Honour seems a bit excessive

The award to Catherine Alice Healy of the DNZM for services to the rights of sex workers seems to be an extraordinarily extravagant recognition of an occupation which one would prefer not to applaud.

This comment does not wish to suggest disapproval of the issue of the legality of prostitution which has been a hard fought and necessary amendment. Also, there is no issue that the rights of sex workers need to be protected.

It does, however, demean the standard of the Queen’s Birthday Honours to grant this high honour for such work.

Angela Wilson, Whitianga.

Declaration of war

Far from being “a fine moment”, the decision by our Winston-appointed PM to award Catherine Healy our nation’s second highest honour is a declaration of war against those who hold traditional moral values.

I appeal to Labour and NZ First voters who have conservative moral beliefs to abandon support for this Government before they are able to pursue more of their destructive agenda.

Mark McCluskey, Red Beach.

Vote for charity

I am no great fan of reality TV or Dancing with the Stars, however I am also no fan of the flak being thrown at David Seymour by the judges of the programme or the Herald correspondent.

As a previous chair of Lifeline Aotearoa and therefore Kidsline, I was delighted to see Mr Seymour’s charity of choice is Kidsline, a critical service for our young people who need help, support and encouragement in an increasingly difficult world.

Seymour’s continuance on the programme adds valuable funds to the resources of this fabulous charity enabling them to provide their fabulous services.

Is the goal of the programme to find the best celebrity dancer or to raise the most funds for the chosen charity? I think the criticism overlooks the charitable deeds of this particular contestant.

Ben Palmer, Remuera.

Drop in the ocean

The supermarket duopoly’s carefully coordinated campaign to save themselves the cost of plastic bags is now coming to fruition with Countdown starting the phase out, cheered on by Labour and the Greens.

The purported aim is to reduce plastic debris in the ocean but the benefit will be nil. The reason is simple. A recent German study found around eight million tonnes of plastic ends up in the sea each year. About 90 per cent of this appalling total comes from 10 grossly polluted rivers in Asia and Africa. Much of the remaining 10 per cent is lost or abandoned commercial fishing gear.

The worst single contributor to the mess is the Yangtze River at around 1.5 million tonnes.

So where will we be when the bags are history? Supermarket shoppers will have needless inconvenience, we will lose a product which has numerous secondary uses and the duopoly’s respective bottom lines will get a nice little boost, all accompanied by virtue signalling that could be seen from space.

Brian O’Neill, Chatswood.

Rules protects heads

Len Cooke is absolutely right that protective headgear will not save you from head injury. In soccer where no headgear is used, to hit the ball at speed with your head is not wise. In American football the head gear does not stop it either. The only football code safe from head injuries even with no headgear is Australian Rules as tackles must be between the knees and the shoulders, so no heavy falls to the ground either.

Check out the head injuries from football in Victoria, South Australia, West Australia and Tasmania where no rugby is taught in schools versus Queensland and New South Wales with rugby union in private colleges and rugby league in state schools.

Mothers in those two states must fear for their son’s head injuries which are pretty certain. Murray Hunter, Titirangi.

Not affordable

Douglas Fairgray asks why income is not a criterion for KiwiBuild houses. The answer is obvious. It would be too embarrassing for the Government. We are told a three bedroom house will cost $650,000.

With a 20 per cent deposit that will require a mortgage of $520,000. A 25 year mortgage paid weekly at 6 per cent would mean $40,171 a year on payments.

If we use the definition of affordability that housing uses 40 per cent of household income, this requires an income of $100,000. This is so far above the median household income of $86,000 that these houses will not ever be bought by the lower income families they are said to be aimed at. Kiwibuild is simply not “affordable housing.” Neil Binnie, Torbay.

Bracket creep

Taxpayers on the average wage of around $68,000 will pay $1170 additional tax because the bands have not altered since 2011/12. On the assumption $1170 is around the average tax increase in real terms on all incomes, that has swelled the Government’s tax take by around $3 billion, the same as the Budget surplus announced in May. I estimate this accumulated stealth tax since 2011/12 has milked taxpayers by at least $10b and rising. Kenneth Lees, Whangarei.

Waiting for surgery

In August 2017 my sister went on the waiting list at Auckland Hospital for an urgent hip replacement operation to be followed by a second hip operation as soon as possible. My sister was 78, independent, fit and healthy but in considerable pain. Ten months later, she is housebound, crippled, dependent, with pressure sores, taking increasing amounts of highly addictive drugs and unable to function normally.

In August 2017 the hospital wait list was four months. In December 2017 the wait list was four months. A date of May 21 was given. This was delayed two weeks so a heart scan could be taken. A date of June 5, assuming the scan was OK, was given. The scan was OK. Now a further date of sometime in July has been given. This would make the wait 11 months and what after that?

The financial cost of this operation on a fit healthy active 78 year old looks cheap compared with the ensuing costs of treating the deteriorating condition of the patient over 10 months as well as the cost and time required to rehabilitate the patient after so much has been lost. The personal cost to the patient cannot be measured. We her family only hope she will eventually be able to function at her previous level. This surely could be avoided if the processes of the ADHB were efficient. M. J. Cox, Kaeo.

Speech control

Paul Moon is right on the money. Canada’s Human Rights Commission was a nightmare for any commentator on cultural matters. If any activist felt offended they complained to the commission, who would then provide free legal support. Faced with huge fines, the commentator had to pay his or her own legal costs and if eventually exonerated, there was no recompense.

Human Rights Commission hate crimes law, massive fines and legal costs are used to intimidate citizens into compliance. Australia’s Human Rights Commission is a salutary lesson for our MPs who might be tempted to go down this path. They even touted for business, inviting any group or persons who felt offended to lay a complaint with them.

B. A. Moran, Glenfield.

Domestic terminal

Mike Hosking’s attack on the state of Auckland airport focused only on the international terminal.

What about that ugly duckling, the domestic terminal? One can think of the totally inadequate baggage collection areas, women frequently having to queue for their toilets, the small and crowded men’s toilets, the overcrowded Air NZ regional departure area, the Air NZ regional departure gates which look like a rural stockyard and the shambolic traffic flow arrangements outside.

The terminal is an embarrassment to show to international tourists as well as very uncomfortable for our own domestic travellers. Surely it is time the Auckland Council, which owns 22 per cent of the shares but has been a passive shareholder, started to be pro-active and sought the appointment of a director who will push hard for a greater focus on the travelling public. David Shand, Havelock North.