Memorial lighting
While attending Friday evening’s Chinese Lantern Festival, family members and I decided to visit the Earthquake Memorial. There were others with the same idea but unfortunately we had to resort to our cellphone torch apps in order to see the wall and wreaths and to stumble along the walkway.
On the quake anniversary, of all days, the wall should have working lights. It seems there is only the odd light set into the ground directly beneath the trees and pointing upwards to illuminate the trees but these were not working and most were obscured by the plantings under the trees. Perhaps the council could look at lighting at the memorial for those who prefer to or can only visit during the evening.
J Schroeder, Hoon Hay risked setting up small and medium businesses, working all hours to make it work, while grappling with ever-increasing rates, taxes, compliance costs, excessive safety requirements and other nanny state bureaucracy. It seeks to put a CGT on the value of small businesses; on the infrastructure and buildings of the business; on modest investments Kiwis have set aside for retirement years, and even on the humble bach handed down through generations. It puts no CGT on a multi-million dollar family home in Remuera, yet seeks a CGT on a simple lifestyle block with a family home, and also on farms. It penalises production and the obscene amounts obtained will not go to people in need but to a government set on destroying incentives to work hard and produce good products and services. As Winston Churchill said, ‘‘A government can never tax its way into prosperity.’’
E M Hobbs, Aoraki/Mt Cook affordable. At the moment somewhere affordable and secure to live is not as important as profit.
Wilberforce had great trouble in his lifelong fight to end slavery, because people knew their profits would tumble or even disappear without slave labour and the trade in slaves. The money men then had sound economic reasons for their objections, and they still do. However, does everything need to be done on a commercial basis? Is our value only as earners and consumers? When we no longer earn, and if we cannot afford to buy much, are we valueless? Our present Government is trying to make New Zealand a more equal country. Perhaps this is misguided of them, and not what most of us want. Katherine Gillard, Ilam