Who stands to gain from gold mining?
The only "shrillness" that I detect in relation to the potential Tarras gold mine proposal is that exhibited by the Resources Minister himself (ODT 11.1.24). One might guess that these are pre-emptive utterances designed to signal to the likely benefactors that their trust in the current New Zealand coalition government is well founded.
Despite this stance there is still a clear need for a reasoned, considered assessment of the scheme which allows us to feel that if another open cast mine (most likely) is allowed then it will benefit more than the mining company and its offshoots. Politicians are notable for lauding short-term exploitative options with scant regard for consequences beyond healthy pay cheques.
Gold is a problematic entity as its worth is commercial rather than industrial. One could argue that more recycling (especially from jewellery) efforts would go some way to satisfy the latter’s needs. Cui bono?
Harsh judgement
James Irwin (ODT 30.12.23) asks us not to judge Israel harshly for its actions in Gaza. He sees moral equivalence between both sides in the conflict but considers Israel to be the more peace loving of the two. He also worries about the rise of anti-Semitism in Dunedin.
Where to start in responding to the many fallacies in his letter? Perhaps first to make it plain that opposing the actions of the Israeli state is not the same thing as anti-Semitism. Israel likes to equate the two, but thinking people beg to differ. Those marching in Dunedin in solidarity with the people of Gaza bear no ill-will towards Jewish people in Israel or elsewhere.
Next, to the idea that both sides in the conflict are equally at fault. The Hamas insurgency is a form of resistance to intolerable conditions created by Israel. Since its dispossession of the Palestinians in 1948, Israel has continuously forced them into ever smaller enclaves, walled them off and besieged them.
Finally, to the big lie that Israel is peace-loving. James Irwin should read history. If he can stomach it, I recommend Ilan Pappes The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine which documents the founding of the state of Israel through the expulsion of almost a million Palestinians from their land at gunpoint. Until Israelis confront and make reparations for this history, they will find no lasting peace or security.
Who can turn away from the plight of Gaza today, especially the children? We need the bombing to stop immediately, the siege to be lifted, the aid to arrive, the trauma to be faced, and the rebuilding to start.
Duck delights
What an absolutely delightful heart-warming front-page article on Duckworth the disabled duck (ODT 5.1.24). We need more people like Richard Trainor in this world.
Cultural vandalism and English heritage
Metiria Stanton Turei (ODT 15.12.23) asks "Is destroying language and practice cultural vandalism?" For me the answer is clearly yes. The issue which is before us however is who is destroying what?
The first Māori dictionary was compiled by Kendall and others about 1820 and comprised about 300 words and phrases. My online dictionary has 10,000 words, many of which have their genesis in English. Where does Ms Stanton Turei find the vandalism in these figures?
The preference for Māori names in government departments in recent times and the reversal of that trend has been well documented. We are likely to see Ms Stanton Turei adding that to her vandalism collection.
5000 years ago, give or take a few, the Sumerians were then living somewhere near modern Lebanon. Partly because of their location on developing trade routes between the Mediterranean and Asia, they — it is said — invented writing and money.
This knowledge with the development of trade and learning made its way to the Greeks, the Romans and ultimately what became the UK and on to us. The knowledge, the wisdom attained through literature, science, and technology to name a few is now stored in English and other languages and is a treasure trove, our inheritance. It is the means by which contemporary communication is possible for use and wellbeing and a prime factor which distinguishes us as homo sapiens.
What troubles me most about the regular contribution of your contributor is that there seems to be a complete absence of recognition of what the English cultural heritage has done for her, like a primary, secondary and tertiary education, followed by a qualification in English law and all the opportunity that entails like the writing of opinion pieces in the ODT.
Esther Hippe: a life worth a novel or film
Crikey, that was an obituary (Esther Hippe, ODT 6.1.24). Her husband-to-be showing dangerous kindness to a prisoner of war from Owaka, her carefully staged "disappearance" from East Germany, marriage in Dunedin, and practically cut off thereafter from her German roots, linking up with another German escaping from Austria, expelled from China, they all having fetched up here.
And knitting lots of baby shawls. Is there a novel in this? A movie? Something, surely.
Give us a choice
Whilst I applaud the DCC’s decision to separate organic waste and to compost it, it seems both unfair and unnecessary to provide no opt-out option. Those who compost at home are being asked to pay an additional annual fee on top of already escalating rates for a service we will not use, and a bin that is unwanted. Please, give us a choice.
Delay no help
Your editorial (ODT 2.1.24) gives a timely reminder that the Lake Onslow scheme was still in the scoping stage at the time of the election. A Labour victory might have seen the scheme either cancelled or further advanced this year. Instead, Simeon Brown’s supposed "scrapping" of Onslow simply extends uncertainty further into the future. A change of government is likely to see the MBIE dry year scoping study restarted and finally concluded. Only then will it be known whether pumped storage at Lake Onslow becomes part of a long-term solution with low emissions. The further delay in getting to a decision is not in the interests of anyone.
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