Hope the judges won’t let us down in Covid escape cases

On numerous occasions over many years, the people of New Zealand have been badly let down by the decisions of some of our judges in some of our courtrooms. Here's hoping it doesn't happen again with those who escape from isolation/ quarantine facilities.

There can be no doubt it is serious offending, and at the end of the day it will be judges and not politicians who represent the public's concerns. Phil Chitty, Albany

Lame excuse

The lame excuse of Hamish Walker for releasing private health details of Covid positive Kiwis in quarantine is symptomatic of a party desperate for power. Trying to expose weakness in others and accepting no blame for passing on private details for public perusal is totally unacceptable. It represents the worst moral judgment. Steve Russell, Hillcrest

Wild goose chase

National’s Health spokesperson Michael Woodhouse described the breach of personal details from the Health Ministry’s files a “shambles” (5 July).

Is this the same Michael Woodhouse who sent the government and the Health Ministry on a wild goose chase following his claim that a homeless person had 14 days of accommodation at government expense? After an initial investigation failed to find any evidence he was asked point blank in Parliament to provide evidence to support his claim, which he could not. This wasted hundreds of hours of staff and government time. It appears that Woodhouse was naive enough to pass on gossip as fact.

Todd Muller claims his team is better equipped to lead the economic recovery. Really? Yeah, right. David Coy, Hamilton

Port disaster

If Phil Twyford, Phil Goff and the trucking lobby are behind promoting the most dangerous harbour as a major port you know it’s going to be a disaster.

KiwiBuild, slow light rail trams, now a dangerous port — all Twyford’s handiwork.

Get on with building the railway to North Port. Right behind you Shane Jones and Winston Peters. Jon Reeves, Mangere East

Red and Green

Astonishingly rosy picture painted of the Green Party wealth policy by journalists in the major papers.

In 1918 our grandfather fled St Petersburg in fear of his life as a “rich” businessman to avoid being slaughtered as part of the “great wealth redistribution” of Soviet Russia. A great experiment.

Fast forward 100 years to New Zealand 2020. A Government official will determine what my home, savings, assets and possessions are valued at, then take a chunk of those each year. Generously, if we have no cash we may defer payment. They will grab it at my funeral.

This grab for someone's else's hard earned property speaks volumes of how this proud and self-reliant country is in danger of becoming an enclave for envious, entitled bludgers. Government could take our tax dollars but spend it as wisely as those who earned it in the first place. It will go rather further. Government needs some people who actually worked for a living. Tony Olissoff, via email

Health warnings

Mike Passmore (Letters, July 5) rejects concerns about cannabis by referring to the “successful programme utilising health warnings to address” the health risks of tobacco. I don’t agree health warnings about tobacco have been “successful” — other initiatives were also used, like massive price hikes and exclusion from public spaces, and some people (especially young girls and the poor) are still smoking.

Also, tobacco was already legal when its health risks were discovered. The cannabis situation is entirely different. Gavan O'Farrell, Lower Hutt

Vicky Ngo

Let’s brush aside the red tape and make an exception for Vicky Ngo (July 5) to be granted residence.

We are lucky to have her.

John Hampson, Meadowbank