Treats, not a necessity

It is clear we have learnt little from the past six weeks and our perceptions of what is a necessity and what’s a luxury remain severely thwarted.

The marketing and articles to push us back towards retail and hospitality, and the queues for fast food, have washed over the fact that, for the last six weeks, we have more than survived, our finances have become enriched, and we have undoubtedly become healthier as a result.

Sure, treat yourself; support livelihoods; but the extremes we have encountered this week just prove we yearn for and are willing to spend needlessly on things far more than the term ‘‘treat’’ defines.

That flat-white-with-a-slice-a-day habit is not going to make the body better positioned to cope with an external invasion of stress, virus or otherwise. It isn’t going to create financial stability in tough times. Surely the past six weeks should have helped shape our perception to classify these as a luxury item – not a necessity?

Barry Adams, Christchurch [abridged]

Noticeable absence

I’ve just had a look at the profile of the Wellington City Council executive leadership team as shown on the council website. There is one noticeable absence; there is no City Engineer. The words ‘‘engineer’’ and ‘‘engineering’’ do not appear in any summaries of the responsibilities of eight team members.

So our council does not have a senior executive who is responsible for developing and maintaining our civil and structural engineering infrastructure. Is it any wonder that our civil buildings, water supply, sewage system, drainage system and road system are so riddled with problems?

An experienced and qualified professional engineer should be appointed immediately to sort out the mess of Wellington’s infrastructure. Peter D Graham, Island Bay

Trump on WHO

Thomas Coughlan’s claim that Donald Trump’s actions against China or the WHO might be right for the wrong reasons or wrong for the right reasons is bunk (April 20).

Professional advice from the WHO’s scientific and medical advisers has been right all along, even if director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ words have not always been.

Advice to Trump from the professionals at the Centers for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health, the Surgeon-General, and military have likewise been spot on.

Trump’s defunding of the WHO would be equivalent to defunding those expert US bodies – something he is likely to do if they don’t stop contradicting his nonsense. Trump’s failure to be honest and transparent should be investigated along with China’s.

Being right for the right reasons should be the ambition of every government leader and political representative. If they’re not willing to strive to meet that goal, they should get the heck out of the way.

I’ve heard dozens of Americans say that they don’t approve of Trump’s racism, xenophobia, sexism, lies, bullying, etc but they voted for him because they think he speaks for their interests. They’re wrong, too.

Norm Drexel, Havelock North

Stay in your bubble

A friend in Wellington was amazed at the number of people at the Johnsonville shopping centre on Wednesday when he went to collect some tablets from the chemist. He told me the car park was 85 per cent full and looked like a normal working day, so I say some people are not listening to our prime minister’s advice to go out only if you have to.

We are not out of the woods yet, and the last thing New Zealand wants is to go back to level four, so for God’s sake have patience and stay in your bubble. The way we are going, there is a possibility there could be another breakout. Do we want that? Of course not, so please use your common sense.

Gary Stewart, Foxton Beach

Cycleway use

I can report that numbers of daytime users of the Island Bay cycleway quadrupled to about four every 15 minutes on average (that’s including both ways) under level four.

However, under level three, it has gone back to the pre-Covid level of one every 15 minutes (compared with on average 60 cars and three buses both ways).

But the cycleway has proved handy for pedestrians to keep the two-metre distance along the Parade (perhaps the city council was showing great foresight in this respect?).

It also seems strange the city council sees fit to open the mountain bike course, a BMX track, and a velodrome, yet Berhampore golf course remains closed to golfers.

Clifford Studman, Island Bay