Getting dizzy there have been so many u-turns
Our government must be dizzy from all the u-turns it is performing.
These include disability funding, paywave surcharges and fisheries reform, and it is now considering fast-track status for the Lake Onslow power scheme that it cancelled in 2023.
This political pirouetting is reflected elsewhere too, with Shane Jones repeating the lie that Labour was responsible for closing down Marsden Point, while deflecting mention of his role in canning Labour's emergency diesel reserve plan.
National's overturning of many Labour green-energy projects, and their plan for an expensive LNG terminal, now look completely out of touch in the current world crisis. Their PR has clearly instructed a full-court press on the announcement of 2500 new EV charging outlets, MPs social media accounts putting out identical self-congratulatory posts. Not all of us have forgotten they promised 10,000 outlets.
But hey, it's not all bad news: Robbie Williams is coming here on the taxpayer dime, and those getting the $50 government boost will only have to save that for six weeks to buy a ticket.
Natalie Wilson
Oamaru
Not just right
The recent ODT article referring to a ‘‘Goldilocks issue’’ at the stadium raises questions.
The original Goldilocks story, dated 1837, told the tale of an evil woman who trespassed into somebody else's property, helped herself to food, smashed furniture and left by jumping out the window. Our problem is that the rorting of ratepayers has no end and no-one has jumped out.
The latest curtain idea is lipstick on a pig, whipping a dead horse and good money after bad. Of course, the new stadium head talks the prospects up. This is an insult to all ratepayers. The consultation has been, as usual with the Dunedin City Council, zero.
To proceed with further financial life-support means taking away events from other smaller DCC venues. As usual, the costs are kept secret. Keeping ratepayers in the dark is the DCC motto.
Put a bulldozer through this obscenity, a festering sore in the side of ratepayers.
Jeff Dickie
Woodhaugh
Change sides
I would like to suggest a potential winner for Dunedin stadium.
It would be a perfect environment for the growth of medicinal cannabis plants that would greatly benefit those in ongoing pain, to manage their day-to-day nausea , and assist their day with some semblance of dignity, possibly they might not require as many strong pharmaceuticals to take to maintain their daily functioning and what a great use of our unused stadium.
This just could be a game changer for Dunedin.
Christine O’Brien
Macandrew Bay
We’re being milked
Our politicians and local councils must have very limited intelligence and even less forethought.
With a data centre proposed beside each and every electricity generating unit within the country, why has no-one questioned what happens when they fail or indeed fail to be built.
Having signed contracts for up to 50% of our electrical energy production, do they now become owners and purveyors holding the country to ransom.
AI and data centres are over-hyped as was The Internet of Things.
I see very little that AI can do to improve our grass or forest growth nor the butterfat content of a cow’s milk.
Kenneth Steel
Roslyn
Keep calm and carry on managing fuel crisis
Thank you Pat Duffy (25.3.26) for your letter. Yes, the fuel shortage affects us all, but where is the resilience and common sense that New Zealanders have been well known for in the past?
Many of us in the older age group have been through far worse including world wars and yet instead of complaining, we got on with life as best we could.
Yes, hard times are difficult but they can also bring out the best in everyone if we all try and help each other. Car pooling where possible, walking or riding a bike, sharing produce with those who have less than we do, making do with clothing from the op shops, only spending on the absolute necessities, sharing other resources and thinking of any way we can help others instead of always thinking “Me, Me, Me’’.
Thank goodness our government has also been wise enough to not follow what the last government did during Covid - borrowing vast amounts of money, giving it out without any accountability, getting our country into deep debt, and as a result the present and future generations are landed with paying back a bottomless pit of interest.
Let’s all ride this out and learn from this present setback and this will make us a wiser and more resilient people, for having done so.
Margaret Hall
Wanaka
Councillor saga rolls Ong and on
Dunedin faces significant challenges that require capable, credible and effective leadership at council level.
Recent reporting on Cr Benedict Ong raises serious concerns about his ability to fulfil that role. The ODT interview (28.3.26) highlighted a consistent inability to provide clear, direct answers about his background, experience, and professional networks, despite repeated opportunities to do so.
It also revealed a pattern of vague, rambling responses and a reliance on self-assertion over demonstrable evidence of competence and expertise.
Equally concerning is the apparent lack of constructive engagement with council processes and staff, alongside a focus on ideas that appear difficult to scrutinise or validate.
This is not a personal criticism of Cr Ong but public office carries a higher standard of transparency, accountability and competence. Councillors must be able to clearly articulate their thinking, work collaboratively, and inspire confidence in their ability to contribute meaningfully to complex decisions affecting our city.
At present, it is clear these standards are not being met.
For the good of Dunedin, and to maintain confidence in local governance, Cr Ong should consider if he is actually capable of fulfilling the responsibilities of the role and if not then submit his immediate resignation.
John Le Brun
Fairfield
Cr Ong needs to go. Whether he jumps or is pushed, he needs to go. He has consumed too much council time (for all the wrong reasons) and surely the public is way past seeing his clownery. He is becoming a national embarrassment to Dunedin.
Howard Weir
Dunedin
Cr Ong is sucking up energy, which means the leaders are distracted. There are far more important matters needing council attention. If he won’t go, just totally ignore him. He is getting attention now, which is what he is after.
Penny Clark
Alexandra
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