Garth George says there are more important things to worry about than BMWs and helicopter rides for the prime minister - our appalling child abuse record, for instance.
John Key is right. The Labour opposition's constant nitpicking about trivialities shows only that it (a) doesn't have a clue about what's going on in the country, and (b) has no policy ideas to deal with the important concerns of the electorate.
The only times Phil Goff's crowd seem to get any coverage in the media lately is when one of them picks on some petty item of public expenditure.
That is generally Pete Hodgson, who is due to retire from Parliament at the next election. Of the other senior members of the opposition we hear little. Leader Goff is as good as invisible.
And the fact is that the public at large has no quibble about the expenditure, particularly by the prime minister, that Mr Hodgson complains of. They are, rather, somewhat put off by his constant carping and he can be sure it is doing his party no good.
Like most Kiwis, I have no problem whatever with Mr Key - or any other senior cabinet member - using air force aeroplanes or helicopters to get from one country to another or one engagement to another.
In fact, it would be OK by me if the Government were to provide the air force with the funds to buy one, or perhaps two, executive aircraft, such as a Grumman Gulfstream or Cessna Citation, and base it or them at Wellington airport for ministerial (and vice-regal) use.
Nor do I have any problems with the purchase of a fleet of new BMW cars for Government use. Why shouldn't cabinet ministers and their guests ride in one of the most comfortable, reliable and, for their size, economical automobiles it is possible to buy?
As for the $215,000 renovations to the prime ministerial residence, Premier House, that is no more than any householder might need to do to preserve a historic residence - and there are plenty of those in Remuera, Parnell, Epsom, Mt Eden and elsewhere.
Mr Key has pointed out that the renovations authorised by Labour for Government House in Wellington cost $45 million. I visited Government House last month when I received my MNZM from one of the nicest blokes you could meet, the Governor-General, Sir Anand Satyanand. And I can tell you the money was well spent: this is a magnificent historic edifice and a credit to the nation.
Another politician being sniped at is United States President Barak Obama over the elimination of Osama bin Laden. He is reported to have said this week that he has lost no sleep over the killing of the man responsible for 9/11 and that anyone with qualms should "have their heads examined". I heartily concur.
And before some of you rush off to send me an email pointing out that an overt Christian like me shouldn't hold such a view, let me tell you that those who do not accept the New Covenant proclaimed by Jesus Christ remain under the strict law of the Old Testament. And that lays down that " ... you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe".
Although I concede that in this wicked world we need them, I feel sadness for those military men who, through strict selection and rigorous training amounting to brainwashing, can be turned into implacable killing machines.
There is, incidentally, no question in my mind that certain organs of the Pakistan state were complicit in hiding Mr bin Laden. The Americans must know that bribery, deviousness, dishonesty, dissimulation and duplicity are ingrained in the fabric of that society.
Talking of the fabric of a society, how about the foul and evil curse of child abuse, too often fatal, that seems to have become ingrained in the fabric of ours?
According to a report this week, Ministry of Social Development figures show that Child, Youth and Family received 124,921 child abuse complaints last year, compared with 50,488 notifications in 2005.
This week alone police have launched an investigation into the death of a 7-month-old baby girl after finding adult medication in her stomach. The Morrinsville tot died in March in what was initially believed to be a case of sudden infant death syndrome.
A 10-week-old boy languishes in Hawkes Bay Hospital suffering from "significant" non-accidental injuries. The attack on the lad happened in the same month that a 6-month-old Ngaruawahia baby girl died from traumatic brain injury suffered in what police described as a "very violent" incident.
Social Welfare Minister Paula Bennett has called for a green paper that she hopes will lead to a national discussion on how children are nurtured and protected.
We can only pray that every New Zealander who cares will devote his or her time, thinking and talents to this unspeakable vileness in our society, and find the means to root it out once and for all.
• Garth George is a retired editor. He lives in Rotorua.
