Today's Letters to the Editor from readers cover topics including ratepayer pledge, health staffing and language.
Tax Payers’ Union plea democracy, not bullying
The over-the-top reaction by candidates resisting the Taxpayers' Union's Ratepayer Protection Pledge (ODT 4.9.25) says far more about them than the ratepayers urging candidates to commit to keeping rates affordable, supporting transparency, and opposing unelected members on committees with spending power.
Since when was voters emailing candidates to lobby them ‘‘bullying and intimidation’'? That is democracy.
Cr Marie Laufiso went further, with a disgraceful slur published in your paper suggested that the Pledge is “Māori-hating dog-whistling”.
The Pledge doesn't even mention race, nor Māori wards.
Another candidate, Mickey Treadwell, is clearly annoyed with efforts to identify who does (and doesn't) stand with ratepayers.
His excuse is to claim that signing up to a policy ‘‘might breach impartiality rules’’. In his world, voters are expected to elect empty vessels.
Dunedin deserves so much better.
Hundreds of candidates across the country have signed the Ratepayer Protection Pledge.
Voters will see right through the attacks, smears and excuses of Laufiso and Treadwell, in the same way ratepayers see through the excuses for out of control rates bills.
Tory Relf
Head of Communication, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union
Come and visit
Health Minister Simeon Brown does not seem to understand the parlous state that the health system is suffering over staffing problems in the health system, the extraordinary waiting times endured by very ill people in emergency departments, the unbelievable pressure the nurses are under and the shortage of doctors to attend these stressed situations.
His comments about Te Whatu Ora ‘‘lifting its performance’’ are cold, detached and insulting.
They minimise the true emergency problem throughout New Zealand, especially here at Dunedin Public Hospital.
Slick words which convey a political message that somehow it can be fixed easily and that staff are behaving unnecessarily when they strike will not help.
Put your money and reputation on the line, Simeon Brown, and spend one day at our Dunedin emergency department.
A Friday or Saturday would be a good opportunity to open your eyes to the extent of this serious, life-threatening situation happening every day. (I have recently presented at the Dunedin Public Hospital ED on two occasions, requiring immediate admittance to hospitalisation, so am a witness to this dire situation).
My opinion, based on your comments and replies, is that you are too young and inexperienced to understand the gravity of a health system in crisis and therefore not the effective Health Minister that is needed to deal with this crisis.
Pamela Ritchie
Caversham
[Pamela Ritchie is a retired nurse.]
Denying consequences
It is odd that the single biggest but slow-moving threat to everyone is human-assisted climate damage, yet somehow it's just not seen as a thing in our day-to-day lives.
I think any good sociologist could tell you that you simply can't bury your fears or play mind games to make real problems go away.
Imagine a world in which denial is happening on an almost universal level, but you feel it in your bones. It would drive everyone crazy and none of it would make any sense; in fact it would feel very self-destructive or even childish. Kind of like what is on our news feeds at the moment.
More and more people are giving up on the concept of consequences. And it's from the top down.
Aaron Nicholson
Manapouri
Tackling the leftie pile on, one letter at a time
I would like to reply to the expected ‘‘pile on’’ by lefties Orma Bradfield, Mary Hammonds and Tony Fitchett following my letter criticising the injecting of te reo into English text.
The English language has grown organically for centuries, of course words from other languages have become a part of the English language when there were no equivalent English words at the time.
Some examples are curry, bungalow, pizza, karate, khaki, jungle, cafe, and a host of others gathered during the expansion of the British Empire or when English people travelled the world.
These words became part of the English language but did not replace an English version of the word.
This is unlike the situation we have in New Zealand where Māori words are being injected into text replacing English words which have the same meaning, for no other reason than virtue signaling and trying to appease the demands of an activist element of our society.
I was not surprised by the arrogant and dismissive tone of the letters from Orma Bradfield and Mary Hammonds.
At least Tony Fitchett’s letter had information to back up his views.
Unfortunately, we have a situation in this country where the left elite hold the reins of power through the judiciary, public service, media, universities etc, meaning that if you have a contrary view, you have no avenue for it to be aired.
I know full well that there is a lot of discontent in the real world that I live in, with the forced proliferation of Māori culture into every part of our lives, which is not a good situation in a multi-cultural society, where every culture should have equal relevance.
Dave Tackney
Fairfield
Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: letters@odt.co.nz
