Mark’s medals
In 2004 Phil Goff, on behalf of the Labour Government, signed the UN mercenary convention. That the new Minister of Defence wears medals from an Islamic dictatorship where he was hired as a foreign mercenary is in contempt of what the Labour Party has always stood for. There is widespread torture and human rights abuses in Oman going back to the coup in in 1970 and the special forces are a part of the security apparatus. The Governor General should not ratify his wearing them.
Rex Barron, Confolens, France.
Economic migrants
Over the last 100-plus years first world counties have helped themselves to valuable resources in the third world, often dealing with corrupt leaders and paying lip service to child labour, poor working conditions and pollution of land and fresh water. Now with the increasing world population, many are starting to migrate to where the resource and wealth went. Maybe those in the news at the moment were not directly affected by the activities of first world countries or large corporations but the number migrating is just a trickle compared with the numbers that will try to move in the next 20 years. If any “free” trade agreements New Zealand and Australia get involved in do not require acceptable labour and environmental conditions as a top priority then we can expect large numbers to head our way.
Ray Lichtwark, Rotorua.
Immigration officers
I couldn’t agree more with Jake Bailey and his comments about our New Zealand airport security staff. I have just returned from an extensive North American tour and, like Jake, found our airport experience memorable for all the right reasons. Polite, friendly, professional and approachable. The US entry and exit by comparison was not a pleasant experience. Well done Kiwis.
Brian O’Brien, Waipu.
Wheel clampers
There should be no need for the Green Party to support tougher legislation regarding wheel clamping as suggested by Gareth Hughes. The greedy practice must be banned outright. These predator companies name their own price for de-clamping which is way out of proportion to the so-called offence. Worse still, the attitude of most clampers amounts to bullying and thuggery to a lot of very vulnerable drivers. Commerce Minister Kris Faafoi said he is “seeking advice”. I suggest voters do their own research, go and park in these areas a few times and watch how fast a sloth can move.
Geoffrey Strickland, Thames.