Letters: Children caught up in police raids on the East Coast and used as pawns – by gangs and politicians

Sneaky Treaty Move

So we had an announcement at short notice, outside office hours, that the The Treaty Principles Bill will be submitted to the House of Representatives ten days before the previously announced date – and a few days before the hīkoi, which wanted to reach parliament the day after the bill was introduced, even meets (NZ HeraldNovember 6).

Coincidentally, it is also just after the US elections, when there will be little room for local news in the headlines. It’s a proven political tactic to deal with controversial issues when people are less likely to pay attention. But when the core principles on which this country was founded are challenged in a way that many people – of all races – will find painful, I am shocked and disappointed that the administration is not only trying to divert attention, but also undermine commitment of key stakeholders.

We all deserve better.

Jackie Brown-Haysom, Northcote.

Election lessons

Most of us here in New Zealand will wonder why almost 50% of the US population supports a man like Trump. Maybe it’s because he is who he is – so dramatically different from the conventional contender. People are simply fed up with repeated governments that promise but rarely deliver. They believe Trump will do that.

Similar Trumpian sentiments are paying off for far-right parties in European countries. Trump also follows the far-right practice of blaming a particular group on the general population for the ills they carry. In the US they are immigrants, just like in Europe. And as we all know, new governments here in New Zealand, Australia and England, regardless of their political leanings, blame the previous government.

Regardless of who wins the US election, I hope our politicians, and those in other Western democracies, will learn from it. There are important lessons for them, and for us, to heed.

David Hood, Hamilton.

Triple tax hit

In New Zealand, the salary and wage earner are taxed three times on every dollar earned, first on PAYE, second on GST and third on Kiwisaver, bank savings or investment returns. There is also a secondary burden if someone is fortunate enough to have more than one job.

A company can claim back GST, a certain proportion of operating costs and rates and, if it is a property investor, tax relief on mortgage payments. Thanks to the Bright-Line test, property owners can resell their property tax-free for a profit after two years. There is no capital gains tax. There is no wealth tax.

Although it is the salary and wage earners, and often those in the lowest paying jobs, who contribute the main tax revenues in New Zealand, they are punished for trying to better themselves through frugality and saving, which then also becomes unfair taxed. . Is it any wonder we have an extremely poor savings record? Where’s the incentive? There is none. When will we get legislation that rewards New Zealanders for saving, rather than spending?

Marie Kaire, Whangarei.

Food for thought

What an irony it was to write the article about the $17 million upgrade of an Auckland home next to the a food bank’s desperate attempts to survive (NZ HeraldNovember 6). It sums up the financial divide very well, doesn’t it?

The Givealittle page supporting Dave Letele’s work is slowly growing through small donations and they express their gratitude to everyone. But where are the really rich people of New Zealand? If they responded, the Buttabean team’s problems could be solved in an instant. Come on!

Kathy Callander, Paraparaumu.

Anxiety antidote

Correspondent George Williams (NZ HeraldNovember 5) expresses concern that our children and young people are increasingly suffering from anxiety and that 50% of them attribute this largely to concerns about climate change. He suggests we need to tone down the “inflammatory language” around climate change.

May I suggest that their concerns would be better allayed if they saw their seniors and our government taking more serious action to address the causes of climate change?

Karla Rix-Trott, Raglan.