The Northland Age

Just give us a break

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Conspiracy theorists from around the country seem to have found a home in the Northland Age. Haven’t the same couple of persistent writers from outside Northland been given enough space over the last few years to convey their racist views on Ma¯ ori/ Treaty of Waitangi? Please Mr Editor, give us a break from their vitriol.

We’ve even had radio shock jock turned columnist Leighton Smith’s ‘War on Christiani­ty’ conspiracy repeated not only in letters but an editorial. Surely Mr Editor you’re better than that.

Now, with science and citizens finally coming together to drive real action on climate change, we have a conspiracy letter that was even highlighte­d (Manufactur­ed panic, May 30), denying climate science with the long discredite­d line of previous warming and cooling climate cycles. It was like an unwanted echo from last century. No reference to the time frames involved of hundreds of thousands of years compared to a few decades now.

Let the ignorant wail their Big Government conspiracy psychosis on social media, but a newspaper has an editor with a role surely of discernmen­t when needed.

The climate emergency is a matter of survival. It is unpreceden­ted, but the closest historical analogy of response to emergency might be for instance the whole of society effort in war, or on a localised level, massive disaster. Fossil fuel-induced rapid climate change demands a rapid whole of society response. This means the rules of societal conduct must change to emergency mode where needed.

The niceties of freedom of speech can be debated ad infinitum. But plainly, in an emergency, action is required, not argument.

Climate denial conspiracy has been debunked for some decades. Any number of individual­s could fill your column with their conspiracy ignorance, but we can no longer afford their divisive influence. These are desperate times. Please, Mr Editor, play your role in this emergency and show some judgement. Your role is an important and powerful part of moving towards constructi­ve change. WAYNE PARSONSON

RD2 Kaitaia

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