Paint won’t protect us on roads

The best way to stop the continuing death and mayhem on rural roads is to install median barriers urgently. If we allow vehicles to hurtle towards each other at 100km/h separated by just a strip of paint, multiple-fatality crashes are inevitable.

I understand that the cheese-cutter style of barriers, while not ideal, would be the quickest and least expensive. Also, they take up the least space in the middle of the road. In my opinion, the road transport authorities need to identify the 20 worst crash blackspots, then the Government should authorise immediate barrier implementation. Nothing will save lives quicker. Glen Stanton, Mairangi Bay.

Beeping lifesaver

It must break the hearts of the surviving families and friends of head-on crash victims to realise a lane-departure warning system (simple beeping sound) could have avoided the crash near Atiamuri. If both vehicles involved had been late-model types, with such warning systems installed, the police, ambulance and fire crew wouldn’t have been confronted with the terrible result.

Of course, many people have trouble upgrading their vehicle as it is, let alone being able to afford a late-model car. The ideal scenario, where all cars on our roads are fitted with such technology, seems to be a long way off. Until then, we may have to concentrate better and prepare to react super-fast to other people’s mistakes. Avoiding unnecessary travel may also be an option. Rene Blezer, Taupo¯ .

Kneejerk response

Horrendous though it is, let us not have a draconian kneejerk reaction from the Government after the two recent multipledeath accidents. In each case it was no doubt only one offending driver. Let’s not keep the whole class in to punish just one.

Adrian Wilson, Northcote.

Climate change

What a great idea from David Stevenson (Herald, April 29). Jacinda could set an excellent example to her citizens by banning all government air travel below the level of Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Foreign Minister and Trade Minister.

Individual decisions need to be encouraged. What if all citizens stopped travelling unnecessarily and gave the money to charities for the needy.

Valmai Shearer, Remuera.

Traffic management

Auckland Transport (AT) wants to remove 34 car parks and install 11 pedestrian crossings with raised speed tables and a roundabout in Mission Bay. Added to its proposed 30km/h speed limit, this will create a bottleneck and amplify Tamaki Drive traffic congestion.

Losing more car parks will compromise businesses. Inadequate public transport linking Mission Bay to most areas of Auckland, particularly at night, should dictate AT’s priority must be to provide more car parks, not remove them.

AT’s ill-thought-out proposed changes to the Mission Bay and St Heliers infrastructure are opposite to these communities’ needs. Accidents will not be reduced and traffic issues won’t be solved unless AT accepts each area of Auckland has unique requirements and that blanket restrictions, such as 30km/h limits, will not always rectify a problem or produce the same solutions for all areas.

AT’s new traffic management and road safety plan is over the top and its refusal to listen to community concerns is arrogant. Aucklanders have had enough.

W. Mountfort, Mission Bay.

Free speech

Minister of Justice Andrew Little (Herald, April 29) defends our right to challenge the socially and culturally dominant. That’s great, although we need to be able to discuss freely and challenge all systems and ideas that are promoted, no matter who by or how un-PC they are. That’s how we maintain a healthy, fair and prosperous society.

While New Zealand does not yet officially suppress free speech, an unofficial system is well entrenched in all levels of government, education and mass media. Unquestioning endorsement of selective ideology is required from state employees. Peaceful speaking events have been cancelled for “security” reasons. Many facts relating to the way we are governed or our taxes are spent are simply not reported on. It seems the public are to be kept in the dark so they won’t question the appropriateness of systems that promote representatives of a non-dominant culture into positions of authority. This approach does nothing to ensure long-term goodwill or to prevent corruption from festering.

Fiona Mackenzie, Whangapara¯ oa.

Census returns

Expecting households to fill out Census returns online was never going to work. Apart from the non-computer users, thousands cannot be bothered. Having worked as a Census enumerator in the past, I know how difficult it has been to get some households to complete returns and often several calls were needed to some addresses. However, the tried and true system worked and I could see no reason to change it.

Mike Jarman, One Tree Hill.

High incomes

A number of your correspondents are arguing for changes to the taxation system that will readjust the tax burden and “tax high incomes out of existence”.

Ignoring for the moment that right now just 11 per cent of New Zealand taxpayers pay almost 50 per cent of PAYE income tax, history shows that very high incometax rates are actually self-defeating.

Back in the 1960s, the UK had high income tax rates plus a supertax. Consequentially, successful writers, actors and entrepreneurs simply moved out of the country and became tax exiles. You cannot prevent people from leaving.

Surely it is better for the IRD to get 30 per cent of something rather than 99 per cent of nothing. Peter Lewis, Forrest Hill.

Social media

The platforms Facebook, Twitter and others have developed can be for the good or curse of our community.

Europe, led by Germany and others, has been working for some years to monitor and discipline the platforms to stop “stealing” private information and selling that information to large marketing, political and other parties — usually without the knowledge of the users.

This “illegal” collection and sale of personal information has enabled social media companies to gain enormous profits and political influence.

Now I see that our leader is going to France to put more pressure on this problem.

It would seem that it would have been prudent to wait until the G20 meeting in June when there will be more exposure, including those countries that have been “doing the spadework” for some time.

Robert Walker, Howick.

Folau’s list

June Brooke (Herald, April 30) has got it right when she states Folau’s list covers everyone she knows, as we all have fallen short of God’s standards. Unfortunately, she failed to read on and learn that forgiveness is available to all through Jesus and that is what Easter is all about.

Alison McGill, Blockhouse Bay.

Inequality and tax

In response to correspondents who have questioned government’s role in addressing inequality in New Zealand, these points should be considered: There is a clear difference between wealth (assets) that may be acquired without work and the income from which may not be taxed, and income (earnings from labour) which is taxed. The well-off can hire accountants to minimise their tax bill.

When inequality has increased, as it has in the past three to four decades, and is seen to be both high and unfair, there are costly effects on society. A sense of hopelessness leads to increased suicide, teenage pregnancy and mental illness, and anger results in increased violence and crime. Studies show this inequality also leads to reduced economic growth.

Over this time, incomes have fallen compared to the cost of living, especially at the lower end of the scale, leading to inability to save for a rainy day and greater reliance on government subsidies — in essence subsidising companies that fail to pay a living wage.

Such companies are able to profit at the taxpayer’s expense. It is the role of government to develop policies that ensure an adequate income for its citizens as hard work will not change this situation for those in low-paid and insecure employment. Karla Rix-Trott, Raglan.