Letters to the Editor: Be careful with your vote; should rugby abolish scrums?
Vote carefully
As politicians hit the campaign trail, it behoves us all to resist the urge to make snap decisions about where to cast our vote.
The editorial on September 30 posited that much of what is said never becomes Government policy. But the unfortunate result is that people are more confused than ever about what their vote actually means.
It is important to listen to the language used: ask yourself, is it biased or emotive in an effort to persuade? Of late some politicians have resorted to, as if butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths and others with faux anger. Such tactics should be taken with a grain of salt. As correspondent, Nigel Williams, writes (Oct 3), consider carefully the choices before you.
Glen Adams, Ōneroa.
Streets full of scooters
Given that e-scooter riders are now permitted to endanger the public and themselves on absolutely every type of thoroughfare, perhaps it’s time to dedicate a safe space for the exclusive movement of pedestrians which could be called, for want of a better term, a “footpath”?
Mike Wagg, Freemans Bay.
Sleeper trains
I am very impressed with what the Greens are proposing – and it seems Winston Peters agrees.
Having sleeper trains from Auckland to Wellington is not new. I remember doing this with my mother more than 60 years ago. Extending the Auckland to Hamilton on to Tauranga is very sensible, as are regular train trips from Christchurch to Dunedin.
Train travel has always been brilliant all over Europe. Japan and now China lead the world with super-fast bullet trains. Sadly, the car is still king in the United States and they still haven’t completed their first high-speed rail project from Los Angeles to San Francisco.
Some people imply that the Green Party’s ideas are all wacky and that they are out of touch.
Conversely, it seems many of their policies are forward thinking and this could be reflected in their recent high polling numbers.
Glen Stanton, Mairangi Bay.
Playing with AI fire
Evidence suggests that AI and data centres can contribute to the creation of scams. AI-generated tools can create synthetic identities using cloned voices and fake documents which already have led to a significant rise in fraudulent scams.
The ability of AI to create convincing deepfake videos and manipulate digital interactions hard to detect, resulting in identity fakes is causing people to struggle with what is real and what is fake.
AI’s role in scams is not limited to financial fraud. It also exploits social vulnerabilities, making individuals more susceptible to deception.
The rise of AI scams and deception requires a combination of technical solutions and cultural shifts to effectively combat these threats.
Until such solutions are forthcoming, common sense dictates that governments and in particular our trigger-happy coalition Government should leave AI and contributing data centres well alone.
Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.
Super El Niño
If we are having a super El Niño, shouldn’t we be careful about how much water we are using?
More and more domestic and commercial buildings are going up but the amount of water available is dependent on rainfall.
I believe restrictions should start now so we are all conscious of the issue and can all try and conserve water when possible.
Charles Adler, Kerikeri.
Abolish scrums
Compared with rugby league, rugby union is a much slower and less interesting spectacle.
To overcome this deficiency there is an easy solution.
Simply abolish scrums and replace with a ‘free kick’ – where there is a distance advantage, but the possession stays with ‘offending’ team.
Hylton Le Grice, Remuera.