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Predator free pipedream

I have just returned from a week or so at an iconic South Island high country station.

As I gazed upon stock grazing hillsides covered in a mixture of bracken, tussock, matagouri, scrub and forest, I pondered the concept of Predator Free 2050 and came to the conclusion that without the release of a highly contagious, 100 per cent fatal biological pathogen which only affects the targeted species, the whole idea of a Predator Free New Zealand is nothing but an impractical and unobtainable pipedream that is using up tax payer funds that would be better put to use funding core services such as the maternity hospital at Lumsden. Marion Dawson Te Anau

Vote for our real future

It’s official. New Zealand is for sale.

Water bottling companies are paying an average 500 times less than ratepayers for each litre of water they’re allowed to use.

Corporations are grabbing land and, of course, our electricalgeneration assets are now funding Moms and Pops retirements everywhere but here.

And now, a government whose planning to date has demonstrated difficulty plotting next week’s caucus meeting, has set its myopic vision four years into the future.

They are spending more in that time frame correcting their skewered policy outcomes than the nine years they have had a chance to do good.

Now we are invited to sell our bright future (never arrived) for 30 pieces of silver, most of which will find its way into the pockets of the subsidised rich (through rents).

The lolly scramble was mainly stale lollies, stolen from the past to buy this government a continuation of its reign of error.

But I would prefer, Mr Joyce, to have a working health system; an education system not focused on tests, but on learning to learn; a shrinking prison system due to effective programmes; an environment that actually is protected by invested money and resources, and not just wishful thinking; private providers out of public systems (Serco and Compass); actual progress on climate change mitigation; Trade Agreements that are safe for our sovereignty; and a social safety net that is not just holes.

A vote in this election is for our real future, not the visionless future National offers. David Russell Invercargill

Lumsden Maternity Centre

The threatened closure of Lumsden Maternity Centre is an intolerable and unnecessary situation for the citizens and families of greater Northern Southland.

Under the circumstances, I would have expected some form of reassurance from SDHB or the Government, that this will not eventuate.

Tuatapere was very unfortunate to lose its maternity unit. But here in Lumsden, we are strategically placed at a major crossroad in the centre of a large district.

Our modern multi-use facility, with helicopter access, has five beds, all with ensuite bathrooms, that would also be available in emergency or epidemic scenerios.

Just up the road in Queenstown, we have the Government pouring millions into servicing the ‘‘golden goose’’ of tourism. While 100km south at Lumsden we have the threat of closure of an essential community asset through lack of sufficient funding.

I understand this to be a relatively modest five-figure sum.

We are a democracy and this is election year. Some official comment would be appreciated. Laurie Selbie Five Rivers

Applied Christianity

With the emphasis in the budget of helping the people on the bottom of the economic ladder reminds me of Michael Savage’s comment in the 1930s to criticism of his financial policies, ‘‘It is applied Christianity’’. However, this should not surprise, as the prime minister and minister of finance are both strong Christians, and presumably try to practise their Christian ethic.

With the advances in technology, and rampant greed in lots of areas, the country is reverting back to the early industrialised situation where most of the wealth was owned by a minority of citizens.

Perhaps it is time for those with today’s wealth, particularly landlords and property speculators, to show a similar Christian approach to their tenants and employees instead of trying to maximise their own financial return. V K Smith Invercargill