Govt downplaying the number of people unemployed
SMEs (Small, medium enterprises) make up 97 per cent of all businesses in New Zealand. They are the backbone of the country, existing in every city, town and in rural areas and they keep the country going.
Every day we see and hear about sectors struggling to find workers.
Talking with other businesses across New Zealand they ALL state the awful situation of trying to find new staff and as we have experienced we hire staff at the living wage and lose them in short order.
The unemployment figure is bandied about by Government at somewhere in the 3.4-3.8 per cent or 94,000 people. But then check the numbers on Job Seeker benefits and it is found they are 6.1 per cent at about 188,000 people.
So once again the Government plays cute by quoting only the unemployed figure. Add these figures together and there are 9.9 per cent — 282,000 people unemployed.
No wonder we cannot find staff. Now they tell us that we should be hiring more New Zealanders but “guess what” they aren’t there. It has been three years since our business achieved a full staff complement with a continuous revolving door of trial staff who fail or just don’t come back to work. We need some honesty from the government about their strategy to fix this crisis hitting SMEs.
Peter Chatterton
Greenmeadows
Virtual art show
I was delighted to read and watch Local Focus reporter Patrick O’Sullivan’s piece on ‘Alien action — Terminus virtual art show for Hastings’.
We attended this when it was here on display at our Whangārei Art Museum, earlier this year.
A nice video indeed, well crafted. I have sent the story link to our sons in Oz, as it was very hard to explain it to them, when we told them what we had experienced.
Great work.
Stephen Hansen
Whangārei
Prayers needed
When the Second World War was raging I was a child. My memories of it are clear. Father had gone to WWI, my eldest brother was a fighter pilot in WWII. Everything pertaining to the war was discussed at our dinner table in a very realistic way. The atmosphere was in no way fearful but was optimistic and reassuring.
As well as the war situation, I remember clearly the faith of my family and those in influential positions, like the King of England. He called for a day of prayer on specific occasions when the Allies needed a miracle. The churches in
Hastings every Sunday were chocka-block, sometimes overflowing onto the footpath.
The situation we find ourselves in today with the war raging in Ukraine, The countries who like to flex their muscles with their goose stepping displays and talk of their nuclear warheads like North Korea, Russia and China. China stealthily wooing the Philippines and making inroads into the Pacific, all much to be concerned about.
Trevor Mallard has removed prayer from Parliament. Reinstating it would be a good move. Christian education taught given the same priority as sex education.
The prayer Jesus taught the early church printed in your newspaper, every day The Our Father. Oh that would be good. That may even get the ordinary Joe Bloggs praying now how about that. Pamela Thomas
Hastings
Young ram-raiders
To quote Linda Hall, “They don’t care about anyone but themselves” (Opinion HBT May 11).
Maybe we, as a society, should look at ourselves. Do we care about anyone but ourselves?
Do these young ‘ram-raiders’ see their society caring for them and their whānau, or do they see an environment where the glittering retail stores are clearly not meant for them?
Do they see desperate poverty contrasting with the obscene wealth of those who live in luxury?
I believe that if we allow the gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ to continue and to widen, the anger and desperation will escalate proportionally.
Time for a careful look at what we value and how we care for each other. Penny Isherwood
Taradale
Not an actual scene
Just because someone writes in and says the “Rita Angus” painting of an unknown Hawke’s Bay scene is of Matapiro Rd, doesn’t mean it is. It’s clearly an impression of Hawke’s Bay, an amalgam.
The hills front and centre are clearly the knobbly hills by the PekaPeka swamp, the hills to the left are clearly Te Mata Peak, and the snowy mountains to the right clearly the Ruahines — all obvious on a bus trip from Wellington.
It’s not an actual scene and obviously so, buildings and bits and pieces added quite likely from Matapiro Rd, but not a one piece scene.
Alistair Ford
OngaOnga Editor’s note: The original suggestion from a reader was that the scene was inspired by Matapiro Rd. It’s always good to hear different views.