LISTENER AUGUST 3 2019LETTERS pCeBrhsoiIlLdnhaLol (^) sYoedr:ie^ Bhisy sem O tYops 6 t 4
URBA
N (^) AN
XIETY
JESurAprNsi (^) iBngAi nTTEN
insigelhatds finrog mav oiauttrriw (^) imxoatre (^) ld (^) - Heat works:
ae yxoergca issew^ &e^ awt,o strryki^ sngau unap s,^
Auckland specaaiylissa (^) tn
The (^) smar
t, simple
reduce (^) our fear &ways to
NZ (^) cities sa make
fer
JULY (^27) - AUGUST (^2 2019) N
OTED.CO.NZ
GSiRr EEdA’se (^) xTEtraoST HERO
interviewr revdisniiatreyd final
BUSTRESS^
STERS
SUGCLOBAL
STORICEESSS
60 years and recently bought
my first (second-hand) SUV
(Editorial, July 20). For many
reasons, visibility being one,
I have never felt safer on
the road, in town or on the
highway. I cannot think of
a compelling reason to ever
swap it for a lower-profile vehi-
cle, petrol or electric.
Garry Whincop
(Napier)
Grant Lilly (Letters, July 27)
questions the need for so
many SUVs on the roads.
American Keith Bradsher, in
his excellent book High and
Mighty: SUVs – the world’s most
dangerous vehicles and how they
got that way, says the manufac-
turers’ own estimation is that
95% of them “never leave a
sealed road”.
Possession of these absurd
vehicles is often defended as
being necessary “to tow the
Fear factor
FIND US ONLINE
VISIT US ONLINE FOR EXTR A
CONTENT AND DAILY UPDATES
● noted.co.nz/the-listener
● twitter.com/nzlistener
● facebook.com/nzlistener
I lived in Tokyo for three years
in the early 2000s and felt
much safer there than I do in
Auckland (“Fear enough”, July
27). In Tokyo, you could go
out at any hour of the day or
night, and regardless of where
you were or what you were
doing, the likelihood of get-
ting mugged or assaulted was
almost nil.
Japanese people are
respectful and tolerant, and
although many love to drink,
aggression related to this is
almost unheard of. It would
not be uncommon to return
home late at night and see
a businessman passed out
on the footpath with his
briefcase acting as a pillow. I
never heard of harm coming
to anyone sleeping in this
precarious fashion.
Compare this with Auck-
land. I would hesitate to
recommend anyone walk
around Queen St and down-
town alone or even with a
group after about 11pm. It is
common to hear about people
being assaulted, women being
harassed and general drunk
and disorderly behaviour.
Tourists are regularly
robbed and assaulted or even
Letter of the week
Letters to the editor
{[email protected]}
The Editor, Listener, Private Bag
92512, Wellesley St, Auckland 1141
This magazine is subject to the
New Zealand Press Council.
● Please direct complaints to the
editor: [email protected]
● If unsatisfied, the complaint may
be referred to the Press Council,
PO Box 10-879, The Terrace,
Wellington 6143 or email info@
presscouncil.org.nz
● Online complaints
form at presscouncil.
org.nz
The winner will receive Chefs for
Good yogurt, Wallace Cotton
sleeping accessories, Harney &
Sons Chai Tea and a George and
Edi French Pear candle from the
Collective,
worth $120.
murdered in our so-called safe
country. This doesn’t take into
account our family violence,
infant mortality and suicide
statistics, in all of which we
fare badly.
New Zealand ranks fifth in
the OECD for incarceration
per capita – behind the US,
Turkey, Israel and Chile. The
data speaks for itself.
Ray Calver
(Grey Lynn, Auckland)
BLIGHTY’S SPOT OF BOTHER
The July 27 Editorial refers to
the UK’s “humiliating spat
with US President Donald
Trump, after the malicious
leaking of a private diplomatic
communiqué critical of his
leadership”. Subsequently,
after pressure from Trump, the
diplomat concerned, the UK
ambassador to Washington,
Sir Kim Darroch, resigned.
This fails to address the
issue of Trump’s unfitness for
the office he holds, and the
danger he is fast becoming to
civil society, the rule of law,
peace and economic stability.
His continuous, nasty
and personal Twitter rants
against the leaders of other
friendly and allied democratic
countries (while he cosies
up to some of the world’s
despots) show he’s like the
classic, immature schoolyard
bully.
He doesn’t mind dishing it
out, but it’s a different story
when it comes to taking it.
John Watkins
(Remuera, Auckland)
FACE OF THE NATION
Here’s a nice memory brought
to mind by the Listener archive
story “New Zealand heroes: Sir
Ed’s century” (July 27).
Decades ago, before credit
cards or the mere thought of
selfies, I was in a Remuera,
Auckland, pharmacy wait-
ing for a prescription. The
customer alongside me was the
man whose picture appeared
on the $5 note I was paying
with. It was the most ordinary
thing to happen, yet utterly
unique.
Kathryn Smits
(Hobsonville)
LETTER OF THE WEEK
GIVE ‘EM HELL HOLYOAKE
I was puzzled by Joanne Black’s
dismissal of Prime Minister
Keith Holyoake’s message of
goodwill taken to the Moon
50 years ago (Back to Black, July
27) and equally baffled by her
claim that this should settle
the debate about whether it
is a good thing that civil serv-
ants were replaced, usually by
journalists, as ministerial press
secretaries.
In my opinion, Holyoake’s
message is clear, admirably
brief and refreshingly free of
the sort of spin we now have
to endure.
I’m reminded of US presi-
dent Harry Truman’s comment
when asked why he was called
“Give ’em hell Harry!”
He said: “I never did give
’em hell, I just told the truth,
and they thought it was hell.”
Max Robertson
(Onerahi, Whangārei)
VIVE SUVs
I’m nearing 80, have had a
driver licence for more than