A home battery pack means everything runs at night from the stored electricity generated during the day by the solar panels. No need for long-distance transmission and safe from weather disruptions. You can even charge an electric vehicle from it, all provided free by the sun.
The upfront cost of about $16,000 for a full home solar and battery pack is surely an advantageous capital investment in any home. Besides substantial savings on monthly power bills, you can gradually recoup the investment by selling surplus power to the grid and helping cut our greenhouse gas emissions.
Jeff Hayward, Auckland.
Left vs right
With our MMP system in New Zealand, not surprisingly, we have coalition governments.
Our current centre-right coalition Government has been, for some considerable time, the constant subject of negative commentary from the general public, letter-writers, the media, cartoonists and from specialist commentators. Some of this commentary may have been justified, nothing’s perfect, but much of it has been at best mischievous and at worst downright misleading.
But what annoys me most is that there is little, if any, sensible commentary regarding the centre-left coalition opposition.
What is good for the goose should also be good for the gander – but it is not.
It seems to me that just as by necessity there are some cracks in the current coalition Government, it is likely that there will be even bigger cracks, and in some cases chasms, in a future centre-left coalition Government.
So, why are we not talking more about this also?
Steve Clerk, Meadowbank.
Time for a new pledge
In these days, soon after the Anzac season, when we have given our solemn pledge “Lest we forget”, New Zealanders should add a second pledge: that we “Never repeat”.
Otherwise, we are doomed to a future of placing poppies on fresh gravesites.
Likewise, people in other nations will be grieving new casualties of war at countless cemeteries.
War will almost certainly continue to blight our planet if nations do not respect the sovereignty of other nations and the vital principles of international law and relations.
On a positive note, since the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, our Government has adopted a principled stance that opposes that breach of international law by Russia.
But what is our Government’s position on the potentially unlawful bombing of Iran by the US and Israel while negotiations were underway? No declaration of war, no mandate from the United Nations Security Council either. Just a “skirmish”, President Trump later described it. Ironically, the US and Israel are not covered by the International Criminal Court jurisdiction. But the United States has placed sanctions on international judges for doing their job.
Consider also the ongoing US blockade of Cuba, effectively starving the island nation, and the US military invasion of Venezuela to arrest Nicolas Maduro (no search warrant needed for a foreign country?).
Come on, Winston Peters, you are our Foreign Minister and we need New Zealand to be represented in the international arena. We expect you to declare on our behalf the principles that we have fought for in the past and continue to believe in for the present and the future.
Eardley Dijkstra, Pakūranga.
Police actions
A member of the public was assaulted by masked criminals on dirt bikes over the weekend. These criminals broke many laws and intimidated many law-abiding citizens.
The police said they knew the ride was happening and would keep an eye on things. If they were monitoring this ride, why did they not step in to protect the member of the public being assaulted and make arrests on the spot? If they were monitoring the ride, where were they?
Graham Hansen, Howick.
Which three Ps?
I must take issue with Jock Mac Vicar’s letter (May 4) in which he claimed the mantra for rugby teams years ago was the three Ps – possession, possession, possession. Many years ago in my rugby playing days, our coaches drummed into us that the mantra of the three Ps was: possession, position and pace. I believe that should still hold true today.
Mike England, Ōrewa.