Good leadership, not luck

In the lead-up to last year’s election, opposition parties and populist media accused the prime minister of ‘‘fearmongering’’. Jacinda Ardern’s warnings and requests for ongoing caution were cynically dismissed as creating fear for political gain.

What a difference six months make. Talkback now champions fear, advocating closing borders and denying overseas New Zealanders their legal right to return home. Opinion writers state another outbreak is inevitable. As the dour Fraser from Dad’s Army put it, ‘‘We’re all doomed’’.

There’s no playbook for Covid. Mistakes have been made and will be made again. But let’s not call New Zealand’s success ‘‘luck’’. Successfully repatriating more than 100,000 Kiwis and refusing to buckle to political and media pressure to open bubbles is not the result of luck.

We are the envy of the world because of strong, well-advised leadership and not because of a four-leaf clover.

Let’s celebrate that and not, like ACT and National, wait for the opportunity to say ‘‘we told you so’’.

Ian Findlay, Napier

I am all for Ardern’s principle of being kind, but this does not extend to letting New Zealand’s position in the vaccine queue slip in order to rescue nations that are mired in the results of their own Covid-19 mismanagement. They put us at risk as well as themselves. By ordering multiple sources of vaccines under development, New Zealand gave the developers surety that they would have orders to cover their research costs. We should not show weakness by not insisting on keeping our early place in the queue.

By the same token, the Government warned New Zealanders early last year to come home now if they intended to return. If they are still wanting to return, they should not expect open borders. They may well have extenuating circumstances, but this is not different to the restrictions needed during times of world war. We cannot rescue people from every eventuality. We should not be slow-footed in closing our borders when necessary.

Hugh Webb, Hamilton

Doctor shortage

In addition to the list of places (Southland, West Coast etc) that patients cannot access a GP, please add Levin to the list. We moved from the Waikato three months ago and cannot even get onto a waiting list with some practices in Levin. We are having to drive back to Te Aroha next month just to see our GP. Rick and Carol O’Neill, Levin

Pension claims

Immigrants complain that the proposed changes to NZ Superannuation entitlement are unjust (Business, January 24).

I’m sorry but I agree with the changes to the rules. Superannuation is a massive expense even now, but the intention as I see it is to prevent big numbers of immigrants essentially picking up a free pension.

The immigrants quoted are in their late 60s and 70s and have arrived relatively recently. They have not contributed much via taxes or production to New Zealand. Indeed some of those who are elderly may not ever work and pay taxes here.

Why should those of us who have worked and paid taxes for over 40 years be expected to support immigrants who voluntarily come to New Zealand without long-term means of financial support?

Dave Berry, Palmerston North To all those migrants who think they are about to be denied a New Zealand pension, my response is, ‘‘take a number’’.

My wife and I returned to New Zealand after 16 years of living and working continuously in Australia. Throughout this time we constantly paid into the compulsory superannuation scheme, which according to both the New Zealand and Australian governments is a reciprocal system between both countries. We discovered this is definitely not the case.

When my wife turned 65 last year, she applied for NZ Super, only to be told that because she hadn’t completed five years’ residency in this country after the age of 50, she now fell under the Australian retirement rules and now has to wait another year and a half to qualify.

It was completely irrelevant that she had previously lived in New Zealand for 50 years.

Various politicians have sympathised but there’s nothing anyone can do about it without a law change.

So suck it up, migrants. You’re not alone in your frustration.

M Brown, Hamilton

It takes many years of income tax payment to form ‘‘social credit’’ towards the high cost of ageing. These costs do not simply involve a weekly pension, they encompass all elements of health and welfare as well.

Simply supporting a family unit and doing the odd bit of volunteering does not compensate for the lack of financial contribution. Meanwhile us Baby Boomer citizens, repeatedly criticised as a burden on the taxpayer, regularly have to self-fund healthcare when waiting lists are too long, despite paying income tax all our working lives.

Any immigrants who wish to retire in New Zealand have the option of working and