Mayor’s agenda will hit hard

At last a no confidence move against Phil Goff. His fuel tax of 11c a litre he calls “an unlocking of resource”. Is the electorate now a “resource” to be mined? This tax will affect the low income and pensioners the most. General prices will rise. Airbnb will be charged business rates, it was one way ordinary folk had to supplement their income.

At the 30 year budget meeting no local board was present and all Goff’s proposals were passed. His agenda is implemented with a cynical disregard to ordinary people, the actions of a dictator. Barry Down, Mangere Bridge.

Stadium report

The lack of confidence in their leader by Mayor Goff’s team is nothing to the lack of confidence in the council by ratepayers. A study by PWC costing $923,000? Why didn’t the council use its own overpaid staff to do a feasibility study? Getting rid of council staff but spending millions on outside contractors for just about everything is bound to be more expensive as every contractor has to make a profit, and some of them make enormous profits.

To commission a study by the council but deny the councillors access seems to fly in the face of Labour’s demand for transparency. The ratepayers have a right to know where, why and how their extortionate rates are being spent and not have the monies buried in a percentage pie-chart, which conveniently excludes salaries and contractors. Ray Green, Birkenhead.

Mayor’s taxes

Simon Wilson’s suggestion of a sudden toxic atmosphere arising around the mayor is astonishing. Has he not followed the recent political manoeuvres from the mayor? Failure to limit spending and instead increasing rates with taxes on petrol, rubbish, stormwater (to come), amounting to far more than 10 per cent. Mike Lee, who saved millions in earnings by not letting the port be sold, is painted as a nay-sayer. He represented the hundred of thousands of ratepayers who oppose the arrogant leadership of this mayor. Haven’t seen him in public for a while.

What’s the difference between North Korea and the Auckland Council? Here you will be asked first. Juergen Petersen, Pt Chevalier.

Trump’s triumph

Has the most reviled President in the history of the USA succeeded in changing the political climate of North Korea which has existed for nearly 70 years? I wait with bated breath to hear the Democratic Party take on this momentous event. Has Hillary Clinton finally been silenced?

Kim Jong Un has not been trustworthy but miracles do happen and he may have finally met his match. Donald Trump is an extremely unusual President but well known for his deal making and often times thoughtless comments. Perhaps if China and the free world get behind Trump they could succeed in pressuring Kim Jong Un to follow through with the agreement. The little dictator obviously wants fame and recognition so maybe a bit of flattery will be more effective than animosity. Brigid Tarrant, Green Bay.

Driving with phones

On a recent trip to New South Wales I noticed signs that warned drivers that not only would they receive a fine for using a mobile phone while driving but they would also lose demerit points. I am constantly surprised when driving to and from work on the Southern Motorway how many drivers are on their hand-held phones. I have seen it in large fully loaded trucks where the driver is nearing 100km per hour.

If drivers were mindful that they might lose their licence as a result of being caught using their phones it may reduce the incidence. Gary Neil Denney, Eden Terrace.

Displacing romance

A prominent therapist in the states has expressed concerns for romantic relationships between young people, because of compulsive smart phone use. Can we please have smart phones out of our children’s schools now? A Scott, Grey Lynn.

Waste generating power

The letter from John Caldwell on Tuesday reminded me of a site we visited in Kenya recently where they are re-purposing old tyres from waste to provide energy at a cement plant. I don’t know whether their consent processes meet the same levels as New Zealand’s but the fact we were shown it makes me believe it is environmentally friendly. The companies involved were Bamburi Cement, Geocycle Kenya, and Lafarge Eco Systems. The giraffes that wandered around the environs of the plant certainly didn’t display any signs of disease or deformity, and there was no odour or other negative aspects immediately obvious.

Tactics worked

Jason Pine is entitled to his opinion criticising Football Ferns coach Andreas Heraf and his tactical approach to international football. But Pine’s example of Heraf’s “negative” coaching, when Heraf’s Austria played Argentina in the 2015 Under-20 World Cup, completely vindicates Heraf’s approach, not Pine’s rejection of it.

Pine tells us Argentina had “71 per cent of possession and fired off 27 shots at goal, compared to Austria’s four”. What Pine did not go on to tell us is that the game ended 0-0 and Austria finished second in the group, reaching the knockout stage of the tournament. More highly fancied Argentina finished third in the group and packed their bags for an early plane trip home. Neil Porten, Western Springs.

Excessive caution

Several days ago you ran a column by John Roughan about the pitfalls of excessive caution when it comes to public health and safety as it applies to methamphetamine residue in houses. As one who works every day in the contaminated land sector, I can tell you the meth fiasco is only the tip of the iceberg.

Section E30 of the Auckland Unitary Plan (operative in part) lists background ranges of metals in Auckland soils that depend upon whether the soil is considered to be non-volcanic or volcanic. The Auckland Council considers soil that contains concentrations of any of these metals above the appropriate background to be “contaminated”, even when the concentration is far below any contamination standard or guideline value established to protect human health or the environment.

This designation will require you to pay for a Site Management Plan to protect workers from soil that is readily acknowledged by competent scientists and medical professionals to pose no significant risk to either human health or the environment.

It gets worse. This system penalises those unfortunate enough to live in nonvolcanic soil areas while rewarding those living in areas considered to be volcanic. For example, if you have a zinc concentration of 200 parts per million your soil is considered contaminated if you live in Hobsonville but not if you live in Mount Wellington. In neither case is there a danger to human health or the environment.

There are even instances, with regard to nickel and zinc in particular, where the permitted soil concentration established by the Auckland Unitary Plan is less than the recognised background level. Many property owners are forced to pay consultants to produce documents designed to mitigate a threat that does not exist. Greg Beck, West Harbour.

Beyond a joke

Popular or people’s choice voting and awards definitely have their place in competitions, creating healthy audience participation. They are usually a separate category and can be swayed by something as cute as pigtails (in a recent international piano competition). However, if professional judgment is overridden by easy manipulation or other vested interests, it is quite disrespectful to both the high calibre judges and competitors. The resulting frustration from both comes over on screen and is almost embarrassing to watch. Peter Dodd, Chatswood.

Get over it

What is all the hoo-ha about Dancing with

the Stars? Everyone knows it is a fundraising “dancing” contest to raise funds for the charity of the participants’ choice. How well how these “stars“can dance when they start and how much how they improve each week makes it worth watching, so get over it and think of all the money David has raised for his charity. Alan Eustace, Pakuranga.