Two hours’ silence

Having now retired, I have a bit more time to consider the good things in the Far North. Having been up here more than 50 years, I have no regrets for the distance we are from the politics down south.

I was (and am) lucky with my lovely wife, my family, my business associates and my friends. But, dear me, the weather is almost always pretty good and I can still cut the lawns all year.

But a very special part of my week is the two hours I spend reading the Age .Itisa paper far superior to any other small town rag. Derric Vincent was a great editor in my younger days, but Peter Jackson does a wonderful job and is a superior journalist. Thank you so much.

CLIVE PATTERSON

Cooper’s Beach meaning the way immigrants and refugees, such as Muslims, assimilate into New Zealand society, accepting our traditions and values? Or is she referring to the relationship of part-Ma¯ori and non-Ma¯ori?

If she’s meaning that New Zealand’s partMa¯ori and non-Ma¯ori are one people, why did Donald Brash get “de-platformed” at Massey University for saying and, in fact, preaching that? LEO LEITCH Benneydale people will tolerate and accept them, as long as they do not attempt to impose their ways on anybody or attempt to upset the equilibrium of society.

A fine example in New Zealand since Hobson assured Bishop Pompallier at Waitangi is our religious tolerance — the persecution of Jews and the brutal conflicts of Catholic/Protestant or Christian/Muslim have been absent from our shores. Of course, on rare occasions when a religious group has chosen to defy social norms and the law of the land, vigorous steps have been necessary to deal with it.

The nasty cults of Parihaka and Rua Kenana, who stated his seditious position in the middle of a major war, are among the few examples. And in those cases, the authorities’ response was fair and moderate.

So now, in the aftermath of the appalling tragedy in Christchurch, it surely comes as a considerable shock to find ourselves berated by prominent figures, of whom Person of the Year Anne Salmond would be one, telling us that we are “white supremacists” who belittle others with of ridicule, suppression and contempt. And many others are using distorted accounts of our recent colonial past to use this situation to advance their political position and bid for more power.

Confronted with such challenges, it is time, I suggest, for all New Zealanders of good faith to assert their belief in themselves and their values of fairness, truth and democracy on which our fine country was founded. BRUCE MOON

Nelson