Taking on UFB work backfires
I refer to your article on Tuesday, “Chorus workers breaching labour laws”. Our small family subcontracting unit was involved from the outset in the UFB roll-out in Auckland and Hamilton. Be careful in apportioning blame to the subbies. Sure there were some who exploited the situation but most found the rates on offer were insufficient to enable the required compliance, hence the shortcuts.
Even the big companies struggled. One of the largest subcontracted to Chorus invited our unit to join their team based on skill and work quality. They paid rates they thought were necessary to achieve the required compliance and after two years they advised us of their withdrawal, having incurred a $10 million loss.
As a result we incurred a huge loss, having established two additional units to accommodate the work available, and eventually withdrew, the rates under the alternative company being insufficient to achieve the same result.
I blame either a poorly set budget or greed at the top. Maybe more care should have been taken before the roll-out. I will watch with interest as the roll-out hits the regions, as few Kiwi subbies remain.
Warwick Jones, Taumarunui.
Shonky work
The treatment of workers employed to install UFB connections needs to be corrected. There also needs to be a review of the standard of completed work. Some shortcuts are being taken, making some installations vulnerable to damage and failure. We are heading into a situation akin to leaky buildings. There needs to be better supervision by Chorus.
Selwyn Irwin, RD Hikurangi.
Trams will worsen traffic
For 12 years I have driven from Lynfield to Remuera two or three times weekly in morning rush hour traffic and have tried all the north-south streets, finding my only way to avoid gridlock was to use Dominion Rd for a large part of the journey. Restricting car traffic from Dominion Rd by building tram lines will dramatically aggravate traffic on other streets into the city, creating gridlock that trams are supposed to prevent. Double decker buses on Dominion Rd yes, a fast train from Puhinui to the airport yes, incredibly expensive trams no.
Ron Baker, Lynfield.
Plain dumb
As a North Shore resident with a busway that works wonderfully into the city; the proposed light rail to the airport via Dominion Rd looks plain dumb. The last thing that road needs is more traffic, whether bus, rail or car.
The idea of multiple containers to shift lots of people is okay in theory but when there are constant stumbling blocks such as other traffic breakdowns and locals glaring at travellers with their large bags and backpacks, it’s time to do a rethink. Do not make the mistakes of old.
Reg Dempster, Albany.
State petrol supplier
In the early 2000s another industry was gouging consumers. The then government decided to sort this out and established Kiwibank. The banking industry is now settled and operating well. So establishing Kiwi Oil, a public-sector retail company, would probably bring some fuel-market stability. Any legislation or arming of the Commerce Commission will be superficial and ineffective. All critical infrastructure industries must have a public-sector player.
Shobana Dawson, Highland Park.
Supply and demand
Why are we making a fuss about petrol prices when it's a simple supply-demand situation? Supply-demand was used by the real estate industry to artificially lift prices by enormous amounts and nobody blinked. The then government did not react and in fact encouraged it, inspiring a comment by John Key when asked about the economy a few years ago, “buy houses”. Somehow we accepted paying hundreds of thousands of dollars more than we should (and could) and adversely affecting the economy and the future of our children, but now we have a problem with a few extra cents for petrol.
Isabel Lagerfield, St Johns.
Paying for Auckland
The article “Bridges urges petrol tax reversal” fails to address the elephant in the room, the Auckland fuel tax. It is clear this tax has been spread across the whole country and those not living in Auckland are sending $12.5 million a month to Goff’s slush fund. This rort needs to be dealt with before anything else is done to reduce fuel costs. Those outside Auckland have no wish to fund your roads.
Geoffrey Horne, Wellington.
Too quiet
Where is the Opposition? I don't mean opposition to higher living costs or immigration, but the Opposition, aka the National Party? I'm no fan of Helen Clark or Labour but when in opposition her face and voice were in the media as much as the PM's. Whatever the governing National-led coalition implied, said, proposed or implemented, she criticised and told us how foolish it was. We are getting mostly silence from National.
Colleen S. Gibson, RD Te Puke.
Sonny Bill Williams
Your correspondent Neil Hatfull is right, Sonny Bill Williams is over-rated and past his use-by date. He was once a fairly good league player but has always been too slow as a midfield back for the All Blacks. Slow to accelerate, he stands flat on attack and is therefore easily tackled, relying on offloads which are seldom effective. Slow to turn, he often fails to nail his opposite. Surprisingly delicate, he is often injured or sick. Slow to understand the rules of rugby, he is too often sin-binned or penalised for off-side.
His generally mediocre performance fails to justify his enormous contract fee while, I guess, NZR continue to hope for a better return on investment. Surely the ABs can do better than this.
Barry Nesdale, Bethlehem.
Fleecing agenda
It is great news that our Prime Minister is so concerned over alleged fleecing by fuel companies, something the general public has known for years. She intends to fast track a proposed change to the Commerce Act to allow the Commerce Commission to undertake market studies (whatever that entails)?
When the commission has finished with the petrol companies, perhaps Jacinda and the commission can investigate why milk and butter are so expensive. Then look into the cost of construction and building materials. And if time permits before the Christmas break, confirm why council rates and building compliance (consents) rise unchecked.
Rob Boston, Glenfield.
Wharf extensions
From the bullying article by Kevin O’Sullivan of the NZ Cruise Association on Tuesday can I expect to see Bar Harbour, Maine (20 minutes by tender), Kotor (similar), Santorini, Nosy Be (Madagascar) and many Pacific Island destinations, which are all tender ports of call, being dropped from the itineraries of cruise ships? I don’t think so. Auckland, a mere five minutes in calm harbour water, is easy compared to some other ports where cruise ships have to tie up at commercial wharves too dangerous to walk through, requiring a shuttle ride of 5km to the main part of the city.
That said, the Auckland Council and Ports of Auckland have to stop procrastinating and speed up the process and design put forward by Julie Stout a few days earlier, even if it means a publicprivate process to get the necessary funding. Fiona Downes, Hobsonville.
Atmospheric molecules
Monday’s lead letter from eight professors backing climate change and dire consequences if the world does nothing to try and control atmospheric carbon, requires comment. Carbon dioxide at this point in time sits at 0.000400, that is approximately 400ppm, methane sits at 0.0000018, 1.8ppm, nitrous oxide 0.0000003, that is one third of 1ppm. This is in one molecule of atmosphere. The concentrations are very, very small.
Nitrogen is at 78 per cent, oxygen at 21 per cent, leaving 1 per cent for the other atmospheric gases, of which the carbon factor makes up 0.000402ppm.
I read that nitrous oxide has increased by 60 per cent since the industrial revolution, so in 200 years it increased from one fifth of 1ppm to one third of 1ppm. This will cause catastrophic climate change? Methane ignites easily, it has a short life, very short when it burns.
Cattle are said to be destructors of the planet because they burp methane. How insane is that? It is a natural process, the carbon cycle involving photosynthesis. How else does carbon get returned to the atmosphere? John Glasson, Helensville.