Kindness for kittens, not Kiwis
Virginia Fallon’s hope for her kittens to experience “only kindness” is well-placed (Flatmate needed, not more cats, March 14). Glen Campbell’s hit song Try a Little Kindness called on us to give kindness a go.
In the Covid pandemic, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern implored us to “be kind”. This resonated with most of us.
Moreover, her language and behaviour liberated notions of kindness and empathy from their more restricted discourse of curative or caring interpersonal relations and set them free in the realms of national and global politics. They flourished.
Unfortunately, this attracted a harsh reaction from those who saw it as “woke” or somehow unbecoming of politicians and the chance of a better way of resolving conflict or crises was extinguished.
One would be hard put to find even a shred of kindness or empathy in the policies of our Government now.
Bruce Morrison, St Albans
Funding fallout
The announcement from the Government that it has rubber-stamped tens of billions of dollars for new roading seems to have flown somewhat under the proverbial public radar, whilst we are at the same time told that money is so tight that the comparatively, drop in the bucket, $160 million lunches in schools programme, among other services, is in line for some serious downgrading due to, severe financial restraints.
I am reminded of the story of the board of a large corporation discussing and approving the implementation of two multi-million-dollar projects in the space of 10 minutes.
The next item on the agenda was the janitor’s request for a new mop. After a 30-minute debate the board voted that the janitor be instructed to make the old mop last another six months.
In their rush to embrace their “future roads of significance” this government will be denying thousands of children a road of significance to their own futures.
Who will mop up the generational fallout from such narrow-minded policies? John Bower, Palmerston North
Freedom of speech
Your correspondent Dolores Janiewski (In defence of rednecks and freedom of
Letters
Send letters to letters@press.co.nz or the Editor, Private Bag 4722, Christchurch Mail Centre, Christchurch, 8014. Letters may be edited or rejected at The Press’s discretion. Correspondence will not be entered into. Letters should be no longer than 150 words and a name, postal address and phone number must be provided. Pen names are not accepted. Letters may be edited for clarity.
Media Council
The Press is subject to the NZ Media Council. Complaints must be directed to letters@press.co.nz. If the complainant is unsatisfied with the response, the complaint may be referred to the Media Council via its website mediacouncil.org.nz expression, March 13) shows a surprising unawareness of how the exercising of freedom of speech can engage both the public and the private spheres.
The members of the Hurricanes women’s rugby team are free as individuals to say what they like about the government, but for better or for worse they have chosen to become professionals and play as the employees of the Hurricanes franchise.
What they do on the field and in the Hurricanes strip necessarily implicates the franchise, its governors, management, and other employees, who understandably might not see it as the role of the franchise to adopt and proclaim political postures of one kind or another, with which they might or might not agree.
Similarly, while I personally might not be particularly exercised by Professor Joanna Kidman’s X/Twitter “death cult” utterance, I can readily understand how her employer, the university, might have a view about the potential for the intemperate language of its academic staff, even when expressed in a private capacity via a public channel, to send a message about intellectual standards within the institution, to the prejudice of the status and currency of its degree qualifications. David Kember, Wellington
Point missed
I used the terms “balanced and sustainable” in a letter (March 11) in the context of regional water management. In response, Alan Crowe has reinterpreted these terms in the context of water consent compliance (March 13)
With respect, this misses my point entirely.
Alan also lists some irrigation “facts” which are selective.
He does not mention, for example, the facts that irrigation has led to widespread contamination of our drinking water - once the envy of the world – and degradation of iconic waterways, some of which are no longer fit for recreational enjoyment.
In conclusion, he says: “It is hard to imagine what the economics of our agricultural nation would be without irrigation…”
Well, the economics of our agricultural nation include the figure that rural debt is currently $58.5 billion (RBNZ data).
This is a worrying figure that begs questions about how economically viable irrigation actually is.
Bill Horsley, Rangiora
Representation
Central to fixing Our outdated Cabinet structure (Josie Pagani, March 15) is getting meaningful representation back in the hands of the voting public, not leaving it in the hands of de facto List MPs whose representation to date has been to support anything that appears “fashionable” with pressure groups and might catch votes no matter how “off the planet” they are.
The Kaikōura electorate is a classic example of two district regions which should become, say, Hurunui, ending south of Kaikōura, and Hurunui down to Waimakarari. North of that, a separate Marlborough including the Sounds. Since the elimination of the Rangiora electorate the concerns of those within have been pushed onto the backburner in my view, evidenced by the decay of some once-vibrant townships and “urban sprawl” happening without long-term planning, ie next 50 years minimum!
Keep up the present farce and New Zealand will fall even further down the scale, while the Scandinavians and Swiss go even further ahead with their governments, who actually represent “the people”!
John McCaskey, Waipara
Methane emissions
Research claims that, up to the year 2000, fossil fuel sources accounted for approximately 30% of global methane emissions. Recent research claims that fossil fuel processing in many places accounts for three times the previous estimates; 90% of global emissions.
If these figures prove to be correct, and the recent MethaneSAT satellite launch will assist that clarification, we should wonder why a natural process such as animals (including humans) farting deserves any blame whatsoever for global warming; other than there being too many animals on the planet in relation to the surviving plant life.
Like fossil fuel extraction organisations, governments guided by ignorant politicians are surely as dangerous as the methane they create.
Doug Hitchon, Mahana
Bank safeguards
New Zealand banks are well behind those elsewhere in preventing increasingly sophisticated scams which are costing their customers millions. They make vast profits in return for poor standards of protection, thus serving the scammers better than the customers.
The Banking Ombudsman also needs to be reformed and resourced to require it to award more realistic compensation to victims, who are usually required to give up the right to sue to get a typically very small proportion of their losses back.
As in the UK, banks should be liable for customers’ fraud losses, unless customers have acted with gross negligence. As retired banker Janine Starks has said, this is the best way to focus banks on investing in adequate fraud protection, and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly must see that they do. Denis O’Rourke, Mt Pleasant
Wishful thinking
I would imagine that there are Many Americans Going Ape at the confirmation of Donald Trump as the Republican Party candidate in the upcoming election.
If only they could Make it All Go Away. Vic Smith, Halswell