Tourist tax needs to hit rich more Youth suicide Brexit vote

The proposed $35 tourist tax is unfair and far too small.

It is unfair because wealthy owners of superyachts pay the same as poor backpackers on an OE. It is too small because $35 nowhere near covers the expense of even the most simple needs such as toilets and a place to park.

What we need is to cut income tax to 20 per cent and make up the loss by increasing GST to 20 per cent. A 5 per cent increase in GST would net something like $160 from the average tourist, hitting the rich hard and leaving the poor unharmed.

From the 3.7 million annual, international visitors, we would net $160 million. That is twice the $80m expected from the $35 tax. With $160m we could actually make New Zealand touristfriendly without punishing the poor.

John Caldwell, Howick.

I write in response to Robyn Jackson (Youth suicide shame). If there was a connection between bills such as the End of Life Choice Bill and youth suicide, that would be a critical problem.

If, on the other hand, people are cynically exploiting the tragedy of youth suicide to buttress their support of the bill, then their behaviour is despicable.

The good and the bad news here is that youth suicide and legalised assisted dying are not connected. The claim was dismissed after some debate in a 2017 health select committee report.

Indeed, Belgium and the Netherlands, where assisted dying is legal, both have dramatically lower, and falling, youth suicide rates in comparison with NZ.

In my view, those who try to exploit youth suicide to buttress their opposition to my private member’s bill are the lowest of the low. If they truly cared they would do research before making bold claims on such a sensitive topic.

David Seymour, Act leader.

Assisted dying

Just as many climate deniers find it convenient to confuse weather with climate, Robyn Jackson conflates youth suicide and voluntary euthanasia.

In the former case a young person is in an acute mental crisis from which there is at least the possibility of rescue and recovery, given professional help, after which a long life could beckon.

In the latter case the cause is physical rather than psychological; death is inevitable, there is no light at the end of the tunnel, the motive simply being to avoid the suffering before that death.

This is not rocket science, it just requires an open mind and compassion.

Martin Hanson, Richmond.

Fixing Auckland

Simon Wilson’s enthusiasm for fixing Auckland is admirable. But his fixation on 19th century urbanism, promotion of Jane Jacobs’ 60-year-old ideas, and myopic focus on the city centre are misguided.

The 21st century agenda for Auckland — and for any city for that matter — is about the climate crisis and sheer survival, not about streets full of happy workers, shoppers and strollers eager for encounters and surprises. Nature will soon give us more surprises than we ever wanted. Intelligent and responsible local governments worldwide are investing in resilient infrastructure across their entire metropolitan area, rather than stuffing the downtown with more art galleries, sidewalks and cafes.

Wilson is right to call for audacious and visionary civic leadership. In the face of accelerating global heating and associated economic and political instability, we need it more than ever.

Dr Dushko Bogunovich, Pt Chevalier.

Party pills testing

Your correspondent N. Larkin stated that: “There is enough publicity and talk on the street surely to forewarn [users of party pills] of [their] dangerous aspect . . . ”

There is already endless publicity about the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, reckless driving, swimming in rough waters, overeating and so on. Yet people still do those things, often with fatal consequences.

Better to test party pills and minimise the harm if at all possible.

Norm Murray, Browns Bay.

Robert Patman fails to understand the reason for the Brexit vote. He also thinks that 3.8 per cent is a small margin.

Brexit was popular because the EU functions the same as Fonterra, with an ineffectual board and a management that has captured the organisation and consequently overpays itself.

The EU also wildly micromanages trivia in everyday life, extending to such things as vacuum cleaners, etc.

Robert Patman’s enthusiasm for a New World Order is misguided and patronising. Things will get better.

Neville Cameron, Coromandel.

Dog bylaw

Councillor Linda Cooper’s piece on the planned changes for the Auckland dog bylaw fit the current council narrative perfectly. It didn’t reveal the planned changes in both key areas will be taking the minority rule and applying it to the majority.

The proposal to change the default rule to be “on leash” regionwide is a rule in

10 of the 21 local board areas. It is a rule in the central city and smallest local board areas which are the minority by a large margin geographically speaking.

Her statement that the proposed time and date rule of 10am to 7pm will “more closely reflect the times and season that is already being used across most parts of Auckland” is incorrect.

The proposed change to 7pm will mean the majority group of 65 beaches and parks from which dogs will be prohibited, and that currently have restriction times ending before 7pm, will be affected negatively, whereas those local board areas that currently have the 7pm rule, or close to it, have only 36 parks and beaches.

The change to 7pm will mean that of the 23 weeks of restrictions, only eight will give dog owners more than an hour and a half to walk their dog before sunset in affected areas. During March they will only have an average of 38 minutes.

For those of us who do our best to be responsible dog owners by regularly exercising and socalising our dogs while adhering to the rules, these changes will mean we get less opportunity to include our dogs in family beach life which is what makes summer fun for so many of us, including our dogs.

Claire Teirney, Stanmore Bay.

Return to work

Victoria University’s Dr Dougal Sutherland, a clinical psychologist, reportedly states that, to avoid “the returnto-work blues”, workers should consider reducing their hours of work at first, and taking the occasional long weekend.

Does he really think the workforce can call in to work with the message “I will be in to work at 10am today and will finish at 3pm”? It shows how out of touch with reality he is. What may well be possible for him is certainly not the reality for most who return to work this week.

Bruce B Owen, Bombay.

Motorsport coverage

I live in Melbourne. I don’t attend speedway racing there — I prefer to come to Auckland when I can to take in some of the world-class events in the New Year week. Last Thursday’s midget event was world-class, man and machine head to head. At a world-class venue.

I have some cred in motorsport journalism and ventured to my mate that it would be interesting to see what the Herald would make of it.

“No bat, no ball, no go,” he responded. We bet $5. He won. Not a word. New Zealand has one of the highest interest/participation rates in motorsport per head of population in the world and international champions such as Scott Dixon, Mark McLauchlin and Brendon Hartley, yet general media that apparently doesn’t care.

I specifically came over last week because of the ongoing drama threatening to turn Western Springs into a bat and ball park. Luckily, I hear council skulduggery may result in a reprieve. You have a world-class venue 10 minutes from the city, please don’t destroy it because a bunch of councillors are into bat and ball.

Finally, I have a second bet — to do with whether this letter will make it on to the pages. I’d like to get my $5 back.

Chris Lambden, Melbourne.

Attacks on ambulance officers

The Herald’s lead story of January 4, “Under Siege”, is a sad indictment on today’s society, but it should not come as a surprise that another social boundary has been breached and ambulance officers are now fair game.

How far do we have to sink before we collectively say enough is enough and hold the miscreants truly accountable?

Derek Parrott, Mangawhai.