Not buying the baloney; build us our hospital
Don't buy the baloney from Shane Reti about fiscal cliffs and Dunedin Hospital.
Fiscal irresponsibility on the part of National is more like it.
Of course National knew last year that there were financial constraints around the inpatient building— there was a very public campaign going on.
Their response then was to come to town and promise an extra $30 million for the project. They may even have fooled some people into voting for them as a result.
Now the real question is will the inpatient building ever be built and fit for purpose, or will we add our hospital to the growing list of the government's broken promises?
Ruth Chapman
Dunedin
Where is the passion?
I always thought the "They Save We Pay" campaign was a National Party campaign against the Labour government in Dunedin by stealth.
The Labour government topped up the funds National as opposition guaranteed that they would provide.
The mayor and councillors were seen sporting shirts and hitting up Labour supporters, full of enthusiasm and passion.
A passion that seems to have left, along with the Labour government and a National Party presence in the city.
Not a protest or shirt in sight; the council has withdrawn its campaign along with its vote.
Did we as ratepayers unsuspectingly support the National Party’s rhetoric regarding the hospital, only to be duped at the finish line?
Roll on the council elections where the most important issue being faced by Dunedinites gets tossed around hoardings, soap boxes, and the rear end of a bus service in dire need of attention.
Gina Browne
Caversham
Water for all
Ngai Tahu blasts the government over the removal of Te Mana O Te Wai from new water control legislation. The concept that Maori have some innate relationship with water that no-one else has and must therefore be in total control of water is utter nonsense. Every culture on Earth valued water.
The Te Mana O Te Wai statements in the Three Waters legislation gave Maori total control over all aspects of water use. It is that loss of control that they are angry about, but there was never any justification for it in the first place.
Despite their claims, the Treaty of Waitangi made Maori and settlers equal. The second article simply allowed Maori to live as they had always lived, on their land.
A racially divided New Zealand is in no-one’s interests.
Peter Foster
Merton
Go for it
Islay Little (Letters ODT 12.6.24) tells us David Seymour seems hell-bent on destroying our education system. The current system can not even teach teachers well enough so they are ready to teach our children, who are failing in the basics of reading, writing and maths, at an ever increasing rate. I say go for it David, there is nothing to lose.
Ian McGimpsey
Owaka
Not smart
It was naive and wrong for National to state they would fund specific drugs. What this did was make drug selection political. It also took away Pharmac's ability to negotiate a good price as big pharma now know what drugs Pharmac must buy.
Bernard Jennings
Wellington
A police checkpoint. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH
Simple message but is anybody listening?
Drink-driving is with us all the time. What is confusing is how much you can drink and be under the limit.
This is under 250mcg per one litre of breath we are told: a breathalyser can measure this for you. Cheap to buy, or a police checkpoint has them to check if you should be driving.
How many drinks keeps you under this limit? Two standard drinks per hour and one standard drink per hour thereafter. What is a standard drink? A can of beer with a 4.8% alcohol content, this is 1.2 standard drinks.
A blood test for alcohol should be no more than 50 mgms per 100 mls of blood. Less than a pint of beer. Still very confusing.
The ODT publishes drink-driving cases. You would think that no-one convicted in court knows the limits and they probably don’t care — it’s just a case of bad luck that they were caught.
Not only drink-driving, but some are aggravated drink-driving. Driving drunk while disqualified. Before the court on their fourth or fifth drink-driving appearance. The list goes on.
The saving grace for the ones that are not appearing in court on drink-driving charges is that they haven’t been caught yet. Some may never be.
The police say, don't drink and drive. Not a lot are listening to this message.
Ross Davidson
Wakari
