Wheeling, dealing and US real estate
Today we read that Denmark has taken a leaf out of the Trump playbook: they have offered to buy California.
I think that New Zealand should offer to annex Hawaii on cultural grounds. After all we have proof that Māori came to this area from Hawaii.
We could sell this to Mr Trump as another way of consolidating US finances by reducing outgoings. If he buys Gaza and goes to war with Denmark over Greenland he will need to conserve his money.
Security screening
I see Winston Peters is outraged by Senator Ted Cruz saying New Zealand screens Israeli soldiers seeking RnR between bouts of violence in Gaza and the West Bank. A recent correspondent is outraged that John Minto and the Palestinian Network is doing this screening.
However, I am outraged and shocked that screening for war criminals is not being done by New Zealand and is left up to Mr Minto and Palestinian supporters. Why aren’t we looking for war criminals in Israeli visitors given all must serve in the armed forces? Why is this nation still on the wrong side of justice?
Swear words
I can't quite get over our council spending a quarter of a million dollars to make its CEO swear less. Ignoring the fact that you can switch on free-to-air TV any weeknight and hear worse than Ms Graham is alleged to have uttered, how could it possibly cost $250,000 to investigate. Split almost equally between the council’s lawyers and an out-of-town barrister, what was actually done for the money? Assuming they each charged $5000 per day, that means they each spent five working weeks probing this weighty matter. I hope we don’t have a real legal problem in the near future, as if this is an indication of cost we’ll have to sell the town hall to pay the lawyers’ fees. The complainant is obviously a sensitive soul, but you’d think they might instead have had a word with a manager, who then spoke to the mayor, who had a coffee with the CEO to agree on acceptable expletive levels. To put this farcical exercise in correctness into context, it cost the equivalent of the total average annual rates for 94 Dunedin homes, so it’s small wonder we get chunky annual rates increases.
Risk avoidance
I read the letter from Bernard Jennings (ODT (8.2.25) referring to the prime minister’s choice to "avoid" Waitangi and the celebrations He wrote "it shows how little he grasps the depth of feeling within Māoridom about the Bill and other government Policies."
Look closely at the footage. This feeling applies not just to Māoridom.
Better understanding
Russell Garbutt (Letters ODT 11.2.25) writes on Janet Dickson, an Auckland real estate agent , refusing to attend compulsory training on Māori culture, gods, legends, language and the Treaty of Waitangi. The Real Estate Agents Authority has the power to revoke her practising licence if Janet doesn’t comply.
Anyone working with the public has to be seen to be culturally safe and sensitive. Licensing boards, service providers, government departments and most employers have to tick all the boxes for auditing purposes.
My last employer introduced compulsory karakia before staff meetings even though none of us were of Māori descent or religious. It’s the world we live in and knowledge leads to better understanding.
Embarrassed by New Zealand’s Gazan silence
Trump to "take over" and "own" Gaza; Palestinians will "go to other countries"; the IDF preparing to enact Trump’s "plan"; images of grinning accused war criminal Netanyahu, up close and intimate with Trump, like a hungry child in a lolly shop; Israel and the US boycott the UN Human Rights Council; US sanctions on the International Criminal Court.
So, who is the biggest threat to international law and a rules-based order? Us unfortunately. New Zealand’s silence on the international stage is deafening. New Zealand has taken no stance on Trump "taking over" and "owning" Gaza.
Where on the global stage is our prime minister and minister of foreign affairs who should be yelling condemnation at even the hint of such an outrageous proposal? Luxon is silent and Peters is "waiting for more details", though insisting that New Zealand continues to support a two-state solution.
Our government embarrasses and misrepresents us internationally for fear of offending the US. I am ashamed to be a New Zealander.
I’ve advanced enough, time to contribute
Although I have not had the pleasure of meeting Dr Duncan Connors personally, in his letter to the editor (11.2.25), he asserts that my candidacy for mayor and council in 2025 is driven by a desire for "personal advancement."
While I take exception to this particular characterisation, I find myself in agreement with much of the remainder of Dr Connors’ commentary.
In 1981, while pursuing part-time studies in economics and marketing at the University of Otago, I was employed as a car groomer by Moller Motors on Crawford St. From nothing but a combination of determination, hard work, and some luck, I subsequently grew one of New Zealand’s largest and most successful motor companies.
Today, my company employs nearly 400 people and generates annual revenues approaching $400 million.
Dr Connors may rest-assured that my need for "personal advancement" has long since been fulfilled. Like all candidates representing Future Dunedin, my decision to stand for public office requires a significant financial and personal sacrifice, both for my family and myself.
This choice is motivated solely by our belief that we possess the vision, skills, and commitment necessary to contribute to a better future for Dunedin.
Dr Connors is entirely correct in stating that local government is not a business. A business must offer products or services that customers choose to pay for in order to remain viable. Conversely, local government has the authority to increase revenue through rates, drawing further and further from the pockets of ratepayers when needed. Future Dunedin believes this power should be exercised with far greater caution and respect.
If Dr Connors believes that Dunedin is best served by a continuation of what we have seen from the DCC this term, he has every opportunity to support that belief at the ballot box.
Fortunately, we live in a democracy, and come October, the electorate will have its say.
Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@odt.co.nz
