Today's Letters to the Editor from readers cover topics including ORC building, democracy and council spending.
Ferries, cardiac wards and woe unto us all
There seems to be in New Zealand the opinion only this government can be responsible for major financial disasters and New Zealand is nothing but a lone voice in the world exhibiting these problems.
Ferries. Woe are our ferry problems which are described as lies compounded on lies.
Tasmania ordered two brand new ferries at the usual cost of a billion or two here or there. They were built in Finland, and then shock horror, were too large for the terminals in Devonport and Melbourne, so are now tied up in Scotland paying some exorbitant fees. Whoops, exit one Premier.
Woe is to Dunedin if the heart unit gets moved to Christchurch. The population of the South Island is only one million people. With the massive increase in costs for the latest technology, wages etc, I would suggest the South Island can only afford one cardiac specialist unit.
And before I hear the gnashing of teeth, the tearing out of eyebrows, in New Zealand we only have one specialist children’s hospital, in Auckland. Australia's children specialist services are in Melbourne.
If we want the best healthcare possible in the South Island we have to be totally realistic as to the economics of supplying adequate health services.
Richard Hutchison
Wanaka
[Abridged - length. Editor.]
Demand prudence
The Otago Regional Council building in Rattray St appears to be another imposition on ratepayers. It is being built by Port Otago and leased to the Council for an initial 20 years and then two 10-year right-of-renewals.
Putting aside the fact that the only shareholder in Port Otago is the Otago Regional Council - which appoints the directors – the stakeholders in this venture are the ratepayers.
Port Otago is a combination of Otago Harbour and Chalmers Properties. Otago Harbour - according to the Container Port Efficiency Index 2023 - is, apart from Lyttleton, the worst performing port in the South Island. Otago Harbour is in the bottom 25% of world rankings.
Chalmers Properties is a property investment company with a substantial portfolio of properties in both the North and South Islands.
The time has come for ratepayers (stakeholders? shareholders?) to demand a review of the council’s assets. Non-performing assets should be sold and the money used to offset the cost of the Rattray St building. To get efficiency back into port operations the port should be privatised and let shareholders elect directors that are independent of the council.
Michael Laws, and Hilary Calvert before him, have called for more prudence in council operations. The ratepayers should now demand it.
Jim Barclay
Clyde
Further ancient wisdom
I think my mention of the last 2000 years has stirred up one or two people (Letters ODT 21.11.24). Please let me explain further.
David Robertson wrote to the UK government on November 28 this year to ask that a euthanasia Bill be retracted, saying that the Bill was not progressive: ‘‘It is regress - a regression to the pre-Christian Greco/Roman/Pagan view of the world. A world in which the weak, vulnerable ‘burdens' to society are just removed. You can call it compassion if you wish, but such Orwellian use of language doesn't take away from the fact that this is a regressive step back into a darkness where compassion was considered to be the ultimate weakness. Why would you vote for such a hellish society?’’
I agree and I say people like Robert Louis Stephenson, Sir Isaac Newton, Blaise Pascal, Robert Boyle, Michael Faraday, Maxwell, Mendel, etc, all show that it is better to rely on what 2000 years of history has proven than to expect what we think up to suffice.
Ray McKendry
Dunedin
Concerning lack of engagement on big issue
I have concerns about the threat to New Zealand’s democracy relating to the appointment of members to decision-making positions being given equal voting rights to those elected and publicly accountable.
Attacks on our democracy and equality to all is a serious issue that our forefathers fought and some lost their lives to protect.
Very recent news of Syria’s overthrow of a dictator and the public euphoria at the prospects of gaining a democracy is poignant.
A recent One News Verian poll on the Treaty Principles Bill recorded that 36% of those polled opposed the Bill. More significantly 39% said they did not know enough about the Bill and 2% preferred not to say.
In a democratic country, a 39% sub set not knowing enough about one of the most important political decisions in New Zealand’s history indicates a lack of balanced information, particularly regarding our democracy.
We are told that any publicity about the protection of our democracy upsets people and makes those concerned racists or colonialists.
As long as such accusations continue, a lack of balanced information will continue. Now this upsets me.
Steve Tilleyshort
Mosgiel
No sign of PM admonition being heeded
At the last local government conference the prime minister told councils to focus on core infrastructure rather than ‘‘nice to haves’’ due to the appalling rates increases.
Councils have taken no notice with the latest DCC offering of rainbow crossings, which appears to be a staff job creation scheme. This is not core infrastructure.
In just the last week, we have seen ORC’s new premises costs blow out, Environment Southland spend nearly $300K on a sculpture, DCC waste $250K on pavers (plus annual interest costs of $15K at least on the purchase, QLDC a fortune in legal costs, and their roading partnership spending over $7K on each of nine seats around an intersection.
Councils have undertaken no austerity measures and the continuing incompetence and spending by council managers is quite astounding and shows a total disregard for those who provide their income - ratepayers.
It is time councils' overpaid CEOs actually did something proactive about their organisations to stop all this nonsense and focus on what needs to be done including getting their costs under control.
David Williamson
Arrowtown
Looking up
After nearly completing a year of lots of downs, with negative energy floating around, I stand up with head held high, reaching for the stars.
I totally agree with Sue Johnston (Letters, ODT 6.12.24). If it is right for the people, the people will join together and make a stand, be it protest, meetings, social media, or if that be a hospital, environment, land, civil rights, human rights.
This government should take heed of what the people are saying and doing.
Marita Johnson
Dunedin
Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@odt.co.nz
