Letters: Want to replace MMP? Look to Ireland

Others include: no cups of tea in Epsom, no dog-wagging tails, no increased MPs – yet still ones that represent minorities.

Similarly sized, Ireland held two referenda on their system, with the second in the 1960s returning a plus 60% approval. It does mean greater competition within parties for candidate selection, but surely that’s also better for candidate quality and suitability?

Steve Liddle, Napier.

Not ferry funny

What an absolute joke having an electric ferry (Oct 29) running up and down the harbour at night using its diesel engines to charge its electric batteries so it can run on electricity during the day, because the charging station construction is about three years behind schedule.

This is just another example of how bad New Zealand is at building infrastructure and it will no doubt run way over the initial tendered cost.

God help us if we ever get around to building another harbour crossing; that’s if all the political parties haven’t spent all the money living up to their election bribes.

Jock Mac Vicar, Hauraki.

Education opportunity

How good it was to read Jonathan Ayling’s article (Oct 30) quoting a statement by Peter Fraser “recognising that education was the greatest leveller of opportunity”.

He went on to remind us that, in 1939, Peter Fraser said every New Zealander, rich or poor, should receive an education “to the fullest extent of his powers”.

The ambition was not merely to alleviate disadvantage but more importantly to prevent it defining a child’s future.

“A child growing up in state housing should be able to become a doctor, learn a trade, start a business, and of course buy a home. Teaching them properly is not an imposition. It declares confidence in what they can achieve.”

And yet knowing this, most of what we hear is not about giving our children the best education they can have but rather how much money we can give away.

So, thanks Erica Stanford for helping our children be the best that they can be.

Robin Harrison, Takapuna.

The OCR effect

Does Reserve Bank Governor Anna Breman heed economic trends as well or make a politically correct decision not to influence the election?

A big call, but our economists think an OCR of 4% is likely within a year so when to start? Either way, we all pay for it, the sooner the better.

Perhaps this might teach Nicola Willis that reserve banks influence interest rates to bring down inflation, not governments. She claims inflation was brought down by her government but now it’s out of her control she almost sounds a different person conveniently forgetting the pandemic had a similar effect worldwide to the fuel crisis. This ability – a dissociative political conjuring trick – is most noticeable in the last week of desperately close election campaigns. Her pulling a report out of her magician’s hat on Covid spending may be her last trick ... but so could Breman.

Steve Russell, Hillcrest.

Silver bullets and snow leopards

At 86, I’ve celebrated and suffered through many elections. So, I’d like to offer some brief non-partisan observations to help with voting decisions:

Most important, follow the money! Who actually benefits? It might not be who they claim will benefit.

What’s the politician’s actual track record? What have they done, not said? Was it useful?

Let’s not vote for narcissists or sociopaths. They’ll talk very persuasively and say they care, but they do not.

Promises offered? Careful. Again, who will actually benefit?

Silver-bullet fixes are often performative, to look good, encourage our vote. Actual silver bullets are rare, like snow leopards.

Will they do the hard work? Will they collaborate with other people and parties? Their intention? To help the country or to get re-elected?

Civility matters, really, it does. Name-calling is not civil. (Except when politicians lie to us, then we should call them “liars”.)

You will know of other voting hacks, let’s publicise them and vote accordingly.

Ruth Ann Jackson, Te Atatu Peninsula.