions they may be called upon to make. It thus behoves all parties to look beyond the parochial and the energy of young political aspirants and to have the bigger, national interest in mind when selecting their election candidates.

Anthony Mercer, Howick

One could be led to believe that global warming was invented by politicians to keep people’s minds off all the other disasters they create with gay abandon. You only need to look at Isis, Auckland and the antics of our two political leaders of late as examples.

Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay

I hope all the businesses who are crowing about how well they are going to do out of the America’s Cup when it comes to NZ will be as enthusiastic with their financial support for the team. While we are all basking in the reflected glory, now