Sympathy for Oranga Tamariki

Anyone reading the story about the severe physical beating of the 4-year-old in Flaxmere ( NZ Herald, February 10) can have a lot of sympathy for Oranga Tamariki over the unfair criticism it gets.

Where was the wha¯nau support for this little boy? Some children just need to be removed from home and wha¯nau.

I applaud all the dedicated staff at Oranga Tamariki for the very fine and caring way they carry out their duties. It must be heartbreaking at times.

Katherine Swift, Kohimarama.

MP turnover

Three more MPs have announced their impending retirement before this year’s election ( NZ Herald, February 12). Ten are set to retire before the year is out.

With the average tenure for an MP being about two terms, and with such a large number of senior MPs set to leave, should we be concerned about a lack of continuity or experience in Parliament?

Across the past two elections just over half of Parliament had been turned over. This constant rate of change means that Parliament is virtually replaced completely every four or five elections.

Many may view this as a healthy trend against government stagnation but this turnover does raise questions about the importance of continuity of experience. One only need look at this Government and see the apparent lack of experience on their front-bench. The PM is still referred to as inexperienced by some.

When you are shedding MPs that carry experience you end up with governments not having a Cabinet with the “know-how” to manage their responsibilities and deliver on their election mandates.

Morgan Kemp, Wellington.

Road priorities

With the current frenzy of money for motorways and roading, I think the small outer townships are being forgotten.

Te Hana, Wellsford and Helensville all have unsealed roads within each town.

Only a more “successful” town gets the focus of Auckland Transport — such as Matakana — in road-sealing priority.

Surely it is time to get rid of the lack of decent road surfaces and create some local pride and less of a “downmarket” atmosphere.

Kerry Aberhart, Port Albert.

Radio taonga

The withdrawn proposal to relegate Concert FM to the AM frequencies ( NZ Herald, February 12) can be described only as idiotic.

It appeared to be the brainchild of beancounters who know the price of everything and the value of nothing and who display no awareness of, or sympathy for, the richness of classical music, world music and jazz.

The argument that it does not attract Ma¯ori, Pasifika or the young is as disingenuous as it is misleading. Kiri te Kanawa does not come from Alpha Centauri. Nor do the Samoan Sol3 Mio.

Such an argument also insults thousands of Asian NZ children who learn classical music instruments to an advanced level, and to the parents who support them.

The young (who stream much of their music anyway) already have access to many radio stations that provide every variety of the music that they enjoy.

Concert FM is a taonga. It must not be wantonly destroyed in the necessary changes being made to public broadcasting in our country.

Leo Kelly, Stanley Pt.

Anthem maturity

Don’t you think we should leave the changes to our anthem’s lyrics and rhythm alone, until we have grown up — big enough to not let our egos (or a particular leading political party’s ego) interfere with its relevance?

We have proven to be too immature to design and make decisions that would genuinely reflect our nation’s past, present and future identity.

Once we have grown up enough to lock our egos and cultural differences away only then should we let the most amazing new anthem emerge, possibly arising out of a collaboration of artistic, inspirational and musical talent, of which we have so much in our blessed country.

We realised the importance of all of the above, when we wasted more than $10 million of taxpayers’ contributions on a flag design that never made it. Just as well.

Rene Blezer, Taupo¯.

Israel origin

Surely, M. Donne-Lee ( NZ Herald, February 11) should go back a little further in history to Genesis 12, where, on their arrival, the Jews’ God gave the Canaanites’ land to them to become Israel. The Canaanites seemed to lose out, but I find no record of a civilised resolution of the land problem that immediately arises.

Bill Macky, Bayswater.

Going viral

Humans are not the most important thing on the planet, it is viruses. If one got rid of all the humans life would continue. Get rid of the viruses and life would peter out.

Viruses are essential for transferring new genetic material to organisms, helping them to adapt to a changing environment and saving them from becoming inbred.

Long ago, before there were any females and males, dividing in two did not provide any diversity and so viruses saved the day by changing genetic makeup and ensured evolution occurred.

There is a danger in treating viruses as something to be feared. It is better to get a virus when it has a 2 per cent mortality rate and gain immunity than to wait for when it has a 20 per cent mortality rate.

It is unfortunate nature demands a sacrifice but the odds are then in our favour for human survival. If we fail to give the positive side of viruses it can only lead to panic and disaster.

Rainga Wade, Kihikihi.

Litter drops

Sadly the disgraceful behaviour that A. Forsyth abominates ( NZ Herald, February 12) is not unique to Mission Bay. Down this way, such abuse is endemic. Almost without exception, the trash carries the advertising of two fast-food chains with letters from the mid-alphabet range, or are cans, sometimes not fully consumed, of the “energy” variety. Frequently there are rubbish bins within a few steps’ distance.

Another reflection of poor parental upbringing, and diminished standards? David Lee, Papamoa.

Runway replacement

Auckland Airport’s old 3.6km concrete runway could be the cause of a massive international aircraft landing disaster with lumps of concrete breaking away, and with no viable alternative runway for the largest planes to land safely and take off again in an emergency.

The Government needs to most urgently extend Hamilton Airport’s asphalt runway from 2.1km to at least 3km.

When Hamilton can handle the largest planes, Auckland can then replace concrete slabs to a higher standard.

Ron Goodwin, Stanmore Bay.

Economic reality

In reference to B. Darragh’s letter ( NZ Herald, February 10), my intention is not to defend Trump but to educate those who might hold similar views that leaders should focus on social and environmental issues and not on economic issues.

Sadly, through ignorance and/or ideology, too many people believe that economic issues are of little relevance.

Whether a family, a business or a country, the relevant economics must take priority so that social issues are able to be addressed. At worst, the two should at least go hand in hand.

Remember that it is the people at the bottom of the scale who suffer most in a poor economy.

Steve Clerk, Meadowbank.

C’mon Blues

This season something is working well for the Blues. The coach, cemented into his second season, has control of his selections and preferences. Two of the new loose forwards have performed very well. He now has two world-class No 8s; Ioane, an ideal tight-loose player, and Sotutu, the new player, ideal in a looser game. His other loosie played a fantastic game in his debut against the Chiefs.

The Blues loose-head prop is equal to any front-row prop in the world and with his recovery from illness will make life very difficult for any number of opposition props.

The major threats in the NZ game are clearly the Crusaders and the Chiefs. This Blues side is even better than last year’s one which in their first game beat the Crusaders in every aspect of the game, except the scoreboard. By this time next week Scott Robertson may just wish he’d got the AB coaching job.

I really hope Blues supporters will turn out this weekend — the disappointments of the past 15 or so years may just be wiped away in one 80-minute spell.

John Rush, Mamaku.