Letters to the Editor: Baltimore windfall hides rugby’s real problems
Letter of the week
Rugby’s windfall
The Baltimore windfall of $9 million to the coffers of New Zealand Rugby as outlined by rugby analyst Gregor Paul recently might satisfy the accountants, but it does not address real problems confronting rugby in this country.
This is the declining number of participants. Rugby no longer has a monopoly on players as it did in the past.
This is especially so at school level, where it is in competition with other codes.
Despite precautions, there is also the continual fear of injury, especially brain injury. This usually manifests itself later in life with debilitating effects relating to memory loss and lack of physical co-ordination. Who wants that kind of legacy?
As player stocks fall, clubs are having to amalgamate. This lessens the intensity of competitions, with a negative impact on player skills. The decline in quality at the grassroots level means fewer quality players to choose from at international level.
New Zealand rugby might become awash with money while successfully commercialising the All Blacks brand overseas. However, quality players still need to be produced in order for this to continue to be commercially viable.
Bernard Walker, Mount Maunganui.
Policy-deficient Labour
With just approximately 50 days until the election, the Labour Party is yet to present its future for New Zealand in the event that it and its other left-leaning partners are elected.
Labour seems to be policy deficient, having apparently spent the past three years in Opposition sitting on its collective hands and doing nothing.
Its leader so far during this campaign has been far from inspiring.
Mike Baker, Tauranga.
Urgent legislation
I doubt if I’m the only punter sick of law changes being railroaded through Parliament with little or no consultation, parties yet to reveal many policy details, and don’t get me started on the grandstanding of some vying for their five minutes of fame.
No wonder young people aren’t interested in voting, I’m not that enthused myself.
Can we please have less of: MPs talking over and interrupting one another, pointless arguing, pontificating because they feel they are a superior being to the rest of us.
For once I would like to see well-considered policies and law-making, with consultation taking place with the people on the front line who really know what will work, not some jobsworth in a Wellington office.
Sort yourselves out, for goodness’ sake before the election, and before this country really does become a Third World one.
Jen Wallis, Auckland.
Food costs
Having lived in a few countries, I feel that there is no need for a government supermarket, or laws to stop so-called price gouging.
The simple solution that will help a huge amount is to remove GST on staple food items. This would include fruit, vegetables, milk, bread and mince. The fall in food prices would be instant and dramatic.
The population will be not only able to afford food but will eat a healthier diet and be much healthier too.
Dr Alan Papert, Auckland.
Supermarket break-up proposal
The claim that forcing a break-up of Foodstuffs will reduce prices simply does not add up.
Under National’s plan, Foodstuffs will need to duplicate warehousing, distribution and trucking operations throughout New Zealand in addition to creating another management structure at massive cost, so prices will have to increase as existing facilities and trucking will no longer be the right size.
On the other hand, the Australian-owned grocery giant Woolworths will incur no extra cost, remit all earnings to Australia and become more competitive against a New Zealand-owned co-operative operated by a multitude of hard-working local owner-operators, all of whom play a big part in “giving back” to their communities.
National’s proposed break-up is therefore unfair to all New Zealanders, consumers and grocers alike.
Christina Ilich, Glendowie.
Tech lords
Thursday’s Time Out “The mythical Musk” should send a shiver down many a spine. What a revolting, egotistical man Elon Musk appears to be, labelled here by those close to him as “a power-hungry megalomaniacal con-man with a god complex”.
What is even more frightening is just how many more from this “elite” grouping are holding the world to ransom. Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Peter Thiel, hold similar views, those that exploit technocratic systems to manipulate and control our real fears over climate change or runaway artificial intelligence (AI), rejecting outright that it is underway. These guys, with more money than sense and bored with their lives, are stealing an entire generation’s future.
The boredom must come from an enormous void in their lives, likely a lack of a real connection to people and the land they live on. A challenge to these ultra-rich billionaires is to detox from all devices for 72 hours and connect instead to real people and the land they live in. Otherwise, how do we stop them?
Emma Mackintosh, Birkenhead.
An AI world
There is a lot of fear at AI getting loose and destroying the world.
There is another potential world-destroying threat that no one has mentioned. Internet failure.
The world has become so reliant on the internet that if it were to fail or was sabotaged, the modern world would collapse.
What would people play with all the time? Imagine they might have to converse face to face and, heaven forbid, no computer games. It seems that no one is worried about internet failure.
It could be something associated with outer space which we would have no control over.
These are worrying times.
Jock Mac Vicar, Hauraki.
F1 youth movement
It used to be that older, more experienced Formula One drivers ruled the roost. Today, youth. For example, Antonelli and Lawson have taken over.
Verstappen, when aged 17, was the first of many with karting credentials who these days are targeted and recruited by the big F1 teams.
Larry Mitchell, Rothesay Bay.
Rugby law changes
Nigel Owens, who has refereed 100 rugby tests, recommends five rugby law changes:
- Cut the number of replacements from 8 to 4-5. Make the game more aerobic.
- Cut back the TMO’s involvement. Leave the referee to make decisions.
- Scrap the 20-minute red card. Full red for dangerous play or serious offence only.
- Punish players who trap tacklers in the ruck. Don’t punish the trapped player.
- Stronger action on offside and foul play. Support attacking play.
These five changes would make rugby faster, more entertaining and better understood by fans.
Nigel Owens is right and World Rugby need to act.
Gary Carter, Gulf Harbour.
A quick word
What cost-of-living crisis? I had to laugh at the photo of the ridiculous long queue for the opening of Noel Leeming Queen St.
Helen Loo, Auckland.
If the UK truly is to become de-united, presumably the Union Flag (Jack) will become redundant. What could replace it on Aotearoa’s national flag better to reflect Māori?
John Aplin, Whangaparāoa.
You have to feel for Ed Sheeran. On the one hand you have the activists demanding he take a stand on the Israel/Palestine conflict, and on the other, any entertainer who voices a social or political opinion is told to just keep to singing or acting. The adage “you’re damned if you do, or damned if you don’t” comes to mind.
Doug Hannan, Mount Maunganui.
The parties “of business” and “KiwiMart” and all the other fanciful money-spending dreams (which inevitably be to no avail) need to leave business to the experts and concentrate on governing the nation.
Ian Doube, Rotorua.
How does National think it could split a supermarket conglomerate? It is a private business. It would be akin to splitting the Air NZ international and domestic departments to get lower fares. Government has no right to interfere with private business. If they want to lower food prices then start or support a community-owned supermarket. We all want lower food prices but end up paying export prices for even the basic meat, milk and bread.
Marie Kaire, Whangārei.
Since when can a government “break up” a privately owned and operated business?
Julie Nicholls, St Mary’s Bay.
Compulsory KiwiSaver? Nationalise the supermarkets? What next, Comrade Luxon? Abolish MMP? Return to one-party government?
John Howes, New Plymouth.