Building a sustainable economy

Simon Wilson ( NZ Herald, May 5) is spot on. The main lesson of the Covid-19 pandemic is to realise the colossal failure of neoliberalism. Instead of well-being for all, unregulated markets have produced obscene wealth for a few at the expense of everybody else and the entire planet. Critically, governments the world over have waved this through.

The virus could be our “aha!” moment. Governments are not the problem, they are the solution. Or should be. The solution is to change the way humans relate to nature. The Government’s economic recovery plan to fast-track resource consents under the RMA does not signal such a change at all and is potentially counter-productive.

A sustainable economy must be built on environmental bottom-lines, not in competition with them. It is hard to deny that bypassing the RMA will help to boost economic recovery, but this is still following neoliberal logic. Can we please have a signal from Government how it will plan for a sustainable economy? Here is a hint: the RMA can be strengthened and simplified to help creating a socialecological market system. The question is whether Government actually wants it.

Klaus Bosselmann, Waiheke Island.

A betterment

Our Government has done an amazing job keeping this country together and bringing us through a difficult pandemic that has severely challenged other countries.

There is no other country I would feel as safe in and I truly thank them all for that, especially our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

She is now considering widening the “bubble” next week and I hope she would be considering also small business owners who have probably taken the brunt of this destructive virus. They have watched as big business booms while they scrape together their confidence and their ability to maintain their staff.

I would also hope Jacinda has read Simon Wilson’s article ( NZ Herald, May 5) where he has once again used excellent research on our future and how we should go about making these important changes for the betterment of society.

Emma Mackintosh, Birkenhead.

Wealth creators

It is a pity that Simon Wilson wrote his piece ( NZ Herald, May 5) crowing about the demise of neoliberalism, before reading Roger Douglas’s thoughtful essay on the Government’s role in not only recovering from this current crisis but addressing the issues that have bedevilled this country for the past several generations.

What Covid-19 demonstrates is that, while it is a legitimate role for government to step in to offer support for individuals and selectively for businesses impacted by this unprecedented crisis, what the wealth creators want more than anything else is for the Government to get out of their way and for them not to mortgage their children’s future through squandering their money on unnecessary projects and undeserved subsidies.

M A Pollock, Mt Eden.

Sustainable future

As ministers make final decisions on shovel-ready infrastructure projects, I hope their focus is on creating a more resilient, sustainable future for all New Zealanders.

Our people and environment should be at the centre of our country’s recovery approach — to create green jobs that pull New Zealanders out of poverty, enable workers in polluting industries to transition into low-carbon jobs, and build infrastructure to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis.

Erica Finnie, Mt Eden.

Without lockdown

Those calling impatiently for an immediate end to level 3 restrictions should consider our journey over the past nine weeks, and how much worse it could have been.

Our first confirmed Covid-19 case was on Friday, February 28. Although we only had five cases by the end of week two, things rapidly ramped up, with 23 cases in week 3, 255 in week four and 514 and the first death in week five. The lockdown began to kick in and the daily increase flat-lined at first then came down rapidly, with a weekly total of 442 in week six, followed by 162, then 50, and 25 in the week ending April 30.

If cases had continued the pattern of the fourth week, doubling every seven days like Italy, we would have had 8224 cases in week nine (ending on April 30) and a grand total of 16,217 new cases. Allowing for 5000 to 6000 recoveries, that would leave us with over 10,000 active cases versus the 235 we actually had. Our medical system would have been overwhelmed and the death toll would have been much greater. Seeing the plan through is a no-brainer.

Graeme Easte, Mt Albert.

Island bubble

The Cook Islands are proven to be Covid19 free, having obtained negative swabs on fully 10 per cent of the population — a remarkable feat.

The nation enjoys this status along with many Pacific Island countries (the notable exceptions being Tahiti, Fiji, New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea).

Any early easing of travel should therefore logically include selected islands. Their overall health depends on the economy which depends on tourism, approximately 70 per cent of GDP.

Rarotonga could be considered a domestic destination. All Cook Islanders are NZ citizens and use NZ currency. In these difficult times, they would appreciate some more of it.

Dr John Dunn, visiting surgeon,

Rarotonga Hospital

Crimson contagion

Before pointing at the red flag flying over Beijing to blame for its shocking lack of pandemic preparedness, the United States should look first at the huge red flags raised by “Crimson Contagion”, the comprehensive anti-flu virus pandemic exercise which the US itself ran just months before Covid-19 hit America’s shores, and which accurately forecast every single fatal deficiency that the real event has exposed.

M Evans, Tamaki.

Catch 22

There is no guarantee there will ever be a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. We don’t have vaccines for HIV, the dengue virus, the common cold, or most flu.

If a vaccine for Covid-19 becomes available, how will the government get us to take it, especially if the virus has been eradicated from the country?

With every man and his dog working on a vaccine, there may be multiple versions available and very little data about efficacy, especially in light of virus mutations and strains. It will be sensible to wait as long as possible before deciding which vaccine to take.

I will be delaying my dose until either I need to travel overseas or the disease breaks out here. That’s not being anti-vax, that’s just being wise. We won’t be able to open the borders until most people are vaccinated. But most people won’t vaccinate until the borders are open. Catch-22.

The consequences of our eradication strategy are that we may not be able to open our borders whether or not a vaccine becomes available.

Tony Cooper, Mt Albert.

Little transparency

Rates and the efficacy with how they are spent have not been helped by the Local Government Act.

Launched with heady promises of controlling wage growth and producing co-ordinated planning, it has failed miserably on the first count and on the second it is hard to judge. This is because the appointed-director structure of CCOs and the requirement for council to act at arm’s length provides for little transparency.

This Act needs to be put up for review. At the very least, the books should be opened up so ratepayers can see how their rates are being spent and decisions made. This is the way public assets are managed in a democracy.

Neal McCarthy, Auckland Central.

Civic disconnect

The Auckland mayor and councillors seem to have very little concern for the misery and hardship of their ratepayers.

There is a disconnection between the councillors, administrators and those who pay their salaries and stipends. The ratepayers seem to be sheep who are just there to be fleeced. It seems also there is no politician who wants, and is prepared, to help and stand up for us.

David de Lacey, Remuera.