Safeswim serving up nonsense
In lieu of fixing Auckland’s drainage problems, Safeswim as a service to beachgoers around Auckland is a good concept. However, when the forecasting model allows a machine to dictate the actions of maybe thousands of people the results can be nonsensical. So it was last Tuesday when the Safeswim indicators for Takapuna showed orange for the “afternoon” and red for the “evening”. At 5.50pm juniors were allowed to swim but at 6.30pm a larger body of swimmers and paddlers were not allowed to race.
Neither in the intervening period nor immediately prior was there any rainfall or toxic spill and no perceptible change in tide or wind and yet a computer dictated that the surf club support, and therefore the races, had to be cancelled. Machine, one: common sense, zero.
Unless real measurements show a high faecal bacteria count Safeswim should act as a guideline but not as a dictator.
Ian Gunthorp, Takapuna. It was a very interesting article written by Geoff Chapple on bans on car access to our mountains. I’m not too sure why so many people are complaining. A detailed report on how and when to implement the vehicle ban was presented to the Tupuna Maunga o Tamaki Makaurau Authority. Now that Mt Victoria has joined the list, how long do you think it will be before allowance will be allowed — at a cost of course, with pay turnstiles. Actually, I wouldn’t mind paying for the access if the proceeds went to worthwhile causes to reduce child poverty.
Denis Jones, Takapuna. There is a popular clamour for more youthful politicians to be running our country. I have difficulty agreeing with this. Young people are normally very idealistic in their views on life, views which usually change as they learn a few “life lessons”. We need maturity of thought, which comes from work experience, raising a family, budgeting and investment experience, with the advantage of having observed previous governments’ successes and failures. An older person has experienced youth, it doesn’t work the other way around. A 50-year-old politician could have 15 to 20 years in Parliament and that’s more than enough. H. Robertson, St Heliers. rubbish. Not a few stray McDonald’s bags or advertising circulars, but piles of household rubbish unscrupulously dumped on council berms.
What has happened to the collective consciousness of our citizens that many think it is okay to discard their unwanted stuff on public land? For the most part, Auckland Council provides a simple, efficient waste collection service. They do their job. It’s time we all played our part.
Shaun Perry, New Windsor. “Can Jacinda Ardern charm business?” asks Herald business editor Liam Dann, citing evidence showing an average dip of 18 points every time Labour wins an election, versus a four-point bump when National triumphs. But if you look at actual performance over the past six months, that’s the wrong question. The Business Chamber’s engagement with key ministers has been positive, open and easy. I get a sense that Labour and its two partner parties fully appreciate the key role business has to provide jobs and generate prosperity.
They have listened and been open to business ideas to boost innovation and productivity. True, they were elected promising to lift minimum wages and change employment law, but have been sensitive to business concerns, especially those of small-medium enterprises. Compared to the previous Government, it is already plain there is a refreshing willingness to listen and take stock of what business needs and wants action on.
Can business charm the new Government into not wasting too much time converting mutual constituency building into action on the big issues confronting us? That’s the question I find myself asking. Michael Barnett, chief executive,
Auckland Business Chamber.