Our newspapers and other media and our political leaders of all stripes need to put a stake in the sand over this very important issue.
John Galvin, Hamilton.
Insensitive protest
It is an appalling indictment on the people of New Zealand that mere hours after a terrorist attack targeting people for being Jewish, we have people calling for the extermination of Israel. A protest group on Remuera Rd displayed a flag reading “a one-state solution. Palestine for all”.
It may come as a bit of a shock to these people, but screeds of archaeological evidence prove the Jews are the indigenous people of Israel. These protesters are effectively calling for the genocide of an indigenous population.
Kent Millar, Blockhouse Bay.
Media responsibility
The Herald’s coverage of the atrocity in Bondi is to be commended. Perhaps the mainstream New Zealand media is beginning to understand the part it has played over the last two years in the vilification of Jews.
We have cringed every morning at the items in the NZ Herald reprinted from the New York Times and the Washington Post, both biased against Israel. And every evening we cringed as TVNZ filmed lies, distortions and bias from the BBC about the war in Gaza.
This has all helped to poison the public’s minds. More care and responsibility are required from the media.
Wendy Ross, Remuera.
Gun laws
A typical response after any shooting of this magnitude is to revise the gun laws. New Zealand did exactly that almost immediately after the Christchurch event. What does it actually achieve?
It might sound good for a politician to denounce the atrocity and make these broad statements for change. The fact is no amount of law, no amount of penalty will prevent radical types undertaking such action.
John Ford, Taradale.
Commuter train
We want to add our wishes for Te Huia train to continue. As many commuters and elderly hate driving up and back to Hamilton and Auckland, it supplies us with a great way to travel and as we watch the slow traffic on the motorway, we feel happy about saving fuel plus taking traffic off the road, making it flow faster.
We would even be happy to pay something towards the cost as at the moment the Gold Card gives the elderly free travel, rather than chopping it and losing the service.
How awful to destroy all the good work Te Huia has done in giving us this good option. All over the world, two cities of 190,000 and 1.7 million people with only 120km distance are connected by rail.
David Seymour says the coalition Government wants to spend more millions on another Treaty Principles Bill, which is a waste of time and money as even Act, Hobson’s Choice etc knows, but won’t subsidise efficient rail.
Ideological use of funds for pet projects while getting rid of real, beneficial projects is not good governance.
Frankie Letford, Hamilton.
NZ Rugby review
How many reviews does New Zealand Rugby need ?
It is blatantly obvious to all and sundry that the All Blacks are not functioning up to expectations and that they have gone backwards under the current coaching regime.
There is only one answer. Sorry Razor, you have to go, as there is not even a glimmer of hope that the All Blacks will recover under your control.
The All Blacks are big business for New Zealand and we need to get back our prestige so the powers that be have to be ruthless. We are currently sitting a distant third.
Jock Mac Vicar, Hauraki.