Why not just get rid of street lights?

Back in the ‘70s I had frequent emergency call-outs during the night. At the time Christchurch was dealing with electricity shortages by turning the street lights off and discouraging businesses from leaving advertising lighting etc running.

Surprisingly, I found the night-time streets much safer. My headlights more than adequately lit the road ahead, other vehicles stood out with no confusing glare from buildings and the rare pedestrians who were carrying torches were clearly visible.

It begs the question as to whether councils could make even more savings by dispensing with street lighting entirely. Security is a red herring, torches have never been cheaper or more efficient and the vast majority of burglaries occur in broad daylight. I reckon Punakaiki and Tekapo are onto a good thing.

Ian Orchard, Papanui

Story brings smiles

What awonderful story and photo on Saturday’s edition, front page. So much love and a beautiful way to start the day. (Keep this space for good news only.) Wishing the couple all the best for their future together, I smile each time I read the article.

Beverley Obst, Diamond Harbour

Border control

Why is this Government allowing increasing numbers of Covid-infected persons to cross our borders in the face of expert advice that isolation and a clear Covid test prior to travel should be conditions precedent for entry to our country?

The rights of resident New Zealanders to remain Covid-free should be paramount to the rights of a few individuals who have chosen to live, work and pay their taxes overseas.

Bruce Glennie, Lyttelton

Plane truths

Waiting to board my flight to Auckland ... idly watching disembarking passengers, some stillwearing masks, enter the lounge to the lyrics from the PA system ‘‘all I need is the air that I breathe’’ by The Hollies ... being offered tea or coffee and a Cookie Time biscuit while mandatorily being required to wear stifling face masks ... the joys of travel during Covid-19! Michael Gousmett, Rangiora

Masked nanny state

In fort South Island you can basically do what you like within reason. We have got no coronavirus, so that is what it should be.

However PMArdern and her medical experts have decided that if you fly or travel by public transport, you will have to wear amask. Why is that so? I consider it absolutely nanny state, and resent Ardern’s continuing lecturing.

If you fly from Invercargill to Dunedin or Christchurch or Dunedin to Christchurch, just to mention a few examples, you shall wear amask, only because thePM says so. How stupid can you be?

Hans Andersen, Ilam

Morning laugh

Lorne Kuehn’s description yesterday of Donald Trump as aspiring to greatness started my day off with a good laugh, reminding me of an old black and white comedy where a euphemistic school report described the school bully as ‘‘showing signs of leadership’’!

However the letter is mistaken in saying there are no absolutes in human nature ... an absolutely unprofessional approach to a disease that has already killed more Americans than World War I plus the wars in Korea and Vietnam combined is not something to say may flip from being reviled to accepted with time.

Some attempts to spin bad leadership and abuse of power as ‘‘greatness’’ have to be called out for being part of the problem that is making the USA far from ‘‘great’’ again.

Mark Aitchison, Sydenham

Striving for greatness

Lorne Kuehn (Nov 23) tells us Trump succeeded when many thought hewould fail. He delivered on most of his promises and outperformed on many expectations. He made his own rules like Musk, Bezos and Branson, adding let the ‘‘nattering nabobs of negativism’’ ponder thosewho strive for greatness.

Regarding those who strive for greatness, more apposite examples might be Adolf Hitler and Lord Voldemort, who also succeeded in obtaining power and delivered on their promiseswhich included a lot of dead people.

Mr Kuehn avoids specifics, possibly because 250,000 unnecessary Covid-19 deaths (and counting) delivered with heaving mounds of utter indifference is only a good look if you promised genocide or desperately need a few thousand horcruxes because your corrupt, dead-inthe-water posterior is going to be handed to you on a legal platter the moment the protections of office evaporate.

Assertion Absurdum! Assus Protectus! Climate Ignorus! Plague-us Dispersum!

I fear Trump has spent too many hours in Dark Arts to be rated alongside genuine wizards of industry.

Darren A Saunders, Waltham

Recall mechanism

It has always been amantra that if we don’t like what they’re doing we can vote them out in three years time. With politicians now leading the charge for a four-year electoral cycle, we need to ask them what they are offering in return.

What they won’t offer, but should be included in any legislation extending the parliamentary term, is a recall mechanism. Not for the entire parliament, but for individuals who have offended. Say aMinister of Transport who promises 10 new bridges in Northland during a by-election then builds none of them because they lost the by-election.

Just how it would work needs some good thinking, especially on who gets to vote for a recall, the numbers needed, is the member now banned from being an MP forever, how to stop the ‘other lot’ from gaming it, and electorate v list MPs replacement methods.

Steve Cox, St Albans

Protesting China

The dependency of our economy on China is problematic. It is indisputable that China has an aggressive economic/ political/military expansion happening right now. New Zealand is, or has been, pulled into this through trade, and the benefits that this brings to us all in terms of prosperity.

I amnot so sure. China is all over our dairy industry, having recently bought out Westland Milk Products, having various other dairy companies operating in NZ, has water bottling plants in Christchurch, to name a few.

In the meantime the Chinese Communist Party demands total obeisance to its power whilst it pursues an aggressive grab on South China Sea islands, as well as the rest of the global economy.

My own rather ineffectual response is to make a positive decision not to purchase any product made in China. If it is made in China Iwill not buy it. I feel better and ifwe all do that then the poking of our eyes by China might be not so painful.

Julian Shorten, Reefton

Undemanding, escapist

I question devoting top billing and almost half a page on Saturday to movie reviewer Graeme Tuckett’s slating of Made in Italy. While it may not meet his intellectual criteria, I suggest he is out of touch with the average movie-goer, who simply wants to be entertained.

Regardless of our artistic tastes, in times of social crisis sometimeswe need something undemanding and escapist which touches us, makes us laugh and lifts our mood with gorgeous landscapes, despite the predictability of the script.

The review was verbose, destructive and yet another tiresome example of literary snobbery without any consent to redeeming features. If amovie doesn’t appeal, why not give it the flick or write a small one-column comment? ChrisWatkins, St Albans