Letters: Running record achieved on the shoulders of Kiwi giants
Letter of the week
Running record on the shoulders of Kiwi giants
The news that British athlete Josh Kerr has broken the world mile record of 27 years should bring a sense of nostalgia to many New Zealanders.
This is because Kerr stands on the shoulders of a few athletes, an illustrious group, who have held this record in the past. They include three New Zealanders: Jack Lovelock, Peter Snell and John Walker.
Lovelock’s record-breaking mile in 1933 was New Zealand’s first track world record. It is worth noting that Snell then broke the record on a grass track in 1962 and not on a modern 400-metre synthetic track. Walker broke the mile record in 1975 and became the first man to go under 3m 50s for the distance.
All of these men were Olympic gold medallists. Snell and Walker were products of an era that revolutionised training through the coaching methods of New Zealander, Arthur Lydiard. New Zealanders should also feel proud whenever this record is broken as an echo of our own past resonates through this event.
Bernard Walker, Mt Maunganui.
Nash ‘shot himself in the foot’
Stuart Nash well and truly shot himself in the foot with the appalling comments he made about MP Katie Nimon, his Napier electorate opponent.
Now that his misogynistic views have been made public, it is reprehensible that he served as the Minister of Police for over three years in a Labour Government.
This is the sort of toxic verbiage that is found in the manosphere, and it has absolutely no place in New Zealand politics, or anywhere else.
Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.
Kneepads and Jones
It’s no wonder Shane Jones knows about kneepads. Many of us suspect that’s what he wears when he meets representatives of the mining and fishing industries.
Chris Cottingham, Te Henga.
Coalition in-fighting
While somewhat expecting some interesting and provocative statements, prior to the upcoming election, I am rather disappointed that the two main minor coalition partners seem to be taking aim more at their senior coalition partner rather than the Opposition parties.
I am referring to Shane Jones’ comment that PM Christopher Luxon should take off his kneepads. As a Kiwi, I sadly find that statement quite offensive, especially when we have recently had a visit from the leader of the largest democratic country in the world and quite obviously this is where the comment appears to have been aimed.
While National continues to govern, as it should, the coalition partners seem to be constantly endeavouring to undermine it. All I can really say is thank goodness there is at least one adult in the room – and in my view, it is certainly not the leaders of Act or NZ First who currently qualify as that.
Mike Baker, Tauranga.
Luxon and the blame game
It’s a pity Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is still so reliant on consistently undermining the previous Labour Government. His endlessly repeated claims that Labour “mismanaged the economy” are at best a matter of opinion and at worst, demonstrably false.
Yes, Labour borrowed a lot to fund our Covid response, and yes, it should probably have been backpedalling faster, as global inflation started rising because of supply-chain issues persisting after Covid, and US and EU sanctions on Russia (and in particular, sanctions on Russian oil).
To blame Labour for that inflation, which was actually a global phenomenon and uniform across the entire Western world – as National’s leaders seemed happy to do before the election and for a long time after it – raises concerning moral and ethical questions.
As to the supposed brownie points this National-led coalition Government has accrued around education, and law and order:
Education: Okay, most people would agree Erica Stanford has done a pretty good job with education.
Law and order: The jury’s likely very much out. Fear-mongering around law and order is bog-standard, right-leaning populism. There was no explosion of crime under Labour. There was a small and relatively circumscribed problem around ram-raiding – yes, a problem that has now reappeared in rural New Zealand.
We are one of the most imprisoned countries in the world – a truly deplorable situation – but under this Government we’ve built more prisons and are locking up more people, for longer.
That’s not only tragic, it’s also a recipe for disaster.
Andrew Joughin, Devonport.
Children’s Commissioner questions
Why has Claire Achmad been removed from her job as Children’s Commissioner, after her outstanding service?
Is it because she’s been speaking truth to power?
I hope to see some questions being put to those responsible for this shoddy treatment of one of our outstanding public servants. It’s outrageous.
I hope the public will listen to her departing message, and her plea that our political leaders of all parties explain why they don’t prioritise the wellbeing of our children. It’s our national shame, and disgrace.
We clearly have the most uncaring and brutal Government in living memory.
Vivien Fergusson, Mt Eden.