The value of good-quality ECE is undeniable, but to imply that an early child education centre is a substitute for parental responsibility demonstrates societal failure at a basic level.
Bernard Walker, Mount Maunganui.
Honouring the Treaty
Perhaps now is a good time to see how we all understand what it means to honour the Treaty.
There is a lot of blustering talk about this, but it’s really very simple.
All New Zealanders honour the Treaty, every time they treat as equals other New Zealanders, no matter what ethnic group they come from, or when they arrived in New Zealand.
We can do no better than understand the summary of this by Jonathan Ayling (Feb 5) when he says in summary: “Because the Treaty will endure only if the equal citizen does.”
If the Treaty is used to give some ethnic groups greater rights than others, then the Treaty itself will not endure.
Michael Walker, Blockhouse Bay.
Insuring against nature
Get rid of the profit-motivated insurance companies. The Natural Hazards Commission should assume responsibility for all property insurance against natural disasters.
AA Insurance’s withdrawal of cover from flood-prone Westport and earthquake-vulnerable Woodend reveals market failure: a private insurer abandoning communities that need protection most.
The Natural Hazards Commission would be required to guarantee everyone cover. But it would have to introduce risk-based pricing – charging premiums according to each property’s natural hazard exposure. This would create an incentive for wise development, reward caution, and signal the true implicit cost of building in a particular place. Its current flat-rate levy means prudent homeowners subsidise those building in high-risk areas.
For existing homeowners, transition mechanisms could phase in risk-based pricing gradually. High premiums in risky areas could fund buyouts, protective infrastructure, and managed retreat, with insurance pricing guiding New Zealand’s adaptation to climate change and seismic reality.
John Trezise, Birkenhead.
Teacher aides
Extra teacher aide hours pledged by the Government from 2028 are no help for current secondary students nor those who support them (Janhavi Gosavi, Feb 4). This Government is systematically cutting funding used to pay teacher aides to support neurodivergent students.
Teacher aide hours allocated to the Ongoing Resource Scheme (ORS) have been reduced to 13 per week. ORS funding itself is almost impossible to achieve. Consequently, schools are supporting students who, despite severe learning and behaviour challenges, do not qualify for ORS.
Funding, formerly available for students in Years 11-13 and used for teacher aide salaries, has been discontinued. Funding for In-Class Support designated for students functioning at level 1 of the curriculum has been slashed, so fewer students gain the five hours of teacher aide support per week it provides.
Funding applications made to the ministry to support students who present behaviour or learning challenges have been reduced. A measly $1000 per term has been reduced to $600 in some cases. Is it any wonder teacher aides have no job security?
Pending curriculum changes will be difficult for neurodivergent pupils, but employing teacher aides to assist students supports teachers and leads to more successful outcomes for all.
Belinda Kusabs, Massey.
Wellington water woes
Just when you thought Wellington Water might have been displaying a glimmer of improvement, the sewage system fails in a spectacular fashion.
So, we have the system at Seaview behaving badly and now the one on the south coast.
I feel very sorry for Andrew Little; he displayed great bravery in becoming mayor. But I have huge sympathy for the ratepayers, who have been betrayed for many years.
Neville Cameron, Coromandel.
Rugby league is the winner
Watching the A-League soccer on Sky TV, including the Auckland and Wellington teams, I now know exactly why the final score is usually nil v nil or at the very best one goal versus one goal.
The cause is so blatantly obvious. Every time a kick at goal is done during the game, they kick the ball so very, very high that it always goes way over the top of the goals, resulting in a defender’s goal kick. So why don’t they kick it so far lower to have an enormous, hugely great chance of scoring a goal every time?
That strategy, plus the futile, annoying acting on the ground by all the players to get a penalty, makes soccer far more boring than even rugby with its huge time wasting of three scrum resets plus often kicking the ball out.
That is why rugby league will always be far more popular to go to or watch on TV than those two very annoying football games in New Zealand and Australia. Am I very wrong? I do not think so.
Murray Hunter, Titirangi.
Ambassador’s Epstein ties
Steve Maharey (Feb 5) writes an extremely well-reasoned item titled “What does NZ do when the world ruptures?”
While Steve specifically mentions in context the “ruptures” affecting us from North America –of both the US and Canada – he omits reference to a ticking time bomb in the UK.
I refer to the public disgrace and dismissal of Lord Peter Mandelson, appointed it should be recalled as US Ambassador to the US, by UK PM Sir Keir Starmer.
Mandelson was fired principally for his “Epstein links”, a stunning fall from grace which inevitably will have very consequential ramifications.
Starmer is in trouble on two counts. Firstly, his appointment of Mandelson in the first place, and all this in spite of Mandelson’s appalling back story, which included his close association with Epstein … a relationship recently placed under ongoing criminal investigation.
The British PM’s stunning lapses in judgment could at least lead to his resignation … at worst, a snap election. “Ruptures” indeed.
Larry Mitchell, Rothesay Bay.
A quick word
This week’s Herald editions express reserved excitement about Trump’s dangling of a US minerals deal in front of our coalition Government. Please be very careful. To Trump, the meaning of the term “to deal” is “to swindle.”
Robert Myers, Auckland.
Could I suggest that all of those rich and powerful people accused of being an associate of Jeffrey Epstein agree to having their cases heard by the New Zealand justice system.
Shocking as it is, they could get hefty reductions by showing remorse, agreeing to guilty pleas, making substantial donations to a worthy cause and so on to the point where, like so many, any ideas of a prison sentence would simply fly out the window. Plus, they probably could also have successfully applied for name suppression as well.
Paul Beck, West Harbour.
Labour should be pushing for NZ-made. We import far too much that we can produce ourselves (coal as just one example), and it’s why our imports exceed our exports, which has resulted in the debt mountain, stagnant economic growth, record unemployment, record emigration and a never-ending rise in the cost of living.
Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.
Coalition governments used to describe wastefully buying their own toys, including helicopters, ships, planes and ferries, in terms of millions of dollars, but it is now billions, and soon it will be trillions and probably zillions? Except the wishing well is now very dry.
Bruce Tubb, Ngataringa Heights.
School uniforms are incredibly expensive, causing hardship at this time of year for parents already financially struggling. Second-hand uniforms are in high demand. Children who have to change schools during the year need new uniforms, causing additional expense.
It would be sensible if all public schools in New Zealand had the same uniform with a removable emblem to identify the school. Private schools could still have their own distinctive uniforms.
Anne Martin, Helensville.
The sewage overflow at Wellington reflects a systemic failure by councils all over NZ – a total failure to maintain basic infrastructure in favour of totally unnecessary “nice to have” projects.
Councils have failed to build and maintain many core functions to manage population increase/density and land use.
Until councils are obliged to focus ONLY on core infrastructure (and the Government as well), we will continue to suffer for their incompetence.
Derek Paterson, Sunnyhills.
Would all those kids please go back to school double quick … then my internet will be restored to normal speeds. Thank you.
Larry Mitchell, Rothesay Bay.