Letters to the Editor: Listen more David Seymour, Air NZ’s future is no small matter
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Letter of the week
I read with interest Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour’s take on the state of Air New Zealand and his view that the state’s 51% ownership should be sold off, freeing the Government of any responsibility for its future, whether it makes a loss or profit in any particular timeframe.
The airline industry is a very fickle one. You only have to look back in time at the carriers in the United States and Europe to see that the numbers are vastly fewer than 30 years ago. The financial results of numerous carriers in these years meant there were mergers, takeovers and acquisitions that changed the face of the global airline landscape.
Due to the sector’s cyclical nature, carriers go through times of plenty and times of poverty, with fewer and fewer remaining in the air. Air New Zealand has suffered in these times but as an example, it has also maintained its responsibility to service regional routes, ensuring that the provinces are still served.
I suggest Seymour spends some time discussing airline economics with the people who know what they are talking about.
Peter Burn (former director of planning Air New Zealand), Gulf Harbour.
Elder abuse
Thank you for your insightful editorial on the issues facing elderly citizens, including elder abuse. Just as young children can be physically abused, so too can vulnerable older people. As reported, a frightening new worry for seniors is the number affected by financial abuse.
Getting older is often stereotypically seen as physical, cognitive, social and emotional decline.
As people are living longer, we need to look beyond the stereotypes towards a cultural shift.
Unlike sexism and racism, ageism seems to be the only “ism” that is socially sanctioned and considered normal. Ageism also appears in health settings.
As posited by Dr Samantha Heath, of Unitech’s School of Healthcare and Social Practice, a change in attitudes should begin with our healthcare workforce, who reflect society’s ageist attitudes.
Furthermore, she says, ageism needs to be added to the social determinants of health alongside cardiovascular disease, dementia and cancer. She quotes one of her students who responded in an anonymous survey: “Rather than try to convince nurses to work in aged care, we should try to convince society to care about older people.”
Glennys Adams, Waiheke Island.
Move on to where?
Government move-on orders and fines for the homeless will not work until a suitable facility is established to move them on to.
Myers Park is the most adjacent central Auckland location for the construction of suitably designed single sleepouts supported with a central food kitchen, ablution and drug and medical facilities, to ensure a dignified response.
Wardens (not police) would need small buses to collect the homeless from Queen St. Several support organisations could contribute to this worthwhile outcome.
Gary Carter, Gulf Harbour.
Orwellian learnings
Recent revelations regarding an inquiry into the Teaching Council of New Zealand should be welcomed by all teachers as it offers wonderful opportunities to teach the text Animal Farm, by George Orwell.
Teacher fees to the council seem to always be increasing, with teachers wondering where these fees are being allocated. It looks like much has been used to accommodate the council in offices of prime real estate with views over Wellington Harbour.
This reflects the accommodation of the pigs in Animal Farm, who were ultimately of the opinion that they were better than the common herd and deserved more comfortable lodgings. Even with this lavish accommodation, council staff only work there three days a week, and the other two from home. What teachers wouldn’t want working conditions such as these?
Orwell’s lesson here is that council staff are “more equal than others”, with teachers definitely lacking in equality. As for pay, the council’s chief executive, Lesley Hoskin, earned more than $400,000 a year, with rumours she might be on full pay while on leave and that she might be in line for severance pay.
New Zealand teachers get noticeably less pay than their Australian counterparts but are still expected to work uncomplainingly – just like the character Boxer in Orwell’s novel – implementing a new curriculum and dealing with students with increasingly diverse needs. Finally, there is the council’s awarding of $1.1 million in contracts to an advertising firm run by Hoskin’s husband. Nepotism is a central theme in Animal Farm and would appear to be well illustrated by the actions of the Teaching Council.
Bernard Walker, Tauranga.
Rugby woes
From what one reads and hears in the media, one must conclude that New Zealand Rugby is on the slippery slope. Still looking for a new chief executive, still deliberating over a new All Blacks coach, still looking to fill a couple of executive positions in the hierarchy, and now New Zealand Rugby’s general manager of professional rugby has resigned.
Doesn’t augur well for the global game, does it?
Phil Chitty, Albany.
Rāhui for rockpools
I am concerned about the lack of sealife in Takapuna’s rockpools. When we shifted to Takapuna some 15 years ago, the pools at the south and north end teemed with tiny fish and cats’ eyes. I walked round the south end rocks to Clifton Beach this week and there was not one cats’ eye in the rock pools and yes, there was a party of people chipping oysters off the rocks. (I almost hope it made them sick, as I feel sick to see the lack of life due to their pillaging.)
We need a total ban on shellfish-gathering on all our Auckland beaches and some form of authority should place signs with a phone number to call when we see folk gathering seafood on our rocky shores, as the small sealife contributes to the healthy life for our ocean.
Lynne Lagan, Takapuna.