Transition to EVs

Supporters of bill 3rd & 6th May 7.30pm Michael Fowler Centre Book at Ticketmaster

I thank Monica Devine for her letter (Dec 10) regarding the death of my mother, Debbie, and will endeavour to clear up her confusion about why my father and I are supporters of the End of Life Choice Bill.

While we acknowledge that New Zealand has excellent endof-life care and that Mum appeared to be in little physical pain in her final weeks, palliative care cannot mitigate all forms of suffering. Mum was a strong supporter of voluntary euthanasia and this was largely a result of her multiple sclerosis, which would have continued to erode her quality of life, had the cancer not claimed it first.

Accordingly, Dad and I support the right of those facing a similarly hopeless fate to die on their own terms, provided they meet the bill’s stringent criteria. If Devine still has concerns, I hope she finds some comfort in the fact there would have been no possibility of anyone having ‘‘blood’’ on their hands, had assisted dying been available in Mum’s case.

This is because Mum did not have the necessary capacity to request assisted dying by the time she went into Mary Potter and, therefore, would not have been eligible under the bill. Jordan Todd, Whitby The reported view of some Wellington city councillors, that provision for charging stations for electric vehicles for street parking is for the ‘‘privileged few’’, is extremely disappointing (Dec 11).

The move away from fossil fuels is critical to all our futures, and all councils should be providing infrastructure that will enable more people to move to EVs to significantly reduce CO2 emissions. Charging stations should become as prevalent as street lighting.

These stations need to provide for both fast and overnight charging and could be set up to allow users to pay for power in a similar way to parking meters. This would mean all car users, especially ones in older areas with no off-street parking, could start the transition to EVs at their next vehicle purchase.

It would also mean we would have the beginnings of a citywide infrastructure that could support future modes of transport like EV driverless cars and trade vehicles.

For once, WCC is piloting an approach to a green transport future that is not solely focused on cycling and, if done well and comprehensively, could dramatically reduce the emissions generated from private and trade vehicles in Wellington. Christine Scammell, Newtown