Today's Letters to the Editor from readers cover topics including the health system, coalition criticised, and the success of Otago's Polyfest.
Yes, a referendum is actually unthinkable
In defence of the National-led coalition government’s mischievous Treaty Principles Bill, Chris Trotter (ODT Reckonings 13.9.24) asks ‘‘Is a referendum really unthinkable?’’
As statistics showing falling voter turnout will tell him, for a growing percentage it is, even for ‘‘the only poll that counts’’, the general election.
Increasingly favoured by populist governments, single-issue referendums - usually canvassing complex issues requiring specialist advice and the informed debate of representative democracy - are vulnerable to manipulation, and easy prey for third-party lobbyists serving vested interests with the resources to sway opinion, often with specious claims at odds with reality and no basis in sound reasoning.
Thus, the ‘‘voice of the people’’ is used as a tool of expediency, and trust in democratic institutions undermined.
Susan Hall
Oamaru
Disinformation
Warren Jowett (Letters ODT 14.9.24) disinforms us that Act New Zealand is trying to neutralise the Treaty of Waitangi with the Treaty Principles Bill. I would suggest he goes on to the Act website and look up their paper ‘‘Why are we advancing a Treaty Principles Bill?’’
Defining the principles in law is not racism, it is common sense, and Act by leading this action are showing a principled stance on behalf of all New Zealanders. The intention of the Bill is to establish in law that the principles of the Treaty are what the three articles actually say.
The Treaty as written and signed in 1840, will remain unchanged.
Ian McGimpsey
Owaka
[Ian McGimpsey is Act New Zealand’s South Otago co-ordinator.]
Look behind you
In the article regarding doctors’ understaffing (ODT 12.9.24) PM Luxon is quoted: ‘‘the government is working incredibly hard to fix the broken healthcare system it had inherited’’. Mr Luxon seems to have forgotten that it takes more than six years to train a doctor and therefore the cause of the broken healthcare system should be laid at the door of the last National government’s health minister for his lack of vision and foresight.
Rob Douglas
Oamaru
Try working in an ED
Dr Shane Reti, in setting new health targets to be met by frontline health professionals, is like asking an Olympic archer to hit the target without feathers on the arrow or with a deficient bow.
New Zealand’s health workers deliver excellent service, beyond expectations, under very challenging conditions. It is insulting to them to be accused of inefficiency when resources are being cut to unacceptable levels.
Maybe Dr Reti should do some shifts in an ED to appreciate the difficulties faced by staff and patients due to inadequate resources.
Wyn Barbezat
Roslyn
Profit vs prevention
The Minister of Transport intends to raise speed limits in the belief that this will speed up the economy. A 10-year study in Sweden, New York and Australia produced a significant decrease in road deaths and injury. This was adopted in the Vision Zero policy of the previous government.
The number killed or seriously injured per crash on a road with a speed limit of 100km is 40% higher than in crashes on 80km roads. Dropping urban speed from 50km to 30km improves pedestrian and cyclist chance of survival by 90%. It takes less than 10 minutes longer to cover 100km at 80km than driving at 100km.
One can only conclude that for the government profit is more important than death and injury prevention.
Brian Ellis
Pine Hill
Polyfest a terrific showcase of young talent
I wish to praise the effort, organisation and hard work that makes the Polyfest a great event. Our grandchildren’s performances were on Tuesday, when we were entertained by several groups. There was an impressive mixture of songs, drama and humour.
Special mention should go to the group from The Mint Trust. Having worked with young people with physical and intellectual challenges, I can appreciate how much time, patience and commitment was needed to produce their lively and entertaining performance. They made the journey from Wanaka to be part of this festival.
Jane Slade
Macandrew Bay
Shameful disparity
The juxtaposition of two articles on your front page (ODT 10.9.24) highlights the shameful disparity in our society: $295,000 for shares being offered in a very exclusive golf club development vs homeless people having nowhere to go and being turned away from the night shelter. Greed vs need on full display.
Mary Gray
Wanaka
The runaway train rushing to oblivion
This three-headed monster of government driving a runaway train with no brakes on a fast track to Popularity City is causing chaos everywhere in this country, destroying on its rampant journey every organisation, be it health, housing, education, public services or the environment.
Regional councils are struggling to comply with government demands to cut costs and yet take on extra responsibilities with no funding provided.
‘‘Robbing Peter to pay Paul’’ in its so-called ‘‘getting the economy back on track’’, Luxon and his revved-up mob strutting the world stage tapping shoulders with other country’s leaders does not help this country when people cannot get health needs met or the poor have no place to live in warmth and safety.
No reliable replacement inter-island ferry or rail transport for goods plan has been met.
Building of Kainga Ora houses has now been stymied and new hospital plans previously promised are in hiatus with excuses that ‘‘we need to make sure the previous plans are fit for purpose’’ or ‘‘deliver the best financial outcome’’.
All this procrastination, while the government redirects our taxes to ‘‘good to have’’ projects like new roads, landlord tax cuts and new defence force aeroplanes.
The poor and struggling middle class want healthy affordable homes, healthcare and safety on the roads we already have.
This stubborn unreasoned determination to reverse all the previous government’s plans irrespective of whether they would have solved many of these problems, given time to fulfil, without spending so much money to invent new ones, seems like throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
Pamela Ritchie
Caversham
Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@odt.co.nz
