Unique landscapes yes, ugly blots in Central, no
As a lifelong admirer of Central Otago, including as a first-day pupil at Becks Primary School in 1949, I was upset to hear about the Santana opencast mining proposal.
I agree with Phil Murray (Opinion ODT 19.11.25) that it would be creating an ugly blot in the world-renowned unique landscape that is Central Otago.
And for what? For gold, hardly a critical mineral.
Actually, it is for money. And for whom? Not the whole country.
There will be jobs, so we are told. Maybe for a while, but not forever.
The country should be looking to the future, when the climate will be quite different. Central Otago could become more productive agriculturally, and certainly for wine. But not if it is exploited, irreversibly, for the benefit of a few in the present.
I hope the Otago Regional Council is able to remain (ODT 26.11.25), to sit out the current government, as a body that is not concerned with money-making alone, but considers longer-term values.
If you want to see what mining does to landscapes, Australia, where I now live, has plenty of open cut mines and former mines that look more barren and unattractive than even the moon.
Clean air saves
The Clean Air Standard is being amended so we will now get more higher-polluting vehicles being imported into the country.
The car dealers think this is a good thing as prices will come down; the greenies hate it as it a step backwards in terms of clean air and CO₂ emissions; and the general public appear apathetic about it.
When the Clean Air Standard came in, the ESR did a report that concluded the annual health costs in New Zealand due to transport pollution is $9.5 billion and it results in 2000 premature deaths a year and 9000 additional hospitalisations. Compare these numbers to car accidents with around 280 deaths per year — which we rightly do care very much about, but is only 14% of that from pollution.
These are our kids with asthma, and our friends and family suffering from heart disease and lung issues. This is a huge issue that we can do something about.
There are plenty of affordable clean car options now available and a government which led rather than followed would be encouraging and helping everyone move in this direction.
A lucky man
I count myself lucky to have been alive long enough to witness parts of history that have shaped us to where we are now, not all for the better.
The Beatles and Stones, JFK and Martin Luther King assassinations, Muhammad Ali, the moon landing, first heart transplant, Watergate, Roe v Wade, computers, fall of the Berlin Wall, Nelson Mandela, Desert Storm.
There was Diana’s death, a black American leader, 9/11, the Kyoto Protocol, Osama bin Laden, a Pope resigning, earthquakes, wars, famine, tsunamis and a thing called Global Warming. Anyone my age could, like me, add hundreds of firsts and events to this list.
I, like everyone else, acknowledged, adapted and tried to embrace all events, changes and innovations that took place. Until now I have managed to do that OK but one issue has me flummoxed, confused and very wary.
Who would have though two letters, A and I, could instil such uncertainty, wariness and at times fear of what is to come.
Since its inception it is now very hard to look at most anything online and not wonder, is this real? AI will have benefits I’m sure but unless policed carefully it will have the ability to irrevocably change our world, not necessarily for the better.
Butting heads over the New Zealand psyche
I am very taken with the work Dr Helen Murray (ODT 22.11.25) will be doing studying head-butting by rams to understand the head injuries and their impact.
I congratulate her, although this brought to mind the photograph of Fred Dagg studying a sheep.
Perhaps her research may give some insight into the psyche of New Zealanders too?
You have also written in the paper about workplace bullying — something that is also reflective of the violence endemic in our culture.
What is needed is a good look at New Zealanders and their behaviours.
The key issues in organisations are poor leadership and poor organisational culture.
Given these cultural issues, the need for more psychologists is pressing — that is especially the case for those with a psychotherapeutic backgrounds.
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