Seeing sag in Harbour Bridge arch

For many years after the clip-on extensions were added to the Auckland Harbour Bridge, I noticed the western extension was considerably higher at the top of the bridge than the main span (original bridge). As I travelled across the bridge to work each day I used to look at it and wonder how the design engineers could get it so wrong. Now, the same section is considerably lower than the main span at the same point so my question is, what has happened?

Arches don’t normally drop at the top unless something has moved or is it because so much steel has been added that it is now sagging due to the extra weight? I now use the main span at all times when possible. Ian Langley, Albany.

Collegial work

In promoting the tired old concept of performance pay for teachers in his column yesterday, Mike Hosking and his ilk just don’t get it. Pay whose performance, Mike? Apart from the classroom teacher, there’s the specialist art and music teachers, the teacher aide who supports children in the classroom with special needs, the teacher who coaches the sports team, the teacher on duty who organises lunch-time games, the office person who helps when lunch money is lost, the school nurse who picks up glue ear and eyesight problems affecting classroom performance, the relieving teacher, the neighbouring teachers who take split classes when there is no reliever, the principal who through good leadership has employed excellent teachers from a diminishing pool and most crucially, the varying quality of parenting at home.

Teaching is collegial and always will be by its very nature. Here’s a better concept for Mike Hosking to promote: “It takes a village to raise a child.”

Helen Geary, St Mary’s Bay.

Painful pay

I am rather bemused when members of the public speak up in support of teachers demanding more pay. Do any of them actually know what teachers get paid? I cannot recall reading in the papers or seeing it splashed across TV screens what teachers are paid. Maybe they are well paid and want to get paid what doctors and dentists are remunerated. We all wince when we get our bill from the dentist or doctor. Do we demand that they should get less? Why not?

My dentist charged me $665 for one hour’s treatment. Is this what the teachers want? If not, why not? If we did not have teachers teaching our future dentists we would not have dentists.

Bob Wichman, Botany.

Bridges’ bill

I do not really care who leaked the information about Simon Bridges’ expenditure courtesy of the taxpayer. It just reinforces my belief that many MPs have a culture of entitlement and that they would rather we did not know about it. It is interesting to consider that the expenditure in question is more than twice the annual starting salary of a teacher. Greg Cave, Sunnyvale.

Even bets

In response to my observation about All Black odds, Murray Hunter claims their odds are likely to be much higher in Sydney due to “parochial betting”. How I wish he were right, as this would present a no-lose betting opportunity by backing the Wallabies here and the All Blacks in Australia. The reality is that such discrepancies are a thing of the past as keen-eyed arbitragers quickly leap on to any mismatches, bringing all odds worldwide quickly into alignment.

Doug Hannan, Mount Maunganui.

Station parking

Auckland Transport says extra parking at Orakei does not fit AT’s policy of “increasing capacity at the edges of the network”, ie Silverdale and Westgate. Surely if they really want to reduce vehicle numbers, park and ride capacity should be increased along the length of the southern and western rail and northern bus routes. This can be done relatively cheaply, and quickly, by using airspace for parking buildings over rail and road corridors, and number plate recognition to restrict the use of those buildings to registered locals. The NZ Transport Agency already has the basic IT in place for toll roads.

Derek Paterson, Sunnyhills.

Brash on Key

Don Brash writes eloquently on the theme, “Why I would have made a much better PM than John Key”. Wall Street’s rampant rogue capitalism dragged New Zealand’s economy into a global financial crisis. Key understood predatory markets from the inside, and was able to nurse us through some perilous times. Key worked with the Ma¯ ori Party, whereas Brash is in favour of obliterating Ma¯ ori as an ethnicity. For eight years we had Key’s well managed (if imperfect) pragmatism instead of some dogmatic ideology, fortunately.

Arch Thomson, Mt Wellington.

Money shuffler

I entirely agree with Don Brash on the National Government under John Key during the past decade. It always seemed to me Key governed for the upper income groups and his development cronies and epitomised the “trickle down theory” of economics, which actually means “pissing on the poor” for the majority. I always called him the “grinning money shuffler” because he shuffled other people’s money when in the finance industry and then he shuffled Kiwis’ taxes to help a selected few.

The teachers, nurses and other essential groups were ignored and New Zealand will now pay for his selected largesse. I don’t think of him as being corrupt but Key does demonstrate that a successful rich man can achieve power at the highest level if he wants to. But often that is their only intention.

David H. B. Speary, Northcote.

Planting forests

Ferocious fires caused by climate change (drought, heat) are occurring in Europe, the Arctic and proving unstoppable in California. Despite similar weather being forecast here for the near future, Shane Jones is planning new forests to alleviate unemployment. Such a development could end up in a Californian type disaster.

A much better employment scheme would be to take advantage of the future warming and develop suitable orchards for the growing fruit demand, and improve the infrastructure to cater for a rising number of tourists. Advice could be sought from the New Zealand firefighters presently helping fight the Californian fires as to the advisability of planting further forests in New Zealand.

Basil Young, R.D. Tauranga.

Talking economy down

It is accepted that Opposition parties will use all avenues of criticism to discredit the Government. However that criticism should be tempered with the knowledge that certain criticisms continually voiced can be detrimental to the country as a whole. Their doom and gloom portrayal of the economy and business confidence is in that category. After a time this criticism becomes propaganda and then, in the mind of many, fact and they act accordingly.

Recessions can be accelerated by perception rather than fact and should the Opposition continue their attacks, right or wrong, they could cause irreparable harm. Political gain should not be at any price.

Reg Dempster, Albany.

Dog may bark

President Trump has called former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman a “dog”, an offensive statement that has no substance. He should however remember “a dog’s bark is worse than its bite”, or in this case their audio recordings.

It is worth examining the characteristics of a dog to see what he may have meant. Most dogs are incredibly loyal, dedicated and loving. Farm dogs will work all day for you for just food, water and an occasional pat. Guard dogs will protect your property and maybe secrets without hesitation. Guide dogs will lead you to safety. There are however some dogs that will turn on their owners and the results can be tragic. The lesson in life is a simple, familiar one, “If you haven’t got something nice to say, don’t say anything”. Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne.

Foreign buyers

New Zealand has banned foreigners from buying houses, what a wise move. The world is sick of the rich stockpiling a property portfolio. London has thousands of empty houses owned by the super rich and we have a housing shortage. The Kiwis got it right with the women’s vote, now they have it right about who can own houses in their country.

S. T. Vaughan, Birmingham.