Council model flawed

A council organisation is like an hour glass. At the centre is the CEO — he/she is the only person at this centre point.

Below this centre point are all the council employees who eventually report to the CEO. The CEO is the only council employee who reports to elected councillors. There should not be any direct communication between the council staff and elected councillors.

Above the centre point are the elected councillors whose only communication with council staff is through the CEO. There is no other means for elected councillors to communicate with council staff.

Can you think of a worse communication model?

Council-owned organisations like Watercare and Auckland Transport who spend hundreds of millions of dollars used to report to the Regional Council. I do not think that they now report to the elected councillors so I presume they report to council employees.

David Bentham, Waiheke Island.

Boris supported Park

While we debate the merits of Boris Johnson’s appointment as the British PM, it is worth remembering the part he played in recognising New Zealander Sir Keith Park as the defender of London during the Battle of Britain. Sir Keith, along with the head of Fighter Command, Sir Hugh Dowding, were both unceremoniously sacked after winning the battle, thus preventing a Nazi German invasion of the UK. As Mayor of London, Boris Johnson was a major supporter of the placing of a statue of Sir Keith, firstly on the Fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square and later permanently in Waterloo Place.

Gary Bridger, Greenlane.

Bridges can’t take a trick

Poor Simon Bridges. The cachet of pregnancy in office was always unattainable for him. He was never going to cut it in a hijab, or feature on the glossy pages of Vogue. Nor has he embraced the transition from the handshake to the hugs and kisses with strangers in public.

Retention of a fair dinkum Kiwi accent, in spite of an academic stint at Oxford, hasn’t rendered him halos for sincerity or authenticity, but derision instead.

His skill set — eg intellectual prowess or formidable forensic parliamentary questioning ability — seems inconsequential for a career in showbiz.

He leads a party deemed in imminent peril of a popularity plunge to a mere 1 per cent greater than Labour’s on election night, and appears personally doomed to languish in the preferred PM stakes only slightly above our Acting PM, Winston Peters. Jane Livingstone, Remuera.

Attack ad in poor taste

Mocking and ridiculing any person is not the way to have a debate or get one’s point across as with the attack on Simon Bridges’ accent. Comedy, name calling and satire draws a fine line between fun and hurt on one’s attributes. There are many other ways of highlighting the nine years of inaction by the National party but ridicule and personal attacks should not be included. I applaud Bridges for taking it in good fun but even to a left party supporter like myself, an attack such as this was in very poor taste. Good on the Greens for taking it down, but whoever authorised it in the first place should be sternly disciplined. It did nothing to enhance the mana of the Green Party!

Marie Kaire, Whangarei.

Gun register won’t work

Your correspondent Graeme Easte is incorrect when he states that most gun deaths and injuries are caused by lawabiding firearms owners.

If you cause a death or an injury through careless use of a firearm, you are not law-abiding, whether you hold a firearms licence or not.

He also fails to realise that police already have powers under existing legislation to search for and seize firearms if a breach of the Arms Act is suspected.

There’s no need for a register to confirm if a firearm is not in someone’s lawful possession. The end result will simply be a list of firearms held by people who obey the law.

Police focus should instead be on investigation of criminals who knowingly possess guns illegally, use them to commit crimes, and would never register them anyway. It is quixotic to assert that a reduction in firearms-related offending will come about if compulsory registration is instigated. Brian Cotton, Auckland.

Brain over brawn

Missive from a “scone-baking, bookreading, white-haired, old chook” to that lovely, young flippity gibbet Jake Bailey.

We have stronger wrists than you’d expect, probably from chasing errant offspring around the backyard clutching wooden spoons to administer “appropriate” rebukes.

However, if those deceivingly strong wrists are defeated by extremely tight jam-jar lids, we boil a jug of water, put a small amount in a jam dish, immerse rebellious jar, lid down, in the scolding water for 30 seconds to a minute. Lid almost leaps off the jar in a fit of compliance.

As always, love your columns, lovely lad (cheeky devil).

Heather Mackay, Kerikeri.

Reading from the script

It has been interesting this week reading Herald contributors in response to Anne Tolley’s interruption of a young student’s speech to parliament. Included in some of these letters are excellent suggestions on how to go about developing the skills needed.

This interest leaves me wondering about our judiciary. There have been a number of times when television has visited a courtroom and delivered to its wide audience the summing up of a hard and gruelling trial. Often a judge has sat wisely, listened carefully, used eye contact, watched body language to help sum up a verdict and then, when ready to deliver, read it straight from the script. When read like this, it seems to lack authority and helps to distance any responsibility the accused should be feeling over their sometimes horrific crimes. I am wondering if this is done intentionally to distance themselves from the decision, or whether they have so many cases they don’t have time to get the gist of the message?

The skill of speaking confidently to an audience is a skill well worth learning. It’s one of the most useful “bag of tricks” we need to take through life with us.

Emma Mackintosh, Birkenhead.

RMA changes

Glad to hear that the Labour Party has finally come to the realisation that the RMA needs to be changed as being a major impediment to progress and a leading cause of the current housing “crisis” . . . shame they didn’t support National on the three occasions when they proposed changes for the same reasons. Better that it be done this way rather than the special legislation they were proposing where they effectively were going to ride roughshod over the RMA where it conflicted with what they wanted to do.

Tom Burton, Snells Beach.

More to life than money

How wonderfully refreshing to hear the Silver Ferns saying that they play netball for the fun of it and not for money. The true spirit of amateur sport is alive and well. At the same time it is disappointing that Jacinda Ardern has put the hard word on the sponsors who have been loyal through the bad times as well as the good.

Certainly it would be nice to see the team rewarded in some way but there is more to life than money. The sheer joy on the faces of the Ferns said it all.

Michael Dawson, Takapuna.

Buffoon call shameful

Shame on you, Herald. A new Prime Minister is elected in Britain and the best you can do is use the front page to call him a buffoon and your centre pages to raise the old and tired arguments about Brexit. Try reading his speech on taking office that says everything that most Brits want to hear and wish him luck in achieving his objective of restoring democracy in Britain by overcoming those who would disregard its sacred principles for personal gain.

Gerald Payman, Mt Albert.

Stonefields Reserve

Anybody with any understanding of the historical and archaeological issues related to the land adjoining the Otuataua Historic Stonefields Reserve knows the land should not be developed, under any circumstances. History has shown “backroom deals” always backfire. It is long overdue that Jacinda and Phil appointed an independent, professional negotiator to bring this land back into public ownership. End of story.

Bruce Tubb, Belmont.