Passing the buck over rough sleepers

The ineptitude of Whangarei District Council is highlighted in your article on the plight of rough sleepers in our city ( Advocate, April 15). This council can spend $60 million of ratepayers money on a new building Te Iwitahi (apparently to serve the community), that is not even fully occupied, and yet it cannot even make a mere $60,000 available to help re-open the now boarded up Old Boys’ building to provide much needed shelter during the winter for those sleeping rough in our city. Whilst there exists a women’s refuge there is no such place for men. As has been pointed out in the past, Almond Court on Dent St, which would have been ideally suitable, was destroyed by council and they refuse to open up the now disused facilities in Forum North.

Instead the council pass the buck stating that it is a problem for a multitude of government agencies to solve. Shame on this council.

John Nicole Whangārei

Tale of the tape(s)

So what exactly is meant by red and green tape, a favourite term used by our prime minister in his public commentary when criticising our democratic processes. Red tape in the past referred to the binding around administrative files. Perhaps the reference today is used to justify the axing of administrative and ‘backroom’ jobs throughout our public services. Green tape appears to be Mr Luxon’s description of the practical application of our country’s environmental legislation to protect our ecosystems, flora and fauna. Sadly, in other countries such as India and the United States, right wing governments use violence, corporate cover ups, and the blatant removal of environmental legislation to remove any opposition from local communities to the destruction of their land, forests air quality and waterways. Seventy-two per cent of India’s energy is sourced from coal mines. The US government has destroyed the air quality and ground water supplies of whole communities by removing environmental legislation and encouraging corporations to drill for natural gas (fracking). Now, in Aotearoa New Zealand, we have the proposed Fast Track Approvals Bill looming, with a prelude of coalition MPs actively encouraging businesses, corporations, and even local government to put their pet projects forward. All public land apart from gazetted National Parks will be up for grabs. This bill will override all existing environment laws in our country, and entirely remove the public consultation process. An excellent Bill to give the go ahead to such developments as coal mines, gold mines, the flooding of native forests for huge dams, unfettered roading projects, and housing development requiring no resource consent, all reliant solely on the whim of three male MPs.

Sandra Meyst Whangārei

Lessons in life

On April 10, I read an opinion piece in the Herald, written by our Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour. According to him, children using their voices, taking charge of their future, and exercising the basic human right of protesting is “bad for their mental health”.

I would love someone to explain to me how what we did during The School Strike for the Climate was bad for my and my peers’ mental health.

There was not a single bit of evidence I could see that made me think my or my friend’s mental health was even slightly in danger by the protest we attended. I would argue the opposite, that caring about the planet and having our voices heard is good for our mental health.

What I would like to see worked on in schools by our government is not attendance or phones, but the amount of vaping and smoking.

In fact, the number of teenagers vaping every day has almost doubled in the past year in Aotearoa. The numbers have increased from 8.3 per cent in 2021 and 2022 to 15.4 per cent in 2022 and 2023. Many laws preventing children from smoking and vaping have been removed by our government, such as there are much bigger problems in education than attendance.

Attendance is important but missing a day for children to learn life experiences, to have the youth of today take action, think outside the box, and stand up for what they believe in is more important than sitting in a classroom all day.

At school, we learn a lot about the world but some lessons can’t be taught in a classroom.

A point that Mr Seymour brought up was that science grades across the country are low. I would like to know exactly what the Government is doing to raise these grades, considering science is for the most part neglected from Years 0-8.

Another thing that Mr Seymour brought up was that we, school strike for climate want third-world countries to starve their children to reduce their carbon emissions.

This makes no sense and has been misinterpreted by Mr Seymour. We are protesting for climate justice in Aotearoa and the freeing of Gaza.

Climate change will harm those in developing countries, so actually if we reduce carbon emissions in New Zealand we will be helping those most at risk in the world.

Something else said by Mr Seymour was, ‘They’re not going to not do it, just like Westerners are not going to not feed their children’.

This line effectively makes no sense as he has used double negatives. It seems slightly dubious that a man who wrote this sentence wants to talk about our education.

We can see the real problems of the world, we can see where we are going. We do not need you, David Seymour to tell us what we want for our future.

Bella Malcolm Whangārei

■ Bella is a Year 9 student