Grab opportunity to take over Bauer publications, save jobs

With the help of the Government, why does the NZ Herald not take over the Bauer publications? This would keep all those experienced workers in a job and keep our history going.

Vina McCollum, Auckland

Pay-cut pleas resisted

Many New Zealanders are suffering severe financial stress, reduced hours and worse, redundancy, yet see most public and civil servants remaining secure with their paypackets. It is therefore heartening to see many public servants, including the PM, mayors, councillors and chief executives, embracing pay cuts and wage freezes. While it’s a drop in their buckets, it demonstrates compassionate leadership, an empathy with those who are struggling and not only “doing the right thing”, but “being seen to do the right thing”.

Regrettably, in Rotorua we see the opposite. In the words of the mayor a pay cut suggestion is “morally reprehensible” and the chief executive described it as “immoral”! Do they think that those words accurately describe the leaders in New Zealand who have led by example? Is it not time for our leaders to become followers? Extra work pressure isn’t an excuse. That comes with the territory of high profile and highly paid positions.

Unfortunately, as every day passes with residents begging our leaders to take a pay cut, they seem to be digging themselves into a deeper hole. One must wonder how this insensitivity will remembered and recorded in histories of this pandemic. History cannot be erased.

Paddi Hodgkiss, Rotorua

Paper positives

Regarding the editorial in today’s Herald on Sunday (“Our vital role”, April 19). Recently I was reflecting on some of the positives of life in lockdown and foremost was the constant and reliable delivery of our daily regional newspaper and Herald on Sunday. Though we are attached to our devices there is nothing like poring over the newspaper and squabbling over the crossword.

So we in our household send our sincere thanks to everyone involved in getting our newspaper to the letterbox each day.

P Jeffares, Bethlehem

School no safer

Will teachers get PPE? Of course not. With three weeks left we haven’t enough to burn on low-risk babysitter occupations that burst 100-plus bubbles a day at secondary school. Without PPE, teaching becomes higher risk than ICU. Winston could try visiting a school to test his theory on “values”. Parents risk their own bubbles by sending children to school. Where are the principals saying school is safer now?

Steve Russell, Hillcrest

Writing delights

Brilliant wit, a real gem, from Paul Little (“Will the post-Covid world be different?”, April 19) about the angel’s suggestion to God to try turning the Earth off and on again. Delightful!

John Hampson, Meadowbank

Ancient nonsense

Responding to John Hampson (Letters, April 19) wherein he advises that “we discard ancient wisdom and teachings at our peril”, and that “he has no wish to live in a Brave New World”. Where do you start with this nonsense? Go back to the time when the Earth was flat and Galileo was pilloried by the Roman Catholic Church for his heresy? When leeches were used to bleed patients? Maybe try drowning witches, or should the inquisition get a second chance, this was ancient wisdom with bells on. Don’t forget women being treated as chattels as referenced in the Bible.

It seems obvious Hampson is objecting to Martin Hanson referring to the Catholic Church in less than complimentary terms. What a pity we can’t turn the clock back to when priests could sexually abuse children under the guise of providing them with “ancient wisdom”.

It seems many more people are becoming wise to the pontificating of the faithful asserting the value of ancient distortions of reality as “wisdom”.

John Watson, Otaki