A New approach to how we live

Sir, – My wife and I recently returned from a six week tour of New Zealand, and found it to be a different country to ours in several ways.

New Zealand is almost completely litter-free. Places of interest, scenic locations and laybys rarely have bins, merely a polite request to take your litter home. And that is what people do.

Here it is almost impossible to walk down a street without hearing swearing. There it was possible to count the number of occasions on the fingers on one hand.

We have here a lack of public conveniences. In New Zealand, in villages, towns and cities, there are ample conveniences. And in the duration of our trip, we only encountered one that was dirty.

Our news has an almost daily report of murder or rape. In six weeks, there was only one report of a previous murder being re-investigated.

Even before the beast from the east, there was an abundance of potholes on our roads. New Zealand’s roads are excellent with a minimum of potholes, even on those which are not tarred.

We mainly stayed in Airbnbs and half of the property owners were not there at the times we arrived, but arrangements had been made for our arrival. Namely, a key in the door, or the door left open and the key on the table inside. There is a belief that you can trust people until they prove otherwise. How different to this country.

Why are these differences so pronounced? Scotland and the United Kingdom seem now to believe that anti-social behaviour is a part of life which cannot be reversed. Facilities for the public are being removed in all areas as services disintegrate.

Where is the trust in others, the willingness of people to take responsibility for their actions? There are lessons we can learn from Down Under, but first there must be a desire to do so. I fear that that desire at present is not there.

Neil P Robertson. Church Place, Freuchie.