Rangers now like functionaries in police state

VUW name change It’s male violence AA responds Strike bonus

I’m just back from camping in Abel Tasman National Park and it is as wonderful as ever. However, I am concerned about the new pricing regime whereby tourists pay double. Even the toddlers of tourists are charged the full adult price, whilst Kiwi kids are free.

Kiwi visitors have to produce ID to ensure they are not tourists trying to evade the double charging. Those who cannot produce ID can be charged at tourist rates plus a $50 administration fee. Spare a thought for the park rangers now required to behave like functionaries in a police state.

Mountain-bikers are spreading their tentacles through the parks and can zoom through the Heaphy Track in one day, causing track damage and not paying a cent. Both they and their bikes should incur a charge.

If the Conservation Department is keen to increase revenue, why not adopt the Canadian practice where there is a standard daily park entrance fee plus extra for using camps or huts. Perhaps an annual pass might work better for regular visitors.

Whatever system is used, it should be seen as fair and remove the current stress from the park rangers.

John Whitty, Aro Valley

Derogatory views

This letter is in no way to question the freedom of the press to report, to write columns, or to offer opinions.

This letter is to voice the concern of the Niuean community in New Zealand and in Niue over the total lack of facts reported by Dave Armstrong and his derogatory description of the Niuean soldiers who went to World War 1( Why we need to speak the truth to our friends, Nov 27).

I will not dwell on the untrue nature of his opinion about schoolchildren waving Chinese flags because there is no such thing, and the ungrateful Niueans.

However, what really was hurtful and insulting to us Niueans is his description of the Niue soldiers – ‘‘We sent Niuean troops to World War I where most of the poor buggers died of cold before they reached the battlefield.’’

Armstrong and The Dominion Post certainly lack cultural sensitivity in making such remarks about the Niuean soldiers, who sacrificed their lives joining the war in answering the call by New Zealnd for help from its colonies.

Fisa Pihigia, High Commissioner for Niue to NZ Contrary to the claim of VUW’s vice-chancellor that ‘‘a vocal few have threatened legal action’’ over the proposed name change, a petition by over 2000 has asked Parliament to make legal action unnecessary. Many signatories are graduates of VUW.

Last Wednesday, VUW’s counsel, Victoria Casey, QC, told Parliament’s education select committee this petition should not proceed. She said it should be left to ‘‘bread and butter’’ litigation in public courts.

I believe the ‘‘litigation’’ the minister has mentioned is a fear of litigation by VUW, not its members.

I (and others challenging VUW’s proposal) have heard from hundreds of alumni. Thousands have signed petitions or made submissions to VUW to oppose the University Council’s plan. The ‘‘increased engagement’’ claimed by VUW is this substantial opposition.

The ‘‘vocal few’’ are the council and its small band of supporters who wish to gamble a reputation built up over 120 years on a marketing plan they hope will attract more overseas students (mainly to get their fee money). It is opposed by VUW’s overseas student associations.

Mortar boards off to Kirsty Gunn – her article, Words matter (Dec 11), speaks for the great majority of members of VUW. I fear she may be at the head of a de-capping procession if sense does not prevail soon.

Hugh Rennie, QC, Wellington Thank you, Tom Scott, for your cartoon message (Dec 12), ‘‘We need men to suppress and address their baser instincts and capacity for violent rage’’. At last someone in the media is naming the problem for what it is.

For several decades, the language used for this problem has been ‘‘family violence’’, or ‘‘domestic violence’’. That neutral language has rendered invisible the perpetrators of most violence in our society.

The lunacy of this language was illustrated in a TV news report on Tuesday that referred to the murders of Grace Millane and an Auckland woman the night before as ‘‘domestic The Dominion Post is subject to the NZ Media Council. Complaints must be directed to editor@dompost .co.nz. If the complainant is unsatisfied with the response, the complaint may be referred to the Media Council, PO Box 10-879, Wellington, 6143 or info@media council.org.nz. Further details at presscouncil.org.nz Email: letters@ dompost.co.nz No attachments. Write: Letters to the Editor, PO Box 1297, Wellington, 6040. Letters must include the writer’s full name, home address and daytime phone number. Letters should not exceed 200 words and must be exclusive. Letters may be edited for clarity and length. violence’’. There was nothing ‘‘domestic’’ about the murder of Grace. Both she and the Auckland woman were victims of male violence.

If a problem is to be addressed, it first has to be named. Scott has named it, and all the government agencies and NGOs attempting to deal with the issue need to do the same.

Jill Abigail, Otaki

Shame on us

My heartfelt condolences to the Millane family following the murder of their beloved girl and no disrespect to her or them.

But where is the outpouring of grief and shame by our media and nation when our children and women are dying at one of the most alarming rates in the OECD? Where are the vigils for every woman and child killed at the hands of a ‘‘loved one’’?

Shame on us, New Zealand, for not acknowledging and fighting daily against the national tragedy that is domestic violence. Shame on the media for sensationally reporting one murder over so many others.

RIP Grace. RIP all our murdered babies and women. Helen Thompson, Waikanae

Protect everyone

We all regret and deplore the murder of a visitor to our country. However, we should not be carried away by the guilt and shame expressed by our prime minister, who, strangely, related the murder of this tourist to domestic violence.

Her Tony Blair-like apology is meaningless; it was based on a false, 100 per cent pure notion of New Zealand as a country that ought to have protected every backpacker, but could never have done so.

Murder is rare in New Zealand, and that of tourists is even more unusual. But we do have a huge issue with domestic violence, suicides and mental illness, all of which have never been confronted by any administration in living memory.

So far, in the UK this year, 736 homicides were recorded, among a population of about 66 million. There were 48 homicides in New Zealand in 2017, from its population of 4.8m. So the stats hint that Kiwis may be marginally more peaceful than Brits.

New Zealand is a relatively calm country. Its people do not need politicians trying to make them feel ashamed about a headline-grabbing murder. It is every politician’s primary duty to protect everyone in New Zealand, including tourists.

The people who run this country would be better employed in confronting the anti-social issues which they have ignored for decades.

Brian Mackie, Napier On December 7, a letter to the editor was published which stated, ‘‘Some businesses buy a membership list from an organisation such as the AA’’.

The AA takes the privacy and security of its members’ details seriously and does not sell their details to external parties.

NZ Automobile Association A three-day Christmas strike by Air New Zealand engineers would be far better than a singleday strike . . . for the planet. In fact, why not make these three days every year – a bonus for our escalating emissions tally. Santa could give no better present for our over-heating Earth.

Rob Buchanan, Kerikeri