Anti-social behaviour not only youth issue
I am not sure what the complainants expect from the security guards at the bus hub. It seems to me that the complainants have decided that their perceptions equal reality.
How a security guard is going to retrospectively prevent a tragic stabbing and death is a mystery to me. It seems the only benefit that has come from the upping of security is more money for the security company.
I would like to add that school kids aren't to blame for all the antisocial behaviour in that area. The empty booze bottles in the toilets each morning attest to that.
G. Robertson
North Dunedin
What to do?
Recent publicity about security staff at the bus hub begs the question: what could they employ, in a tense situation? They have no more right to detain or restrain than the average passer-by. There is a line in a film where a young marine asks "What are we going to use Sir? Harsh language?".
Ian Bilson
Broad Bay
Impossible task
According to your report (ODT 9.7.24) Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu wants a ceasefire deal which allows Israel "to resume fighting until its objectives are met". Meanwhile, his main political supporter, US President Biden, has called for a ceasefire but continues to supply Israel with the fighter jets, missiles and massive bombs it uses to destroy whole neighbourhoods in Gaza.
With such ethically-challenged politicians in charge there is no mystery why peace in the Middle East is impossible to achieve.
N. Yates
Dunedin
Think of the children
Has the present coalition got something against children? It certainly looks like it, when you consider their rejection of lower speed limits outside schools, their swapping of nutritious school lunches for lower-grade food, their reluctance to replace overcrowded, mouldy school-rooms with new ones, their roll-back of planned anti-smoking regulations, their reduction in numbers of Oranga Tamariki care workers, and their locking-up of children in boot camps, even after being told that such draconian measures don’t work.
But their worst crime against children is the destruction of their future by refusing to tackle climate change through mitigation and adaptation.
Indeed they seem hell-bent on raising emissions then abdicating responsibility for the consequences. Mark Cameron’s Bill to stop regional councils from considering climate change in their decisions (ODT 16.7.24) is only the latest in the string of disastrous actions clearly identified in your editorial (13.7.24).
Perhaps it’s time to remind the government the children of today are the voters of tomorrow. As the world heats and floods, they will remember what they did and didn’t do.
Jocelyn Harris
Dunedin
Do we really want to be a force multiplier?
When former political rivals Helen Clark and ex National leader Don Brash combine to criticise the current government for moving closer to America’s military alliance against China, it may be time to listen.
They describe Christopher Luxon’s cuddling up to the US as a "radical change" from New Zealand’s long-standing and nuanced independent foreign policy.
In an interview with The Financial Times Mr Luxon spoke of our defence force being a "force multiplier for Australia and the US and other partners". He also referenced increased defence spending despite widespread cuts elsewhere.
If we were to become such a "force multiplier" (presumably jargon for committing armed forces) it could see us on a road to war with China.
Far from impressed
Wow. Fantastic. Pop the bubbly. Ring the albatross bell. Not. One day of cricket out of 41 for Dunedin. How disappointing. The DCC will rightly be annoyed after spending all that money to bring Uni Oval up to scratch for international cricket.
New risk-based procedures are a risk as well
Recent announcements by the NZ Transport Agency of pending new regulations have given hope that ridiculous levels of unnecessary temporary traffic management (TTM) will soon be over.
However, what many appear to have missed in the media announcements is a comment by a senior NZTA staffer that restricted movement through sites may be replaced by full road closures. Is that not what Dunedin road users have already been experiencing in recent times?
The same staffer said that the new "risk-based" procedures have been undergoing trials in centres around the country. They did not say exactly where. It is interesting to speculate whether Dunedin has been one of them.
Even a casual observer will have noticed that the default position for every Dunedin roadworks site now appears to be the use of the maximum possible restrictions whether warranted or not. Of most concern are the full road closures. Often these shutdowns are difficult to justify.
The real reason behind the increased intrusiveness of TTM is clearly fear of prosecution by the safety authorities. If a contractor has set up a site in accordance with the current NZTA-prescribed rules then they presumably have a defence should an incident occur.
However, if contractors are required to perform a comprehensive risk assessment at each individual job and design a custom TTM plan, as per the new regulations, then the potential to be exposed to regulatory action increases. Therefore, there is an incentive to throw every possible restriction at a site — a sledgehammer to crack a walnut.
Unreasonable denial of access is now routinely and unashamedly imposed by unnecessary TTM. Consequently, the social licence of contractors and TTM companies is increasingly at risk. A plan to manage the way back from this situation is desperately needed but the proposed new rules may not be the answer.
[Abridged — length. Editor]
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