Is it to be tough love or hard cheese for teens?
The government has proposed reducing welfare eligibility for 18 and 19-year-olds whose parents earn over $65,000 from November 2026.
I understand the rationale behind getting young people off welfare and steering them into work, higher education or training.
However, there have been cutbacks across the public and private sectors. In September, there were a series of job cuts at sawmills and seafood processing factories in Nelson and Waikato.
In addition, these 18 and 19-year-olds will be competing with both migrant workers and retrenched older peoples.
I am also concerned that 18 and 19-year-olds with long-term health issues and disabilities could get caught in the net.
By framing welfare eligibility cuts as "tough love," the government seems to be wielding a big stick rather than offering a carrot to young people.
Perhaps, the government could work with companies, community organisations, iwi entities and education providers to steer the 4000 young people, who would be affected by the cuts, into productive activities like education, work and training?
While we are responsible for our choices, sometimes these are limited by the surrounding environment.
The wrong track
Climate deniers have now moved from denying the science to claiming we can find a way through manmade climate change without removing the cause: global warming due to an enhanced greenhouse effect.
Bernard Jennings (Letters 17.10.25) claims we invest more on clean energy than fossil fuels.
The IMF figure for the subsidy to oil companies is mostly comprised of environmental costs they do not pay, but remember oil companies are the most profitable companies in history.
China installed 290GW of new wind and solar in the first half of this year. For perspective: New Zealand’s existing installed generation all sources 10GW.
China is heading for net zero and New Zealand is not. Why? Renewables are cheaper and our government is on the wrong track.
The problem with our new methane reduction goal is that since we pledged to reduce emissions we have nearly doubled the number of cows.
Finally, if we burn all the fossil fuels we know about already the temperature will rise 8°C and the sea 60m.
Good luck with your air-conditioning and sea walls "answer", Mr Jennings.
The carnivore’s dilemma
In her excellent article "More veg, less meat — good for the people and the planet" (ODT 15.10.25) Prof Sheila Skeaff reports that the EAT Lancet Commission recommends, contentiously, that we limit red meat and poultry respectively to 14 and 29g per day.
How is this reconciled with the observation that over the past few decades the Spanish have become the heaviest meat consumers in the EU and also have EU’s longest life expectancy?
Their own devices
Leave the wild goats alone. They are browsing animals and clean up briar and wllding tree spread for free.
In utter awe at selflessness of medical profession
Having recently emerged from a 47-day stay in Dunedin Hospital due to an urgent abdominal event, I remain in utter awe of the selfless dedication constantly shown by all the various teams of workers I met there and often befriended — be it doctors, nurses, therapists or their assistants.
Each and every member of staff spared no effort to satisfy my complex demands on their time and patience, with never a word of reproof or frustration; and the sense of togetherness within and between teams was outstanding.
They all simply "mucked in" — sometimes literally so in my case.
For me, "tender loving care" is no longer a hackneyed phrase; it represents all that is best in our society, and is exactly what DPH provides in abundance.
My personal thanks go out to all those people I owe so much to, and I hope and trust that all hospital staff will eventually receive financial recompense commensurate with their sterling qualities and services.
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