Enough of quick fixes, repair the roads properly

HAVE the Dunedin City Council and readers noticed the poor state of the roads around Dunedin and suburbs lately?

I drive around the city and Mosgiel areas very frequently for my job and have noticed that, for the past few years, there has been a steady increase of bumps, holes and generally poortofailing areas of road.

I am increasingly frustrated by the continual patchwork attitude for repairs or the oversealing method for repair. Oversealing doesn’t fix the holes or bumps and frequently the road needs repairing again in a short time.

Now, I own a business, and I’m very aware of the fact there is only so much money to go around. But I challenge the DCC to stop using quick fixes and actually spend money to fix the roads from the sublayers up, and spend the money once so the repairs last.

Hopefully, in the long term, the roads will be better and the costs will actually go down.

Fix it once, fix it right.

Grant Enright

Mosgiel

Safeguards can weaken

HATS off to Civis for his timely column (ODT, 5.5.18) on euthanasia and his calling to account the ignorance and arrogance of David Seymour.

Wellargued and thoughtful, Civis pointed out the fallacy of those who advocate safeguards around euthanasia and assisted suicide.

For the few countries and states which have legalised euthanasia and assisted suicide, the ‘‘safeguards’’ were soon weakened and often blatantly ignored. Once a country admits a principle that the primary right to life is negotiable or relativised, the ‘‘slippery slope’’ becomes a reality.

As Paul Farmer says so well: ‘‘The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong in the world’’. (Emeritus Bishop) Colin Campbell

Mosgiel

Programme captioning

SINCE it is Deaf Awareness Week, as a hearingimpaired person it is timely to ask TVNZ to explain how the captions on programmes such as the news are done.

Does a machine provide the text or people named at the end type them?

I often find the spelling and/or choice of words incorrect — for example affect/effect, kerb/curb, principal/principle.

Also it is a waste of time captioning Dan Corbett’s weather — he talks so quickly we only get irrelevant outoftime snippets of what he says.

I guess it’s better than nothing.

K. Gallagher

Outram

Result of US sanctions

WHAT would the financial implications be of United States’ secondary sanctions on New Zealand?

Would we side with the United Kingdom, France, Germany (and Russia apparently) so far?

Islay McLeod

Waikouaiti

More female obituaries

THANK you Margaret Bahr for your wee note regarding the ODT’s April 14 obituaries all being male. I, too, have noticed this over the past weeks, months and, oh yes, many years.

I am really tired of this male focus. The editor’s response that there is an ‘‘attempt to run obituaries on all notable local, national and international figures or characteristics, be they male or female’’ is very nice but clearly means that men get the limelight.

So change this please so the scope includes what women do and what they do really well. If you need me to list these characteristics let me know! Rebecca Westoby

Dunedin ...................................

BIBLE READING: For one believes with the heart and so is justified. — Romans 10:10.