Thanks for keeping fuel going
It is fixed, great, everyone is getting their petrol, diesel, jet fuel. It’s school holidays, lets fill up the car. I really think it is time to say thank you to the hundreds of people involved in the rescue of our Super City, once again.
I would like to thank all the truck drivers for moving fuel from the Mount, Marsden Refinery and the Wynyard Wharf tank farm to Auckland fuel stations and the airport. Please treat them nicely on the road, these trucks are 40 tonnes full so cutting them off is dangerous.
And I want to thank all those working at the tank farm for the extra hours converting big storage tanks to help the airport with jet fuel storage, and for refuelling the truck fleet with diesel.
A few years ago this terminal was an emergency backup for Auckland Civil Defence. It was estimated that about 4000 jobs were supported by this installation. It makes me wonder whether we have lost touch with reality, turning it into a park.
Ralph Stuettgen, Titirangi.
No room at the port
Cunard have cancelled the Queen Mary 2’s port call next year because Ports of Auckland have told them Jellicoe Wharf is no longer available. Not a word of apology from the Ports of Auckland to Aucklanders or the business’ that will lose millions in revenue or the passengers who will lose out on seeing the best city in the country. Tauranga will host the QM2 for an extra night and benefit at our expense.
Ross Thorby , Freemans Bay.
Inquiry into care
I have never been anything other than a very mediocre squash player, so I am clearly not as qualified as Dame Susan Devoy to comment on child abuse. However, it seems just possible the higher percentage number of Maori children removed into state care between 1960 and 1990 was caused by a higher number of Maori children being abused and not from any racial discrimination.
Rod Lyons, Muriwai.
Atmospheric tests
How quickly we forget. Regarding the possibility of a Pacific nuclear weapon test by North Korea, US Ambassador Brown says: “It could affect the fishing and all the sea life. It’d dramatically affect climate and economy and the ability to travel freely in that region without being contaminated.” Is he ignorant of his own country’s horrific history of nuclear testing in the Pacific? During the period 1946-52, the US detonated 99 devices at Bikini, Enewetak, and Christmas Island, with a total yield of 150 megatons. Mr Brown’s comments appear to be an admission that such testing would have had severe environmental consequences. When are we going to claim compensation?
Murray Matthews, Christchurch.
First crack
Your commentator Hans Grueber says there is no reason the party with the most votes should have first crack at negotiating a coalition deal, that getting to 61 is all that matters. He conveniently overlooks the fact that if NZ First join National, the coalition will represent more New Zealanders than if NZ First joins Labour. That’s why National should get first crack. R. Williams, Kohimarama.
Port policy
NZ First is the only political party committed to legislative change in recognition of the concerns of many Aucklanders, namely the question of what is the best use of the valuable waterfront land occupied by Ports of Auckland. Existing legislation covering Ports of Auckland and other CCOs means that ratepayers’ representatives and even the Auckland Council as owner are in every way prevented from interfering in that CCO’s management.
With the city needing a new cruise terminal or face losing large cruise ships, and Captain Cook Wharf touted as an America’s Cup base, our representatives have an urgent need for legislative change. Should this come about then MMP will have played an important role.
Neal McCarthy, Auckland Central.
Better system
This year’s election has reignited the discussion around whether MMP is the best option for our electoral system. However, most of the solutions revolve around reforming our implementation of MMP. Even the system advocated in an article in yesterday’s paper, a Supplementary Members system, is essentially MMP with the list seats filled independently of the electorate seats.
We did have a referendum regarding our electoral system a few years ago, but it was a poorly designed referendum presented as ‘MMP vs FPP’, with little regard to the proportional voting systems like preferential voting and Single Transferable Vote (STV).
I am a proponent of STV as it allows a truly representative legislature with two key points: every MP is personally voted in (no party lists), and there are no wasted votes (if your first-choice doesn’t make the threshold, your vote is transferred to your second-choice, and so on).
This second aspect (no wasted votes) also encourages voting for minor parties or independent candidates without giving them disproportionate power if they make it into Parliament.
Ezra Pribicevich, Fairfield.
Overlooked option
The obvious response to the election results appears to be overlooked by most media commentators. A NZ First-Greens coalition with both Labour and National offering guarantees of support on confidence and supply — in return for which both Labour and National would have people selected by NZ First and the Greens included in Cabinet.
That achieves a stable government and creates a new model of inclusivity and inter-party transparency with, hopefully, a team of the best folk from each side.
It also enables National and Labour to combine to vote in their grand coalition (without formally creating one) against policies they do not like. This would result in a policy-driven government epitomising the best MMP can offer and hopefully would mean the minor parties would get the positive attention they deserve as ‘thought leaders’. And it would create a lasting legacy for Winston — a new way of doing things.
Hamish Rennie, Leeston.
Voted for NZ First
A lot of nonsense has been in the paper recently by professional writers and people at large that, “One man is the sole decision maker of the future government”. I shall own up to be the “one man” as I voted for NZ First, but so have thousands of others. I did it after looking at NZ First’s policies and can not understand that Jim Bolger, as a seasoned politician, cannot see there are not any big holes, fiscal or otherwise, in them.
Axel Hansen, Auckland Central.
Right to decide
Hans Grueber has spoken and 46 per cent of voters are politically biased for even suggesting they have a moral right to determine the next government. Mr Grueber is comfortable with one man, Winston Peters, being the sole arbiter of the next government and that is proof MMP is democracy for the people.
Bruce Eliott, St Heliers.
Hospital funds
A member of the Waikato District Health Board was concerned enough to complain publicly that members were not being informed about hospital funding shortfalls and on Friday Counties-Manakau’s acting CEO Dr Gloria Johnson admitted proposing “voluntary redundancies” was an attempt to lower a $20 million deficit. How can DHBs act on information they are unaware of, especially if figures can be filtered or go unreported.
In the fortnight before the election RNZ’s Checkpoint asked both the CEO and CMO of Otago’s Southern DHB if they would resign given they failed to meet waiting list targets that significantly increased death risks of prostate patients. They said they would if they thought it would make the situation any better. Is this an adequate response to failures to supply urgent information?
How difficult is it to monitor a limited number of departments’ unmet need and give those figures to boards and Government? The integrity of the system and those responsible for its information has broken down. If there is any unmet need at executive level it seems to be mechanisms for genuine accountability.
Steve Liddle, Napier.
University value
It’s easy to say universities and academics are impractical, theoretical, have their heads in the clouds and provide no practical skills for life or employment. Easy, because these criticisms have merit. We need fewer universities and degree holders but conversely we need more investment in academics and research. We drive universities to be factories for useless degrees rather than taking humankind forward.
Albert McGhee, Dannemora.