Letters: Why the way our politicians are acting is worrying
Politicians should show some respect
As a longtime National, New Zealand First and Act supporter, I have become very concerned with the growing disrespectful behaviour from members of Parliament and candidates seeking to represent our interests.
This role requires dignity, diplomacy and basic respect, that every person in New Zealand deserves as a tax-paying contributor to our economy and social fabric.
The international community is looking at us, as an imploding, irrelevant nation, and I don’t like that!
In political science, studied and documented historical contexts clearly show that when a faction becomes compromised, they start being desperate, and this is displayed as bullying words directed at minorities. These are immoral and unethical. The shame of this also lies with those in the audience applauding and not demanding better.
Richard Ghent, Freeman’s Bay.
Learning experience
Paul Henry – at last someone with a brain!
For most of my teaching career, I taught behaviourally challenging children. These were kids who had destroyed classes and teachers and posed insurmountable problems for schools.
Many of these kids were from intergenerationally abusive and anti-social homes and were well aware of their rights. Their behaviours had hugely detrimental effects on the learning environment of those children who were there to achieve, not to mention the bullying of staff and students. Then there are the entitled kids who are backed and supported by parents who are prepared and have the ability to challenge any decisions the school might make.
The head of the Post Primary Teachers’ Association obviously doesn’t talk to those out there at the coal face who are facing extreme behaviours. We need to look after our people and children who are trying to make New Zealand a better place and remove kids from situations where they relish the negative attention.
Sue Price, Whitford.
Doing the business
Christopher Luxon’s patronising and dismissive comments to Rotorua business leaders are revealing not just of how out of touch some politicians can be but also the arrogance of some senior corporate managers.
Luxon boasts that as a CEO he never looked to Government for support (probably unwise in itself, as the Government is the largest shareholder in Air NZ), and was fiercely focused on results. But when has he ever built a business from scratch? When has he juggled marketing, finance, human resources, operations and supplier relations, working round the clock for little pay?
It is no wonder he has little empathy for small businesses when his background is as an over-remunerated corporate functionary.
Jim Arrowsmith, Campbells Bay.
PM’s true philosophy
It seems that Christopher Luxon revealed his true philosophy when he castigated struggling business leaders in Rotorua. Using his (self-reported) triumphant business experience in the United States as his model, he approaches others’ problems with a “kick-ass” attitude. The consequences of this belief are shown clearly in the social and economic state of our country after three years of his premiership.
I think Luxon was just being honest about his belief that we should follow the US model. Clearly this belief doesn’t align with our proud social traditions. It has undermined our country in so many ways.
Vivien Fergusson, Mt Eden.
Not so super
There is a delicious irony in NZ First’s policy to appeal to younger voters with a “baby bonus”. A major reason many young New Zealanders can’t afford to start a family is due to the excessive, and likely increasing, taxes they pay to support our bloated superannuation scheme. Here, unlike in Australia, the comfortably wealthy receive billions from the scheme from the pay packets of hard-working families because NZ First and other parties refuse to address the sacred cow of means-tested Super.
If I was a young person evaluating NZ First’s policy, I would ask: “First, why don’t you stop raiding our pay packets to give to wealthy seniors who don’t need it so they can have a European river cruise vacation every year?”
Doug Hannan, Mt Maunganui.
Retiring politicians
What is it with politicians as they reach their advanced 70s and move onto their 80s? They seem to become abrasive, abusive, demeaning, egotistical, insufferable, incapable of apology, and with an almost godlike self-righteousness. Perhaps there should be a time limit, use-by-date, or compulsory retirement age, where they can drift off into their fantasy world rather than subject the populace to their empirical dreams. Sixty sounds like a good place to end.
Ian Doube, Rotorua.
First past the post?
As we approach the point where all political parties will have ruled out working with any other political party after our November elections, will that mean we will be returning to first-past-the-post elections?
Gary Carter, Gulf Harbour.
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