4 LISTENER NOVEMBER 5 2016
LETTERS
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I propose that we extend our
ballot forms so that they fully
accommodate what voters
want to say and then make it
compulsory to vote (Editorial,
October 22).
We should thus have “None
of the above” as an option.
And because many voters may
be clearer as to who they do
not want elected, we should
have the option to cross out
a candidate’s name with the
consequence being that their
tally is reduced by one (total
and final vote counts should
be published).
Maybe there should even be
an “I choose not to vote” box.
Only one of the options – a
candidate’s name or one of
these extra boxes – could be
ticked.
With redesigned ballot
papers, we could then make
voting compulsory, know-
ing that pretty much any
political position would be
accommodated.
David Swain
(Rototuna, Hamilton)
I have long argued that
improving councillor compe-
tence requires better training
programmes. That, in turn,
ought to go a long way
towards reassuring citizens
that it is worth their while
voting.
Some years ago, I helped
lead a government-funded
research programme that
developed methods for assess-
ing the quality of council plans
and their implementation and
outcomes. The research high-
lighted many problems.
The chairperson of a district
council environment and
planning committee who was
interviewed felt both embar-
rassed and ashamed to confess
that when first coming onto
the council, he knew nothing
about the statutes governing
local bodies or how the system
operated. We also found that
once elected, councillors sat as
decision-makers on Resource
Management Act matters
without first getting to know
their own regional and district
plans.
Would these worrisome
examples occur if aspiring
councillors were first required
to complete a training course?
Candidates would soon learn
whether serving on local gov-
ernment was an appropriate
activity for them. Those who
passed the course could then
throw their hat in the ring
confident that they were com-
petent to serve. This should
enhance voters’ confidence
and thus boost turnouts.
To that end, perhaps Local
Government New Zealand
ought to consider supporting
the development and imple-
mentation of a training course
The winner will receive
a DVD of Dad’s Army, in
which the Walmington-
on-Sea Home Guard
platoon contend with a
visiting female journalist
and a German spy.
Letter of the week
HAT TIP FOR 1000 CRACKING PUZZLES
Congratulations are surely
in order for setter David
Tossman for 1000 Listener
crosswords (see Diversions,
page 62). At the rate of
one a week, that’s some 19
years and three
months since he
took over from
“RWH”, who was
setter from 1940
until Tossman
was handed the
baton in 1997.
Cryptic
crosswords have
changed over
time: in Tossman’s own
words, “Only about half the
clues were cryptic, and many
of the straight ones were
quite wordy, clearly straight
from the dictionary. Then
there were the quotations,
several per puzzle, which are
not really cryptic. All in all
[RWH’s] puzzlemaking had
not changed much since
she began in 1940, while in
the UK the art of the cryptic
changed quite a lot over
the next 50 years, particu-
larly after Ximenes (Derrick
Macnutt) laid down his ‘rules’
for fairness in the 1960s. (I
do tend to follow Ximenes.)
That said, I did learn the
basics of cryptics at my
mother’s knee as she tackled
RWH every week and could
hardly believe it when I was
appointed to take her place
in 1997.”
Crosswords were not
only less cryptic then, but
also a lot smaller – 13×13 as
opposed to the 15×15 grid
that prevails today, making
for 56 fewer squares and
many fewer clues. The change
to 15×15 was one of several
improvements we
have seen under
Tossman’s tenure.
At about 30
clues per cross-
word, Tossman
has tested us cru-
civerbalists with
roughly 30,
of his fiendish
clues over the past
1000 weeks: no mean feat. I
am sure regular solvers will
especially enjoy this week’s
offering together with its
somewhat topical theme.
Barrie Graham
Cryptic crossword checker
(Remuera, Auckland)
I note that my crossword-
composing colleague David
Tossman is having his 1000th
Listener cryptic crossword
published. Congratulations!
Rex Benson – aka Kropotkin
(Northland, Wellington)
Aside from teasing Listener
readers’ brains for nearly 20
years, David Tossman has also
played a bit part in Jonothan
Cullinane’s recently published
crime story Red Herring (Books
& Culture, October 29), helping
devise a cryptic clue. Great work,
David, in reaching this week’s
milestone. For an interview with
David, see tinyurl.com/NZLtoss-
man. – Editor
David Tossman