What’s on

WEAVING KETE WORKSHOP

Join us with Sinaa and learn to weave a kete from flax. Botany Library, Thursday, July 20, 11.30am. To register, email botany.library@ aucklandcouncil.govt.nz.

Howick Combined Probus

Eastern District Country Music Club

Next Wednesday, July 26 at 7pm, everyone is welcome to listen to our live music or come and sing or play an instrument. Bucklands and Eastern Beaches War Memorial Hall, Wharf Road, Bucklands Beach. Non-members $5. For more info phone Bev 021 11 56 866.

physical and sexual abuse of young boys in the care of this provider over a period of nearly seven years.

“Those charges filed today relate to offences such as sexual violation, injuring and neglect of a child.”

The alleged offending occurred between October, 2003, and July, 2010.

Those charged are two men, aged 62 and 39, and a 66-yearold woman. All three were expected to appear in the Manukau District Court on July 13. The charges relate to alleged offending against nine victims and further charges cannot be ruled out, Hassall says.

“We have spoken to a large number of former residents of this facility, however, we know there are still some police have not yet been able to speak with.”

Those people are asked to contact police through the 105 phone service quoting ‘Operation Pocket’ or file number 220721/6568.

“I encourage anyone who has information or concerns they need to raise with police in connection with this facility to get in contact with our investigation,” Hassall says.

“The welfare of victims is our priority and we have ensured there is support available for all of those who have been engaging with the investigation.

“Anyone who is considering approaching police can be assured that their matter will be taken seriously and treated in confidence.”

Why not join us on Tuesday, July 25 at the Howick Bowling Club, 10am – 12 noon to hear speaker Janice Chandler talking about Tunisia and Libya. New members and guests are welcome. Morning tea provided. Phone Mary on 2738804 to confirm or for more information regarding speakers, trips and friendship groups.

LEARN ABOUT WILLS

Citizens Advice Bureau Pakuranga invites you to a free community information session on Wills and Enduring Power of Attorney. It will cover topics like, do I need a will? Risks of doing it wrong, practical guide to creating an enduring power of attorney. The session is at Pakuranga Library on Friday, July 21, 10am to 12 noon. Registration is compulsory. Email settlement. pakuranga@cab.org.nz or text: 021 459 520.

U3A ORMISTON

A club for retired and semi-retired citizens, offering the opportunity to learn and to socialise. General meeting – Thursday, July 27, Flat Bush Old School Hall, cnr Murphys Rd/Flat Bush School Rd, Flat Bush, 10am-12 noon. First speaker Mike Lowe – Belonging; main speaker Willie Iosia – Blue Light (police charity). Visitors welcome (no charge). Morning tea provided. Contact Dave 022 6449650.

What’s On is a free community notice-board for non-profit groups. Send notices to whatson@times.co.nz or drop into our office at 10 Central Terrace, Howick. Notices must be received by the Wednesday before publication. While every effort is made to run the notices, space restrictions may mean notices may not run. Keep notices to less than 50 words. There is no guarantee your notice will run. Where publication of a notice is timecritical, groups should consider placing a classified advertisement to ensure placement.

The Master Stroke

Let’s not too quickly forget that as our politicians busied themselves during lockdowns rearranging the legislative substrate of our way of life, the toll of their mandates used to skirt around our lawful traditions caused such a widespread, deep-seated sense of shock, alienation and worry that our previous Prime Minister became trapped in the inevitability of her own Quixotic quagmire.

Desperate to salvage its chances in the up-coming election, her party premeditatively transplanted in the next mild-mannered ideological clone in waiting.

Seemingly unburdened with his predecessor’s baggage, after a few token concessions, her comrade pressed forward with the same transformative agenda. What a master stroke.

The public’s abhorrence of Labour’s push to surreptitiously imbed ‘co-governance’—clearly the underlying motive of ‘Three Waters’ – vanished with the exPrime Minster (‘Affordable Water Infrastructure’ is the new patronising blandishment marketing this imposition).

Symptomatic of an enculturated intellectual conceit and general spiritual decline, our rejection of truth is most starkly embodied in the dissembling academic, political, commercial and media rulership that’s relentlessly imposing its ubiquitous moral illiteracy.

So many ‘untruths’ have taken root to displace common sense, honour and our Christian heritage, that who we once were has been almost completely prised from our hands.

Rees Sutcliffe

East Tamaki Heights

End Of An Era

When China abandoned its zero Covid policies at the end of 2022, all bets were on a rapid rise in economic growth.

In reality, it hasn’t happened. Retail sales and investment are far less than expected.

Analysts now think the economy may not have grown at all in the second quarter and will struggle to achieve the modest GDP target of 5 per cent at the end of 2023.

The main culprit? The end of the property boom with scores of significant property developers going bust.

As history has shown, property bubbles rarely end well. Construction companies and all their associated services needed for housing building and, consequently sales, are dragged down markedly, hurting the economy.

Because homeowners are less likely to spend money if they are worried about their most valuable asset, inevitably [this] results in depressed consumption.

Even if China wanted to foster more consumption-led growth, it would not easily be able to do so.

Many of the Government’s economic policies are still designed to promote exports and investment and to suppress consumption.

Sustainably boosting household spending such as building up sturdier safety nets would take years to accomplish.

The current property gloom casting a shadow over China’s economy is not just for the rest of the year, but far into the future.

Lessons for New Zealand perhaps?

Gary Hollis Mellons Bay

ARE 16-YEAR-OLDS MATURE ENOUGH?

Should 16-year-olds get the vote? From my perspective it will depend on maturity, not age. So what is maturity? It is the ability to recognise the evil within and decide to control it.

What are these evils? Theft , vandalism, covetousness, deception, anger, hate, resentment, revenge, murder, pride. Do 16-year-olds have this level of maturity? Some do, most don’t. Do 60-year-olds have this level of maturity? Yes, rather more but not all.

In my experience age tends to unfold maturity by life’s trials but does not ensure maturity.

Ian George, Howick

Irrelevant Distractions

Re: Argument makes no sense (Dennis Horne, Times, June 28).

Mr Horne seems to have lost the plot. He starts with “[Ryan’s] position makes no sense”. But he doesn’t know my position, so cannot possibly know if it makes sense or not.

He pleads, “No more nonsense about Richard Feynmann”. While insulting Feynmann (and thinking people everywhere) by suggesting, “He never passed comment” is evidence of an opinion.

He advises “[Feynmann] did not write a paper”, when nobody said he did. Meanwhile, my “position” is irrelevant. And demanding that I explain it, a distraction.

I’d rather get back to addressing things that matter. Like the effectiveness of climate police and its effect on New Zealand citizens.

For example: New Zealand citizens generate less than 0.2 per cent of the world’s CO2.

Of that less than 0.2 per cent, when our entire ecosystem is considered, New Zealand “captures” more than 100 per cent. Our total carbon emissions are already “net-negative”.

At the same time, New Zealand is powerless to change the output of China and India against whom our emissions get lost in the statistical noise. But our politicians want us to do more.

Some argue that reducing emissions is doing the right thing, but is it? Is it right or sensible if it leaves us poorer but doesn’t measurably change anything, or protect us from others’ emissions?

Is there really nothing better we can do?

I have seen no climate policy coming from local or national government that achieves anything more than giving smug politicians an excuse to say, “look how good we are!”, while making life harder for the average Kiwi.

I have seen no climate policy that could possibly have a measurable impact on climate change or our preparedness for the prophesied climate emergency.

Perhaps when Mr Horne is over his weird obsession with trying to disprove a point I didn’t make, he can explain how raising petrol taxes for working-class New Zealanders is going to make a difference to the global climate.

Ryan Price Half Moon Bay

Community Consultation

I have suggested that our council representatives spend one day a month at the Pakuranga Library to hear ratepayers’ concerns in their constituency.

By doing so they would get to know what the grassroots ratepayers are concerned about.

No doubt they get plenty of emails regarding problems, but face-to-face meetings would be worth a try.

Arthur Moore Pakuranga