Book borrowing stats and changing times
In your editorial (ODT 7.1.25) you state that "as fewer people borrow fewer books, library roles are also changing".
Could you please let your readers know the statistics behind this statement?
It would be very helpful in any debate on public library services in Dunedin to know whether the number of people visiting libraries has declined, and whether fewer library materials are being borrowed.
With the recent unprecedented and unpopular closure of all the community libraries over an extended holiday period, and the closure of all but the ground floor of the City Library over the same period, library visits and issues will definitely be reduced for the year.
A classic example of Dunedin Public Library shooting itself in the foot.
[From Dunedin City Council annual reports, the percentage of residents who visited the public libraries: 2015-16, 68%; 2019-20, 64%; and 2023-24 59%. That last figure might have been affected by upgrading work in the central library. It appears likely, therefore, that book issue numbers are also trending down. The specific figures are not easily obtained with specific inquiries to the library. At the same time, an international trend has seen rises in ebook, audiobook and magazine lending. No doubt, these have risen steadily as part of the changing face of libraries. — Editor]
Strange and flawed
Could you explain what Elizabeth Rata (Opinion ODT 11.1.25) might be referring to in raising the spectre of Ngāi Tahu claiming "large swathes of the South Island". Have you inadvertently republished a piece written before the 1998 settlement?
My understanding is that claim was based in property law — an unfulfilled sale and purchase agreement that had entitled Ngāi Tahu to remain as the most substantial landowner in the South. Nothing ahistorical about that.
Rata’s scaremongering in regard to Ngāi Tahu’s clawing back even a fraction of this and becoming a rapacious bogey, a "rentier organisation" ("A rentier class gives little to a nation’s prosperity but takes much in rent from others’ investment and labour") seems both deeply offensive to Ngāi Tahu, and ironic.
She appears not to notice that we already have an entrenched "rentier" class, and it certainly isn’t Ngāi Tahu, nor any other iwi. I believe the Prime Minister himself is a member.
Finally, could you explain why you published this strange and flawed piece at all, given your greater knowledge of how Ngāi Tahu has operated, and your knowledge of how deeply entrenched historical misinformation is in the community.
The ODT had been showing signs of attempting to address that, making this aberration all the more peculiar.
[The Otago Daily Times has run many opinion pieces and letters from people strongly for and adamantly against the Treaty Principles Bill, as well as from people who are trying to find a middle ground. We will continue to publish a wide range of opinions on this debate.— Editor.]
Right and wrong
Re Bible interpretation, Audis Allen from Manapouri writes (ODT 27.11.24) that the Bible must be wrong according to him because the Earth has more age than first thought.
Has Audis read the part that states God created man? He did not create a baby, he created a man about 33 years of age.
Which is harder to create, an adult with age or rocks with age. Keep reading, Audis, have an open mind and consider the words. Many great people have tried to prove the Bible incorrect and have not been able to.
Urgent need to grant humanitarian visas
The New Zealand government must issue humanitarian visas to Palestinian families now.
It is estimated that more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza over the last year and with Israel's scorched earth policy leaving schools and hospitals destroyed, lack of water and food makes life not only dangerous but unbearable for young families.
The New Zealand government must issue humanitarian visas to Palestinian families needing to leave Gaza with their lives and family intact. Our diplomats must do what they can to ensure that Palestinian families are able to leave. Failure to issue visas and assistance for Palestinian families to leave endangers their life. Our lack of action leaves us with responsibility for their potential death.
In the 1930s, and even after the war started, the reluctance of many western countries to allow Jewish families to escape Germany and become refugees in their countries prevented them from escaping genocide.
History must not repeat itself. We must facilitate Palestinian families in escaping Gaza and becoming refugees in New Zealand.
Things happen, but shearers are responsible
For 15 years I was the sales and marketing manager, Otago, Southland, for the Sunbeam Shearing Company, promoting shearing equipment to shearers. This also involved shearing shed visits to assess usage of equipment.
I never experienced any aggressive or malicious activity by shearers to the sheep. Sure, occasionally a learner may hamstring a sheep: it was humanely put down and used for dog food or the deep freeze.
This industry is an extremely organised and tuned industry where the shearer, presser, classer and rowsey all contribute to a responsible team work ethic. Where next for this stupidity? The dairy shed?
Deep schtuk
A correspondent is "seeing" a small increase in CO₂ (Letters ODT 13.1.25). In fact, human activity has increased atmospheric CO₂ by 50%, but CO₂ in the atmosphere is invisible to us — as it is to sunlight. But CO₂ is not invisible to the infrared radiation leaving Earth for space, so Earth is warming madly.
For 6000 years before the Industrial Revolution CO₂ level was 280ppm: now it is 420.
While extra CO₂ in a glasshouse, where the plants receive extra water, does promote growth, our rogue CO₂ is causing severe droughts and desertification, as well as shocking floods, storms, heatwaves and fires.
The mean global surface temperature passed 1.5°C last year; hopefully it will drop a bit this year. Climate change is defined as changes averaged over 30 years, so the scientists are not going soft, as Gwynne Dyer implies (Opinion ODT 14.1.25). It's a question of highs or averages. Whatever, we are in the deep schtuk.
Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@odt.co.nz
