Manslaughter sentence
What message does it send to those who prefer to sort issues out with their fists, intimidation and violence? If every driver who was “cut in front of ” in Auckland reacted in this manner there would be hundreds of cases like this every week. If judges do not want to send certain offenders to prison, perhaps there should be some other “facility” for people who commit crimes for which judges feel prison is not the right punishment. I just do not think home detention (a soft option) for causing the death of someone is punishment enough. A. Gifford, Mission Bay.
Police should appeal
It seems killing someone in a road rage is not considered by the judiciary to be really criminal. What I am sure most would view as criminal is the sentence of home detention and community service for such an offence. A more realistic sentence which would have guaranteed there was no likelihood of any reoffending would have been five years in jail. I hope the police appeal this trivial sentence. Rod Lyons, Muriwai.
Loyal miss out
The recruitment of elite rugby players from other schools by St Kentigern College also affects students who have shown commitment to St Kentigern College through their secondary years. Five scholarships to students from other schools means five rugby-playing St Kentigern students not making the 1st XV. Who values who here? M. Carter, Tauranga.
UN migration pact
Pauline Alexander’s letter yesterday suggesting signing up to the United Nations Global Migration Compact “allows automatic migration without sovereign country’s agreement” is very misleading. In fact the agreement only creates a set of non-legally binding conditions for nations which adopt it, aiming to enable all migrants to enrich our societies through their human, economic and social capacities. While emphasising the need for international co-operation, the compact also explicitly recognises the sovereignty of individual nations. The compact states: “It fosters international cooperation among all relevant actions on migration, acknowledging that no State can address migration alone, and upholds the sovereignty of States and their obligations under international law.” Brian Alderson, Glen Eden.
Tampering with mail
Mail is being maliciously tampered with. I sent a birthday card with Lotto ticket included from Mount Maunganui to a friend in Cambridge on November 26. The card arrived on December 11 from Auckland, it had been opened and resealed and the Lotto ticket had supposedly been checked to see if it had won money. The only avenue I have remaining for postage now is the overnight courier. Christine Topp, Mount Maunganui.
Not ready to pay
The climate change conference is on in Poland in the city of Katowice, a coal mining town. Who was there to greet the delegates but the Coal Miners Brass Band, mining caps and all. It must have been a great sight. I’m lost for words. Then to hear Sir David Attenborough say, “The people are with us, they are ready to pay for climate change.” The next news item was of riots in Paris. Why? An increase in the cost of fuel to help pay for climate change. Perhaps “the people” aren’t ready to pay yet. Hugh Chapman, Hingaia.
Break the sanctions
Huawei is now accused of breaking American sanctions on Iran and its chief financial officer arrested. Good on Huawei. It should be the duty of every country to break President Trump’s illegal sanctions. They breach American agreements with many countries including Iran and noone should follow them. Gehan Gunasekara, Ellerslie.
Christmas character
Since when did Kiwis start calling Father Christmas “Santa” anyway? Saint Nicholas was a Greek priest who lived in what is today Turkey. Father Christmas is an old Nordic tradition. The two figures were only combined in America for commercial purposes. New Zealand should do its own thing at Christmas and celebrate the legend of Tane-Rore or something along those lines. Quentin Poulsen, Turkey.