Health priorities and futuristic thinking
I no sooner sat down to write this when the paper (ODT 1.8.24) arrived and across the editorial page the headline was on health concerns.
I ask, what is the point of constructing a new hospital for a growing population that will ultimately not be fit for purpose and when finished will be found inadequate?
The current government has been accused in the past, when in power, of ignoring healthcare. As a result, it has fallen far behind the needs of the community.
Perhaps the members of National do not feel they are a part of the broader community or, perhaps they all have private insurance? Is it really important to give all of us an extra $20 or $40 per week if the healthcare we need, and, yes, we all need it, isn't there?
When one shows up at the hospital with a serious fracture, as I did some time ago, an extra few dollars a week means little. What I most needed was a trained doctor and a shot of morphine while waiting among other patients in the ED hallway for a bed to open up.
The doctor eventually did an excellent job rebuilding my elbow with a plate and many screws to hold all together. It works like new.
I agree there may be excessive levels of bureaucracy in the system.
But, my doctor is not one of them. My radiologist is not one of them and the hospital that I may need tomorrow is not part of the bureaucracy when the doctors are treating patients rather than fighting with administrators.
I want the new hospital fit for this vibrant growing community and finished before the century closes.
Leaving a legacy
Reading about multibillionaire Peter Thiel's Wānaka compound getting scratched makes me think about how other rich men tried to build a future legacy and to inspire the public.
J Paul Getty reconstructed a Roman villa in Malibu and filled it full of fine art then opened it up; William Randolph Hearst built his castle, shipped in from Europe in pieces, and it was gifted to the state of California; Peter Thiel's predecessor Lorenzo Medici turned Florence into the epicentre of the enlightenment and revolutionsed money and banking as well as art and architecture.
I am not sure what a alpine New Zealand icon would look like? Maybe a Tibetan palace or a Vanderbilt Chateau Tongariro but I am pretty sure a glass bunker is not a legacy any truly great man would want.
Don’t vote for me
Successful groups always have a united team approach where each person is capable of sharing the load for the good of the whole team. Respect, co-operation, and support are paramount but there are sometimes a few who find it hard to accept team members’ opinions and ideas.
Councillors are expected to lead the city without disputes and grievances but why do the same group (some with years of council experience) keep complaining about other councillors? A few appear to regularly find faults with the mayor or fellow hardworking councillors .
We know that individual people have different opinions but disagreements should be discussed (and hopefully calmed) behind closed doors. Usually it is wise to agree to disagree and move on. Why would anyone want their complaint or disagreement recorded in the ODT?
If any councillor complains about a fellow councillor he/she should pay for the expenses or damage caused. No ratepayer money should ever be used to pay for any complaints made by councillors.
Do these dissatisfied councillors not realise that they are really saying "Don’t vote for me at the next elections"?
Locomotives and a good return on investment
Usually the scrapping of four unserviceable locomotives would be of no interest to anyone outside of the rail enthusiast community. This time it is a stark political lesson that needs to be noted.
In May the KiwiRail DL class locos were taken to Hutt Workshops for dismantling. Built in China by Dalian they entered the fleet in 2011 meaning that, at best, they gave 13 years of service before being declared unfit for use. To place this in perspective, KiwiRail continues to run on a 24/7 roster dozens of locomotives supplied by American manufacturers over 50 years ago.
When KiwiRail went to the international market in the late 2000s seeking tenders for the supply of dozens of new locos John Key's National government was in power. It is no secret that state-owned enterprise KiwiRail was instructed to accept the Dalian bid despite KiwiRail management having a preference for a different supplier.
In 2020 KiwiRail again sought bids to supply 57 new locomotives. The Ardern Labour government allowed KiwiRail's experts to select the best machines without political interference.
Consequently, the first units of the new DM class will arrive before the end of this year.
They are cutting-edge low emission units from Stadler of Switzerland, arguably the leading manufacturer of locomotives in the world today.
They will unquestionably provide a return on investment that will laugh at that achieved by the locos demanded by the Key government.
Let us hope that National never again allows ideology to interfere with KiwiRail decision-making. Oh.
Reflecting on war, genocide and defence
I suggest to John Hobbs, the aspiring academic in Peace and Conflict Studies Dept at the University of Otago (Opinion ODT 30.7.24) that two absolutely vital attributes are an open mind and a reflective disposition. No one in their right mind would find any grievous humanitarian crisis as the one in Gaza to be anything other than lamentable, but whether it is entirely, or even directly due to the defensive actions of Israel is a moot point.
I further suggest that extensive time researching and reflecting on the precedent centuries of social and cultural tumult that lead to the current deadly upheaval in the Middle East would result in a well-considered, solidly founded perspective.
I am far from the first to point out that there appears to be far less concern or fear for the welfare of the besieged Ukrainians. Nor was there an outcry of this magnitude for the suffering of the people of Sudan.
Closed-minded theorising leads to massacres and the terrible atrocities accompanying war perpetuate that which it proposes to eliminate.
John Hobbs continues the anti Israel rhetoric on behalf of the Otago University Peace and Conflict Studies Department in his latest article. Such superficial research on this continued Middle East conflict is worryingly biased.
Here's a well-documented fact that John might like to investigate for his next contribution. There have been at least five attempts to bring in a "two state" solution. They have all failed because one side would not agree. An early heads up: it wasn't Israel.
Also, can John also stop calling what Israel is doing protecting their borders and citizens a "genocide’'. It is not.
Finally, the pressure he is suggesting should be applied to Israel to end this current conflict should in reality be applied to Hamas. The conflict could end today if they laid down their arms and freed the remaining hostages.
Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@odt.co.nz
