Rethinking work breaks

Recent floatings for differing arrangements of our working week, public holidays and school year need more public discussion. And [to be] taken up by some party, if widely supported.

For example, extending the school year could be made permanent if more in keeping with our Southern Hemisphere climate. Running up to Christmas and returning in the third week of February would mean families could permanently enjoy summer’s better weather.

Also, recent testimony of a nine-day fortnight in the 1970s — giving workers staggered three-day weekends, with the same productivity — showed what’s possible.

And although incumbent governments want election times suited to popularity levels, how about discussion on a permanent autumn election day more suited to our Southern Hemisphere reflective season. Possibly on or about Anzac Day — also for more fitting reasons.

Yes, public holidays cost the economy. However, once catch-ups are achieved, how about serious consideration — then a social survey — of the thirst among 40-hour-plus workers for a three-day weekend to break our present winter drought from early June to late October?

Post-Covid many seek a different worklife balance; are realising we are more than productive units.

Steve Liddle, Napier.

Nimby McClay

Nimby MP Todd McClay has done the Rotorua hospitality industry a huge disservice by catastrophising the accommodation of returned Kiwis in that city. Either he thinks his constituents don’t want to be part of the Team of 5 Million, or he cared more about scoring a cheap political point than creating a negative perception of Rotorua as a holiday destination.

Michael Smythe, Northcote Point

Current criminals

As a retired police officer, my thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those affected by the tragic and senseless events of June 19. It is a painful reminder that police serving on the front line are the buffer between the good and the evil in today’s society, and without their commitment and dedication, New Zealand would be a very different place.

The sad loss of a police member has rekindled discussion on the routine arming of frontline police. Those on the front line know only too well that gangs pose a threat in our society and the arrival of gang members from Australia has greatly increased this threat.

These gangs have very quickly and successfully set up and established their lucrative criminal enterprises in New Zealand, with firearms their stock-in-trade.

The arming debate must be more evidence-based to reflect the reality of current criminal offending and less dominated and influenced by the philosophical idealism of those who are against any form of police arming, except perhaps a notebook and pen.

Derek Parrott, Mangawhai.

Gun-free Godzone

After the tragic death of a police officer while doing his duty we need another radical rethink of our gun policy.

New Zealand was the first country in the world to allow women to vote. Why not become the first country to outlaw all guns? A swift passing of legislation could have a three-month window to allow their collection and disposal.

Afterwards, anyone found in possession of a gun could receive a mandatory non-parole sentence of five years and anyone found trying to smuggle a weapon into New Zealand a 10-year sentence.

With our No. 8 wire inventiveness, we will find alternative ways to eliminate feral animals and safely euthanise farm animals and pets unable to be healed.

Our military would become a peacekeeping force and disaster relief organisation as well as search and rescue duties, as at present.

The documentary Soldiers Without Guns showed how our NZ Military Peacekeepers in Bougainville brought about a resolution of a long conflict using guitars, song and haka and by using women, especially Fiona Cassidy, a major in the army, in a matrilineal society.

New Zealand once led the world in the campaign for nuclear disarmament. Next, a peaceful world leader.

Allan Sendles, Remuera.

Situation, normal

The recent border breach fiasco highlights the difference between the private and public sectors.

If a blunder of this magnitude had taken place in the private sector, the business would have lost many millions of dollars and changes would be made. And if it was deemed that personnel had been placed in danger it would have been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars.

But since this was a public sector blunder, nothing happens; it is just business as usual or Snafu as we used to call it.

Bruce Robertson, Westmere.

Tasman top-up

Since Watercare announced restrictions on the use of water by the people of Ta¯maki Makaurau, there has been 604,000 million litres of the stuff flow past Tuakau and into the Tasman Sea at Port Waikato.

I am assured that the Tasman Sea does not need all of this.

Water shortage? Really?

Larry Tompkins, Gulf Harbour.

Incompetence

All credit to the supermarkets up and down the country who, within a few short days, were able to interpret, implement and administer the Covid-19 guidelines so that they could run efficient, wellregimented operations and in doing so played their part in eliminating the virus.

That these quarantine hotels, which should have been at the pinnacle of Covid19 administration, were allowed to run in such a bizarre state is yet another testament to the complete incompetence and inability of this Government and its appointees to run anything.

In hindsight, it was probably highly predictable that this shambles would occur and we should have been asking for an independent audit weeks ago.

Brett Hewson, Parnell.

Forced compliance

As a lad growing up in World War II in the UK, I recall my father — ex-WWI soldier and air warden — complaining that people would not do as they were advised regarding air raid precautions.

Then, after some unhappy events and to his satisfaction, the Government made the more important wartime restrictions law, not recommendations.

We are at this stage now in New Zealand.

Peter Hulme, Taupo¯.

Law change

I have rarely heard a more ridiculous argument for not voting for something, than recent letters exhorting people not to vote for the End of Life Choice Act in the upcoming referendum, on the grounds that at some stage in the future it may change.

That applies to every law; that at some point in the future it may change. But to do so will always require returning the Act to Parliament. It is not grounds for doing O¯ nothing. J. Gibbs, ra¯kei.

War games

Your correspondent Valerie Morse ( NZ Herald, June 22) comes from the school of “what if there was a war and nobody turned up”. There is an answer to that philosophical question, the bad guys win.

Edmund Burke wrote: “All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.”

The war game exercises currently under way are as relevant today as at any other time. We have China laying claim to the entire South China Sea. China has just had a skirmish with India after trying to annex some of India’s territory.

After annexing the Crimea, Russia is still engaged in skirmishes with the Ukraine along its border, North Korea has become belligerent again and China is threatening to invade Taiwan.

The world is a very dangerous place with lots of tin-pot dictators and powerful oligarchs. It is the presence of powerful militaries and alliances around the world that have prevented those evils from prevailing.

Kent Millar, Blockhouse Bay.