Infamy, infamy, they all have it in for me
Recent announcements show just how callous this government is towards the South.
A multibillion-dollar four-lane highway from Auckland to Whāngarei so Aucklanders can take their boats into Northland on holiday more quickly. This will also allow the speeding up of trucking freight to and from the area, resulting in less going by rail (which the government actually owns). How many private enterprises do we have that will actually fund their opposition to take business off themselves?
Roads of national significance, none down here. For the dangerous intersection of SH1 at the botanic gardens, no flyover, we will just move one lane a few metres which won’t eliminate the problem of brake failures on southbound trucks entering that intersection. A new medical school in the Waikato when Auckland and Otago medical schools could increase their numbers of doctor trainees for less cost.
Now we have cuts to the new Dunedin hospital that serves the whole area south of the Waitaki River. Fewer general beds, fewer ICU beds, fewer mental health beds for the elderly. When is it going to stop?
Give ’em a break
Every Easter we hear ad nauseum the bleatings of retailers particularly the supermarket chains of our "archaic" laws in shutting their doors for a mere two days. Their complaints are not in the slightest thinking of the service they provide to the public, but are motivated from unadulterated greed.
New Zealand still retains a high percentage of Christian followers. Are they to be denied the respect and honour of their faith observances particularly Easter, the most poignant event on the Christian calendar?
Maybe all employees in supermarkets, e.g. those wonderful checkout operators who work tirelessly, could be given Easter as paid leave to spend quality time with their families.
Retailers, especially in the huge countrywide chains, obscenely have adopted a modus operandi of profiting over and above the higher principles in life. That’s tragic.
Regalia riles
I was aghast and disgusted to observe at least two Dunedin City councillors overtly supporting Hamas and the Palestinian conflict by draping their seats with keffiyeh and Palestinian flags.
They may just as well have displayed the Isis flag; the overt support of terrorists would be the same.
I cannot but wonder at the arrant ignorance of such people. I feel sure that if motivated by true altruism to promote the interests of their constituents, they would not be the kind of person to support the rabid folk in question, who insist that the only true solution to the Palestinian question is the eradication of Jews and Israel.
I would hope that they would stop and think about that for a moment, before jumping on the woke extreme-left bandwagon because they think it shows solidarity with oppressed people.
The only people to blame for the situation in Palestine are the Palestinians, particularly Hamas and before them, the PLO.
The ignorance of historical and contemporary facts that prompts the likes of these councillors to display terrorist regalia at council meetings is repugnant but sadly, unsurprising. It is high time that council introduced rules to declare any such symbols or regalia unacceptable at council meetings — none of it is pertinent to council business and risks displaying contempt and disrespect to sections of the community.
[Abridged — length. Editor.]
I find the University of Otago’s response to its current low ranking somewhat perplexing (ODT 20.4.25), particularly its assertion that the criteria used by ranking bodies vary from year to year.
This variability is not only expected but necessary. If the same metrics were assessed annually, it would risk encouraging universities to focus narrowly on those specific areas, rather than pursuing broader, more meaningful improvements.
A truly outstanding university should strive for excellence across all domains, not just those currently under scrutiny—thereby rendering the specific criteria of any given ranking largely irrelevant.
Perhaps it is time for university leadership to shift focus — not towards chasing rankings, but towards cultivating a genuinely excellent academic and student environment. If every aspect of the institution is held to the highest standard, rankings will follow naturally, and more importantly, the university will earn the respect and trust of those it serves, regardless of what metrics happen to be in fashion.
Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@odt.co.nz
