A capital gains tax or cargo cult?

The renewed calls for a capital gains tax resemble a cargo cult. In reality, capital is a shy game. Give it a whiff of a capital gains tax, and much of it will move overseas to greener pastures.

As we just have seen, our businesses are already undercapitalised, and this would only aggravate an already catastrophic situation: A low-capital economy is also a low-wage economy.

The average workplace in Germany costs at least twice as much as here, resulting in twice the productivity. This is why workers there get twice the wage compared to New Zealand.

Neither would a capital gains tax lead to lower house prices because these are driven by an inefficient building industry and high land cost. The return on domestic rentals is only a dismal 3 per cent. Reduce capital gains through a tax, and rents will rise to make up for it.

The proponents of a capital gains tax are probably those who would not have to pay it. Nevertheless, they would be hit by the economic fallout that comes with it.

K. H. Peter Kammler, Warkworth.

River diverted

One of the great conservation wins for New Zealand was the saving of Lake Manapouri. However, a casualty of this “win” has been the once-mighty Waiau River, which has had its flow drastically reduced and moreover the voice of community groups struggles to be heard.

The Government currently has a Draft National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, stating “Te Mana o te Wai is the fundamental concept that we use to manage freshwater in New Zealand. Our rivers and lakes, and how we care for and use them, are a fundamental part of who we are.”

However, this document excludes any discussion on the condition and use of the Waiau River and other hydro rivers. If this draft is accepted then input into the management of the Waiau River and “how we care” for it, will be off-limits for another 50 years.

Concerns can be voiced through a petition by the Waiau Rivercare Group to Parliament. Currently it might appear that the Waiau River is being sent to Siberia for the second time and, to date, the Green Party appears to have been singularly quiet.

Dr W. R. H. Ramsay, Kerikeri.

Muller’s messages

What a gentle, kindly worded article Claire Trevett wrote ( NZ Herald, June 15) on behalf of want-to-be prime minister Todd Muller. What is concerning about this article though is the power of the pen to slip over questioning behaviours and comments made at the time.

Muller has a way to go to deliver a confident, persuasive argument on behalf of the National Party. He confesses his Catholic upbringing and its power (control?) on the way he thinks, which is something everyone, especially women, should ponder. His religion is against abortion; against contraception if he follows his church’s ruling; and against euthanasia.

He also said, quite brazenly, that the Labour Party did not know how to handle the economy, not like National could, because it was “in National’s genes”.

It reminds me of my mother-in-law who stated: there are “those who rule and those who don’t” in the 1970s. She would have loved Muller, not sure our scientists would agree with his reasoning.

Emma Mackintosh, Birkenhead.

Limited space

There is one important reality with the subject of “space for alternative transport modes” that is obviously not understood by advocate after advocate, telling us how wonderful it would be to have more pedestrian space, more cycle-lane space, trams down the middle of the road, etc.

The UN Habitat Program published a comprehensive report in 2013; Streets as Public Spaces and Drivers of Urban Prosperity which analysed thousands of cities comparative percentage of surface area dedicated to street space. The volume of this space varies from around 12 per cent, to around 35 per cent. Obviously the more there is, the more there is to “go around” the different modes.

Auckland gets several paragraphs of discussion in this paper because it is an outlier on the low side, in the “first world” — being comparable to chaotic and unplanned third world cities, and to old Communist cities where no-one owned cars at all.

The data strongly suggests high-density building “up” is helped by an abundance of street space; it is cities like New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Amsterdam that have a lot of it — two or even three times as much as Auckland.

Philip G Hayward, Naenae.

Removal justified

Those who object to the removal or defacement of statues claim that they should stay because they reflect our history. The men (are there any women?) depicted are indeed historical figures, but the key point is, they are not presented in a historical context. They are presented as heroes that we should look up to (literally) and honour.

Yes, they need to be remembered and their stories need to be told, but in history books and museums, not on plinths in town squares. The statues affected are of brutal men whose beliefs and practices caused widespread death and suffering. Removing them now is a sign that we have learned and changed. We have moved to a more enlightened era of understanding, and we now reject those past practices.

The best equivalence I can think of is the example of Germany. A statue of Hitler would be thoroughly offensive, as were statues of Stalin in Russia. I think few people, Westerners or Russians, would consider destruction of statues of Stalin to be “denial of history”. We would see the destruction for what it is — recognition that cruel leaders such as Stalin are not the sort of people we choose to honour and respect.

Susan Grimsdell, Auckland Central.

CCO audit

One of the main objectives of the current Auckland Council CCO review is to establish how effective and efficient the CCO model is.

Without a competitor with which to compare performance, there is a primary need for each CCO to be audited from the top down by a team of relevantly skilled and independent management specialists. These people would assess staff levels, methods, and measure how efficiently resources are utilised.

Once performance standards are determined, only then will it be possible to report on how effectively and efficiently ratepayer dollars are applied. That these figures are not readily available suggests that what is commonplace and an important management tool in the private sector needs to be urgently adopted by the council.

Neal McCarthy, Auckland Central.

Erratic driving

Matt Heath ( NZ Herald, June 15) on the subject of dobbing in a possible drunk driver was pertinent. It also reminded me of those days when I was an “ambo”; it wasn’t uncommon to attend accidents in which the “drunk driver” turned out to be a diabetic in a hypoglycaemic state.

Still, a very good reason for an erratic driver to be dobbed in — that person needs help as soon as possible, but not necessarily for what you think.

“Everything we see is a perspective, not necessarily the truth” Marcus Aurelius (121 — 180 AD).

B Watkin, Devonport.

Considered lawmaking

Alan Jenner ( NZ Herald, June 12) will be less able to scaremonger about assisted dying once the Government launches its planned information campaign in July.

People who have previously (somehow, miraculously) escaped the knowledge that the legislation was crafted and passed by standard parliamentary process over a period of three years with ample opportunities for public intervention during that time, will learn something about our Westminster system.

It invites consultation but if you miss your opportunity or if you can’t convince the majority of MPs of your point of view, don’t expect legislation to be retrospectively undone. The End of Life Choice Act 2019 has now been enacted by the Governor-General. We will vote Yes or No on what stands at www. referendums.govt.nz.

Any subsequent amendment will have to go through the entire process again. That’s the way we make law in NZ, though it may be different in the other countries referred to.

Ann David, Waikanae.