Elian's agony, US folly

However it ends, the affair of Elian Gonzalez, the six-year-old Cuban boy, 
hostage to a vanished Cold War, has already earned its place among the many 
monuments to the folly in America's policy towards Fidel Castro.
It is almost five months since Elian was found clinging to an inner tube in 
the Straits of Florida, survivor of a shipwreck in which a dozen would-be refugees, 
including his mother, were drowned.
Had he been fleeing Haiti, Guatemala or some other unsalubrious regime in 
the region, the little boy would have been
returned home to his father without further ado. Castro's Cuba, however, is 
different, a pariah state subjected to four
decades of vendetta, whose refugees as recently as 1994 were greeted on US 
shores as heroes of the free world,
almost certain of asylum and subsequent citizenship.
Thus Elian was handed over to distant relatives in the large and 
politically influential Cuban-American community in
Miami, and there he remained, despite the insistence of the US government 
and a majority of American public opinion
that his place is at home with his surviving  parent.
The affair has underlined again how the Cuban question still exercises a 
malign influence on American public life,
distorting the judgement of otherwise sane men.
This long foolishness has been self-defeating. America's trade embargo has 
merely deepened the economic plight of
Cuba's people without securing any improvement in their human rights.


Castro is among the longest-surviving rulers of any country on earth, about 
to outlast his ninth US president, he can
thank 40 years of American hostility, which have allowed him to present 
himself as a patriot and blame his country's
every problem on bullying by Washington.
Elian, too, is assured his place as a hero, however unwitting, of 
resistance to the domineering Yanqui.
To his credit Mr Clinton has lifted some sanctions and made human contact a 
little easier across the Straits of Florida. But the best epilogue to this wretched episode 
would be for America to start treating Cuba as normally as it treats Russia, or even 
China or North Korea. If that were to happen, the ordeal of a small and traumatised 
child might just have been worthwhile.

Stress and its consequence

The police, health, rescue and  emergency services attend a  raft of 
calls, among them grisly murders, child abuse
and serious accidents. These require a special temperament to make 
routine exposure to such images endurable.
Anyone forced to regularly confront such scenes adapts to them in 
different ways. Some become case-hardened,
lessening the effects with gallows humour. Others find an outlet through 
counselling.
Landmark damages were awarded to a police videotape producer in New 
Zealand's first post-traumatic stress disorder
damages case.
After 15 years of videotaping crash and crime scenes, George Brickell has 
successfully sued the police for pain,
suffering, medical expenses, loss of earnings and superannuation and 
exemplary damages. The court awarded him a
total of $373,000, reduced to $242,000 because of the "contributory 
negligence" by Mr Brickell, who failed to warn the
police he was having problems and because he undertook "more horrific 
work than necessary".
While some might have considered that exposure to gruesome sights was all 
part of police life, the judge said Mr
Brickell's employer failed to provide "a reasonably safe system of work". 
The police are appealing the judgment.
Such litigation is commonplace in the United States where it is a major 
industry. However, in New Zealand the award
sets a significant benchmark.
While a court can assess pain and suffering for the purposes of setting a 
price, by doing so it rewards those who
cannot cope - but not those with the fortitude to be able to grin and 
bear it.
Not many would gladly shoulder the duties that have given Mr Brickell nightmares, 
weeping and a reduced capacity to work. His situation can only
inspire sympathy. However, what of all the other police who have witnessed 
the same dreadful sights?
Such precedent can provoke a chain reaction. There are bound to be others 
among police and emergency crews - or
even tow truck drivers - disturbed by the cumulative effects of years of 
unpalatable scenes. Why try to deal with their
effects when there is now a good chance of redress through the courts?
How many other workers in how many other industries might be persuaded of 
the merit of claiming for traumatic
stress?

History's progress

Knowing in advance the slant of David James' second article, I found it 
very informative. His letter of June 12 however,
shows a failure to note carefully the wording of an academic's argument. 
I did not say his first article was inaccurate;
I said it was short on accuracy. I had my reasons.
Mr James had seven lines in which to explain why he used the date 1297. 
My computer files says I wrote "That date
is the last time on which it was confirmed, by Edward I". My arguments 
were not concerned with the 82 years from
1215 to 1297, but with 160 years, the period of time since the signing of 
the Treaty of Waitangi.
I am unimpressed by the anonymous university lecturer. I have heard 
several of them make mistakes, including the
recent television professor who assured us in the same episode that 
Nelson was founded in 1841 and New Plymouth
in 1842.
Since I have clear memories of the Taranaki centennial celebrations and 
know the plaque which said they took place
in 1941, I can hardly be blamed for adding Mr Belich to my list of 
history academics whom I have caught straying
from the truth or suppressing it.
Mr James implies astonishment at my extraordinary claim that "the Treaty 
aimed at keeping white settlement out". It
is apparent from a, later paragraph that he subscribes to the medieval 
view that history has a purpose and that an
historian may select from the facts to make his point. I suggest that is 
propaganda, not history. Nor do I accept the
extraordinarily naive assertion that the Crown started wars against the 
Maori.
A few years ago, it was generally accepted that the missionaries did not 
want white settlement. Sir James Stephen,
permanent Under-secretary to the Colonial Office in the 1930s, was also 
general secretary of the Church Missionary
Society. Only the chronically naive would believe he always separated his 
two roles.
Mr James' bibliography has a notable omission - Dr. Claudia Orange's book 
The Treaty of Waitangi. On page 27 she
says "[New Zealand missionaries] were virtually unanimous in their 
opposition to organised colonisation". Mr James
seems to be unaware that the Colonial Office had been grappling with the 
problem for a decade.
Treaties do expire of old age. I quoted three, and we have debated 
another, Magna
 Carta. Twice it has been gleefully quoted to me that there is still a law 
in Herefordshire whereby, if you meet a
Welshman wandering on a Sunday you can shoot him with a crossbow. But I 
don't think anyone would dare plead
the Custom of the Marches when charged with genocide of the Welsh.
Laws and treaties do serve their time, and laws get repealed. There is no 
process for repealing a treaty I repeat, we
should read what is in the Treaty of Waitangi, then we should decide what 
needs to be safeguarded today, and
incorporate that in a constitutional document which protects us from all 
who would reshape pieces of the jigsaw so
that history presents a more favourable picture.
Meanwhile, I wonder what plant Mr James is on that he can make the 
simplistic assertion that human conflict results from "the Crown starting a war". I 
believe the conflict arose because both Maori and European had the same
motivation - to improve their life.
S.R. HILL Wanganui

Big Brother

Imagine this scenario. You invent something really clever, something that 
does the job better than anything yet
devised. So you patent it, start producing it, and in no time flat everyone 
in the world wants one. So you get rich, and
I mean seriously rich.
Then, because it's so popular, and because you've got it patented so nobody 
can steal your ideas and produce
copies to compete with you, and you're getting
richer and richer all the time, the Government says "hang on, this isn't 
fair to all those who weren't as clever as you"
So they drag you into court and try to wreck your company.
Sound impossible? I'd have thought so too, until the US Government dragged 
Bill Gates and Microsoft in.
MaybeI'm not all that clever and maybe I don't know enough about computers 
or business, but this seems wrong to me.
If Gates found a good idea, why shouldn't he profit from it? And if his 
good idea makes absolute heaps, why shouldn't
it? So he doesn't need it. That's not the point.
And all this is happening in that bastion of capitalism, that home of the 
free, the good old US of A. Smacks of Big
Brotherism to me.
G.A.McGRATH St John's Hill

GST on rates

From July 1 this year, Australia will introduce a goods and services tax of 
10 percent. It will not apply to local
government rates.
A goods and services tax was imposed in this country by a Labour Government 
from October 1986. Initially the rate
was 10 percent, but it was increased to 12.5 percent from July 1989. It 
applies to local government rates.
The tax on rates affects every citizen, either as an owner or a tenant. It 
has no justification in law, as it is neither a
goods nor a service. In England rates are referred to as council taxes. 
They do not pay VAT, the equivalent of our
GST. I can find no other country that adds a central government tax on to a 
local government tax.
The Coalition Agreement, signed on March 4, 1997, signed by the National 
and the New Zealand First parties, agreed
to look at "possible future implications on questions of GST on rates". 
The coalition did not survive long enough to
address the issue.
Since its inception a number of councils, including the Auckland Regional 
Council, have opposed this iniquitous tax.
But the parent body, Local Government New Zealand, has displayed as much 
backbone as a jellyfish on the issue.
Had the councils spoken with one voice the tax would have disappeared years 
ago.
There is still hope. Remember that it was a minor party (NZ First) that was 
responsible for the abolition of the
superannuation surtax.
The election last year saw a National government replaced by a Labour 
coalition one. The Alliance and the Green
parties are now involved in the decision-making process.
With their influence, plus the example set by our Australian neighbours, we 
may, at last, see GST removed from rates.
D.J. BOSWELL St John's Hill

Safer ways

'Twould be nice if it were true. Ron Janes (Chronicle June 12) claims that 
when private enterprise borrows, it takes all
the risks. Obviously he knows nothing of the many scandalous conversions 
around the globe of private into public
debt.
An extreme case, for instance, was the way the Philippines government of 
President Marcos raised taxes and
cancelled rice subsidies to pay a private corporate debt of $2.8 billion 
for the building of a nuclear power station.
Mr. Janes correctly warns local councils against trying to out-think the 
market. Remember the Waitakere City
Council lost $6 million of ratepayers funds through just one of their 
investments in Equiticorp. Mayor Tim Shadbolt
seemed oblivious as to what his city's finance department was doing at the 
time.
But holding on to the energy companies where there is a natural monopoly 
makes good sense for councils
Other correspondents beside myself have pointed out many times that the 
electricity sellout to Powerco was an egregious error. After all, community ownership 
means benefits for the district rather than for private shareholders.
As Whanganui Democrats carefully explained in our submission on the draft 
annual plan, there are far saner, surer and safer ways of reducing debt than selling 
assets such as our gas company.
HEATHER -MARION SMITH Wanganui East

Percentages

Dare I say it? The rubbish sticker price increase on your front page, June 15 - rubbish!
The confusion in dealing with cents and percents, perhaps, but an extra 40 cents over 
60 cents is 66.66 percent, not 40 percent.
But this made me think about the Wanganui District Council's 3 percent 
rate rise, and the apocryphal story of the two
ex-farm mates at the school reunion, the bright boy parking his Ford next 
to the ex-dunce in his new Jaguar.
"What do you do for a living?" bright boy asks. "I buy and sell things, you know, buy 
for $100, sell for $300. A 3 percent margin is quite reasonable, don't you think?" 
dunce says.
R.W. THORNTON  St John's Hill

What is in a name?

No one should have any illusions about Hollywood's reluctance to let 
facts get in the way of a good story. And in
matters of sensitivity anything goes in entertainment.
Those offended by the Jim Carrey film Me, Myself and Irene, which they 
say misrepresents schizophrenia as "a split
personality" are not the first to cry foul. They won't be the last.
The poster campaign by the distributors of Me, Myself.. has not focused 
on schizophrenia. And in publicity, Carrey's
character is described as suffering from "a split personality". However, 
in the film he is on medication that prevents a
"mild-mannered Charlie" from turning into a violent, aggressive "Hank".
Mental health campaigners have spent years battling the belief, 
reinforced by colloquial use, that those with
schizophrenia have (as one dictionary defines it) a condition "that 
results from the co-existence of disparate or
antagonistic qualities, identities or activities".
Groups striving for universal adoption of the correct definition have 
threatened to picket the film. It is a dubious tactic.
Such actions tend
 to suit the purposes of the distributors by drawing attention to the 
offending item (as in Te Papa's Virgin and the
Condom) than attracting sympathy to the aims of the protesters. Some 
lobby groups don't help themselves much.
The aim of one well-intended organisation to replace "insensitive" words 
such as "the mentally ill", "mental patient"
and "schizophrenic" with "people who are mentally ill", "a service user", 
a "consumer", "tangata whaiora" (people
seeking wellness) or "a person with schizophrenia" is likely to meet with 
derision from some quarters.
Nevertheless it has highlighted a problematical issue surrounding the
illness. And that is useful.
Treating mental illness as comedy enrages friends and family of those 
afflicted with schizophrenia. While the pre-emptive attacks by mental health groups 
are intended to ensure the distinction between the two conditions is maintained 
(despite the overwhelming odds), the Richmond Fellowship, a major provider of 
mental health services, says the film could "wipe out progress in erasing the stigma 
surrounding mental illness".
If mental health groups despair and go into damage control each time 
schizophrenia is confused with split
personality, rather than trying to defy the vast corpus of literature and 
change popular usage, it might be more
productive to give the illness of schizophrenia a new name altogether.

Split personality

 On behalf of the mental health workers
at SF Wanganui branch headquarters, a big
"thank you" to the management of
Embassy Cinemas for correctly identifying
the Jim Carrey character in Me, Myself and
Irene as having a split personality disorder
- not schizophrenia.
More correctly this rare illness is called multiple personality disorder 
and was presented in the movie The Three Faces
of Eve. The "split" in schizophrenia is not of the personality but rather 
the person's interpretation of the reality we all
agree on, for example, they see things the rest of us don't see.
It is unfortunate that the management could not alter or delete the "gentle 
to mental" poster as mental illness affects 1 in 5 New Zealanders. Schizophrenia, 
which is a serious condition, affects 1 in 100 New Zealanders. However, we
find it an indictment on society if film-makers stoop to caricature those 
who are unwell.
For support or information on mental illness, please phone 345 3301 or call 
at Russell House, 65 Plymouth St,
Wanganui.
ROSEMARY HIGGIE  Wanganui

Revitalised

At last Wanganui is enjoying a well deserved amount of worldwide interest. 
Letter to the editor of the Jerusalem Times newspaper submitted by visiting Israeli 
farmer has noted with great interest the "curative" properties of Virginia Lake.
Many elderly people, he said, walking with great difficulty along the 
magnificent new walkway had experienced a
miraculous transformation of suddenly standing erect and departing with a 
fresh spring in their step.
Rumour has it that word has already reached the ears of the Vatican. Could 
Wanganui be blessed with New Zealand's
first "Saint Chas"?
Global wildlife experts are making an indepth study of the lake's 
duck-life, more especially, the duck's unusual
"drunken" gait! This in conjunction with overseas vulcanologists who are 
monitoring the lake's strange rise in
temperature during the very cold winter months.
 Alas, all this unique revenue-producing publicity must come to an end 
because of the lack of foresight of the
Chronicle'
s editor who let the cat out of the bag by publishing Mr Abdulla's 
ordeal trying to find a toilet outside of
Mainstreet's enclave. Putting toilets in Woolworths and Writeprice will 
seriously reduce the number of visitors to the
Lake's walkway.
Wanganui is famous for its elderly "crosslegged" prostate sufferers doing 
the "Hiding-Loo-Seek-walk" introduced by
Wanganui's earlier socially correct loo sensitive council members! Now, how 
about a walkway penny-in-the-slot
turnstile with a caution "Mind your Ps and Qs!"?
A LETCH Gonville

Better idea

Mr Cato in his article about trains for Wanganui (July 11) starts by 
denigrating others who may have better ideas than
his. An age-old ploy where confidence is lacking.
Collecting ideas from as many and varied of our population as can be
is called "doing the homework" and is most important, even the ideas of 
those against.
He is right when he says some will always be against it, as many people 
remember trains and why they were phased
out.
Any scheme jamming them into our central city streets will only add to the 
already poor design, so what about
considering ideas like a service from the city wharf to the Castlecliff 
beach. That could help Wanganui, help
Castlecliff and give the tourists a destination.
A regular service like that could even make the ratepayers feel they are at least getting 
something for their money.
There must be lots of other ideas to be considered or worked on, even from 
Mr Cato's.
CHARLES SPICER Gonville

Colonialism

In last Tuesday's Chronicle, Potonga Neilson gave us a lesson in the 
history, of colonialism.
Just a few months ago, Mr Neilson declared that only a person who had learned the 
Maori language and graduated from a Maori university, had the right to comment on 
Maori history.
In view of that stricture, I would be interested to know the name of the English 
language university from which Mr Neilson graduated, presumably with a history 
major in his degree.
 B T ATTWELL Turakina Beach

Hollow claims

Alan Cooper's "Hollow claims damaging education" article was quite right. 
He pointed out yet again that there is no
shortage of jobs in New Zealand for those prepared to acquire the relevant 
skills but those facing unemployment are those who steadfastly refuse to accept the 
new technological reality and grab the myriad of opportunities it is opening up.
We pay lip service to the burgeoning knowledge economy, acknowledge the 
success of the Asian work/education ethic, pontificate on the Irish and Finnish 
economic achievement and then blithely carry on ignoring all of these in
favour of mediocrity, tall poppy chopping, political correctness and warm 
fuzzy feelings for all.
The greatest pleasure in life is personal development and acceptance of 
challenges for advancement. But my own experience in the educational sector sadly 
reaches me that the PPTA and ERO are often more interested in the easily digested 
sugar coated palliatives rather than incentives for maximum personal achievement 
of the pupils.
All power then to Auckland Grammar's decision to supplement the worst of the local 
demons of internal assessment and that bedevilled National Certificate by also 
embracing the Cambridge 
"A" Level examination and giving their pupils
the greater challenge to excel in a meaningful global way.
I know that a few years ago one of the more progressive local schools was 
also looking at this possibility.
If we really care about the economic development and welfare of the country 
and if we really want our students to succeed, then surely a change of attitude and 
greater choice should be a matter which more schools could consider.
WARWICK RATHGEN  St John's Hill

Slow learners

Darrell Grace, a well-respected authority on conservation, has got it 
right (Chronicle, July 12) when he says that
"Federated Farmers members have been world leaders in their creation of 
erosion in New Zealand's hill country". The
destruction of that landscape can almost he entirely laid at their feet.
Within a span of 120 years most of our native forest has been sacrificed to 
an agricultural and forestry purpose where
transient expediency and profit has been the motivation with hardly any 
consideration given to the ecological
consequences.
Of course, it was inevitable that during the process of European settlement 
that the bush would be felled or burned
and cleared; even so there was still time to recognise the need to apply 
the laws of conservation, but farmers are slow
to learn.
Now, as they survey their scarred and barren hills they should hang their 
heads in shame. They continue to burn, wherever they see a remnant of bush 
struggling to survive.
Future generations will not thank them nor forgive them for this uncaring 
and unnecessary destruction of our natural
heritage.
H de W TATE Wanganui

Walker fan

As a reader of letters to the editor in the Chronicle, I picked up on one 
from a RK Jones of Patea dated July 12.
From previous letters this person has set himself up as an expert on numerous 
subjects. But his recent letter is
typically off the mark again.
I would support Bob Walker and his views on the local list MP. This MP in 
her column blames everyone else for the plight of "her people" apart from "her 
people".
Trying to blame history is backward looking and serves no purpose.
 Clearly RK Jones is out to stir mud for
his own political purposes, and needs to
get in step with the rest of the readers of
the Chronicle. I have counted about six letters to the editor on the subject broached by 
Bob Walker and all support his view. RK Jones reading between the lines has his own 
twisted views, best kept in Patea.
W R EDWARDS  Wanganui

Beneficence

I'm afraid Mr McDouall misses the vital point when he applauds the 
"enormous advantages" that resulted from the
Powerco/Taranaki merger. He says that since 1996 $3.5 million has been 
handed out to community projects by his
Powerco Trust, and obviously thinks that's a good thing.
The point he misses is that the electricity consumers (not the trust) are 
paying for these handouts. In other words, we
are paying more than we should for electricity, so that his trust can 
give our money away as it thinks fit.
I'm not saying that these projects don't deserve help. What I am saying 
is that I don't think it's right that electricity
consumers should be forced to pay for that help, whether they want to or 
not. In effect, consumers are being
overcharged so that the trust can play Santa Claus.
Whenever the Wanganui-Rangitikei Power Board was asked to contribute to a 
worthy cause, I can recall the
response of the board members (among whom was Mr McDouall). Unless it was 
for something that would specifically
benefit the board's consumers, the request was reluctantly declined 
because, as members agreed, it wasn't their
money to give away - it belonged to the consumers.
To my mind, that's a good philosophy: if there's a surplus, give it back 
to those who paid it.
Frankly, far from seeing "enormous advantages" in what has happened to 
the electricity industry, I believe not one
single benefit has accrued to Wanganui's electricity consumers, or to the 
city and district as a whole. Nobody who
was involved in the process at the policy level deserves any credit 
whatsoever.
G.A. MCGRATH St John's Hill

Peace of mind

The small item that appeared in the Chronicle (July 14) re the Protestant 
marchers, certainly gives New Zealanders
peace of mind.
Many years ago I was approached at a party in Wanganui by one of those 
Orange Lodge people and suggested I was not welcome there. The owner of the house 
and a large number of guests were members of the Masonic Lodge and when
told by someone overhearing the remark he was told to leave and never to 
associate with them again.
The sheer hatred of that outfit towards any Catholic, Jew or coloured 
makes one sick to the stomach and should be
stamped out. There is no place in this world for such a bigoted and 
unrelenting gang of thugs.
I take my hat off to those who are trying to bring harmony to that area which has seen 
so much murder and mayhem in the past. Not everybody - Catholic or Protestant - 
want to live in fear and all they wish is to get on with their neighbours and let the 
children play together.
D BIERMAN  Wanganui

Police criticism

The letter of S R Hill (July 13) ranting about the police, really shows 
ignorance. He should know they do not make or
write the law, not even the regulations he suggests. They don't even get 
to write those labels he mentions.
If he read your newspaper properly he would have known that many learned 
lawyers had trod that path before one
found the mistake, so why pick only on the police.
I agree the hole in the licence was a small matter, but why does he scoff 
at that, then criticise police for not sticking
strictly to the law in the other case? Wants things both ways to suit 
himself.
S R Hill is obviously believing all the versions of the Waitara shooting 
given to us by some of the news media, and is
not really interested in the truth.
The special eye witnesses paraded with such flourish on the Holmes show, 
told us they had heard the shots, then
looked out to see what had happened. I think most people would rather 
wait until proper inquiries were completed
before apportioning blame either way.
If he is a competent and qualified driver, S R Hill should realise 
restrictions are placed on parts of a road where extra
care is required for safety and not for fun, so I hope he did not pass 
through too many restricted areas in his daily
drives.
CHARLES SPICER Gonville

R K Jones (July 14), points noted. Editor

ACC winning and losing

 It is now six weeks since the Labour-Alliance  Government ignored business protests, 
did away with competition in the provision of workplace insurance and gave the 
Accident Compensation Corporation a monopoly.
Have the worst fears of employers been realised? Or have the finest promises of the 
Government been met? At this stage the answer seems to be: it depends.
The ACC claims that its average premium is $1.16 per $100 of wages compared with 
$1.21 previously offered by the private insurers and says 70 percent of employers will 
pay lower premiums than last year.
Accident Compensation Minister Michael Cullen calculates that the national bill for 
workplace insurance will be $25 million lower than it was the year before. So far so 
good.
Unfortunately, while there are obviously winners as a result of the change, there are 
also losers. For instance, ACC points out that the average premium paid by fruit, 
vegetable and crop growers has fallen by nearly 25 percent. But Federated Farmers 
reckons the country's livestock farmers face premiums up to 35 percent higher than 
they had to pay private insurers.
Similarly, ACC trumpets the fact that the premiums paid by primary and secondary 
schools are down. But the nation's 1600 childcare centres face big increases, in some 
cases of more than 50 percent, under the new system.
The problem for those who have lost out, and feel they have been given a raw deal, is 
that they are unable to go elsewhere.
A childcare centre or dairy farmer facing a big increase in insurance premiums cannot 
shop around for a better offer.
The Government has given them no choice but to put up with ACC and pay whatever 
they are told.
But with ACC having been given a guaranteed monopoly means that even those who 
have benefited from the change cannot be sure they will stay in that happy position.
No doubt ACC has learned from the competition it faced during the brief period of 
deregulation, and has trimmed costs as a result. But as the years roll by what will stop 
premiums starting to rise again? After all, that is what happened last time around.
In other words, the verdict on the impact of re-nationalising workplace insurance has 
to be: it is okay for most for now but do not hold your breath.

Direction please
Dave Vallely romps into yet another personal criticism of yours truly 
[Chronicle August 11].
All this scribe asks for is a forward plan from the elected MP. This is not about 
playing political games, this is about the future of an ever diminishing number of 
Wanganui people, from a country that is also losing its brighter and better educated.
My own plan to bring retirement people to Wanganui is deliberately on hold until I 
am satisfied the present Government will hold our hospital together and when the 
Wanganui crime rate drops out of the top 10 in New Zealand.
Our local police are doing an excellent job and we are certainly heading in the right 
direction.
Also my plan has always been on a 15 year basis.
Now Mr Vallely, where does the Whanganui elected MP aim to take Wanganui city 
and her electorate as a whole? Is that a fair question?
JOHN LITHGOW Wanganui
Time wasting
Since the advent of MMP we have had a slush of inept Parliamentary infighting that 
leaves one aghast at the infantile waste of time by the National/Act parties.
We have had a number of innacurate pointers from the world's worst politician 
(Prebble) within the structured protection of Parliament. Now the Leader of the 
National Party is jumping on the bandwagon.
It now seems the Opposition have found they have the media backing to publish their 
names notwithstanding the rhetoric.
For once in many years we have a Government which is hell bent in giving honest 
assessment of our country's belittlement after almost 10 years of selling New Zealand 
to big business and they (the Opposition) find that too hard to accept.
The people threw out the present Opposition last year. For God's sake give the 
Labour-led coalition a chance to govern instead of this continuous invective of so-
called political rhetoric or brinkmanship.
This tiring and arguing for arguing's sake will backfire and will cost National dearly. 
They found that to their cost last October that siding with Act was a non-event.
D BIERMAN  Wanganui

Gutter press
Wanganui Chronicle reporting has hit an all time low when such trash as the story of 
Mark Middleton again threatening to murder has made front page news.
Must we put up with this man and the rubbish that spews from his mouth being 
reported word for word, including all the foul words? It shows a sad lack of 
intelligence.
What makes you or him think that he is above not only the law of this land but more 
so God's law, and that this is newsworthy?
I can understand his extreme anger at the "system" for putting this man back out onto 
the street to murder again but who does he think he is, God?
Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord." These people will be judged by a mightier power 
than man and they will be found guilty and they will bum in the pits of bell forever, as 
will all murderers and unrepentant sinners, Mr Middleton mid his so-called 
'brotherhood" included, if they carry out their threat.
Please pick your newspaper up out of the sewer and stop this sensationalist trash. 
Murderers have family too, think of them.
MARILYN LAWSON-JAMES Aramoho
No business
Where was our Health Minister 30 years ago when fluoride was tried and rejected? I 
was not aware Annette King had a medical degree. By what right has she to tell us 
what we can drink?
Fluoride tablets are readily available for those who wish plus some toothpastes.
Maybe Annette King would be better to leave this subject to the experts and 
concentrate on subjects she knows more about.
C CARTWRIGHT Wanganui
Crazy speed
Waverley township and its crazy speeds is being abused not only by the general 
public but by idiots with no respect for anyone but themselves. Speeds of 70-80 kph 
in a town, passing and all, is madness. It's got to stop.
Half these fools are local and from surrounding towns, not Sunday drivers.
No good closing the stable door once the horse has bolted yet your hay could come in 
handy.
Yellow lines, street signs, highway signs are all ignored. We have two good 
policemen doing their best but can't be everywhere at once.
I don't know it all but some rumble bars are what we need. At least it'll protect those 
in town we hope.
As for the highway, hit it hard. Unmarked cars might do it good. Anything tried is 
better than nothing.
R MANOS Waverley
Deep shame
Alan Duff's column (August 8) was hard-hitting and abrasive and an indictment upon 
Maoridom for the violence and abuse tolerated within their society.
R W Thornton (August 11) "ponders the thought" that though Maori have had 
considerable contact with "non brown" this does not appear to have modified their 
behaviour, but actually, since the English invasion, Maori behaviour has been 
considerably modified. Also considerable has been the GM factor. 
Tribal wars, slavery and other anti-social practices have ceased. These changes have 
been wrought by the enforcement of English law and by the civilising influence of the 
missionaries who gave them God as well as a European education, (the latter has 
certainly stood Maori in good stead).
Somehow, though, these twin teachings have not reached the hearts, nor minds, of all 
Maori. Maybe this is because their culture is based on aggression and utu. The macho 
haka says it all.
In these latter times the Maori voice has been raised, increasingly more strident, on 
many issues but, apart from Duff, no Maori has raised his or her voice publicly on the 
issue of the brutal treatment dealt to their own children.
Have they (like too many Tarianas) always been so unaware or so uncaring or now 
does a deep shame keep them silent?
However, in the final analysis, is the Pakeha neighbour who turns a blind eye or 
ignores the cry for help, any better?
H de W TATE  Wanganui
Lack of support
I am rather disappointed with Mark Middleton's comments in the Chronicle 
(August 12) "I'm putting my money where my mouth is. But it seems to me when you 
stick your hand up in New Zealand it's a lonely place, you know?"
No, I don't know Mark. But what I do know is that 3000 or so people in the 
Whanganui electorate put their hand up for you in November last year and came out 
and supported you in various ways.
I still support Mark but I wonder if there is anyone else out there who feels like they 
have been kicked in the stomach.
KAREN VAN OS Wanganui

Petty crime doesn't pay

Trading is tough enough for small businesses in our communities without the added 
hassle of shoplifting, which in reality is simple, old-fashioned theft by a polite name. 
And each day a staggering $1.8 million worth of goods is taken unlawfully from this 
country's shops.
Why should those fighting to build a business and provide a service to Wanganui's 
residents have to put up with such large-scale crime? The answer is that they 
shouldn't, but the law is such that many criminals feel it is well worth the risk to take 
books, CDs, electrical goods, clothing, toys and just about any other consumer item 
one can name from our shops. So news that a new programme will seek to recover the 
costs of such theft, including staff and management time, is good news.
Overseas, such programmes have resulted in retail crime dropping by up to 
15 percent, as they hit the thieves where
it hurts - in the pocket. Once a person is detected stealing, police will 
be informed and a notice of intended civil
recovery will be served on the suspect. A security firm, which will manage 
the programme, will then look after the civil
action to recover costs and losses.
The scheme may be an additional complication for some shop owners, 
especially in cases where the items stolen
are of relatively small value. But the process will be an even bigger hassle for 
thieves, and it is that factor which should persuade some of our light-fingered citizens 
to keep their hands in their pockets.
The only concern over the scheme is that, doubtless, it won't be long 
before the taxpayer is asked to legally aid the
thieves to fight shopkeepers seeking to recover their own property.
Sound far-fetched? Who would have thought a few years ago that the tax-payer would 
pay for gang members to sue the Government over their treatment while in prison and 
win big payouts as a consequence?
The truth is that the British model of the Civil Recovery Programme has 
shown that a financial penalty in addition to
what the courts impose on shoplifters reduces the number of offences. 
Therefore, wouldn't tougher court sentences,
including enforceable reparation, achieve the same end, without burdening 
small business with the need to set up the
recovery scheme?

Mistakes
In pursuit of the subject of language printed in the Chronicle, September 
5, and Mr Boswell's excellent letter on the
same matter (September 11), is it possible for an explanation to be 
provided on how errors occur in newspaper
printing?
While we amateur communicators (?) may be forgiven the odd slip, we do 
wonder how such words as "poring" and
"pouring" can apparently be inadvertently interchanged by the professional 
wordsmith. I refer to the caption to the page four photograph of September 11, by 
Mandy Gillies, two ladies "pouring" over school files.
Who or what is responsible for this sort of inaccuracy in our guiding light 
of information?
R W THORNTON  St John's Hill
The reporter got it wrong and the error was not noticed when the page was 
given its final proofing. - Editor.
Island tragedy
 Received a phone call from my mate Bruce after he read my letter in Monday's
Chron about the decimation of the Moriori on the Chathams by the Ngati-Mutunga
tribe from the mainland.
He said: "Did  ya know that because of the lack of trees on the island at the time, the 
Moriori were limited in their ability to escape by canoe and had few weapons to 
defend themselves with, so they couldn't escape from the island and their fighting 
power was pathetic.
"Ya know," said Bruce, "the whole episode was a bloody tragedy, but I guess the 
Chathams Moriori were saved from any so-called post traumatic stress disorders 
dreamt up in the 21st century because they weren't around long enough. They were all 
slaughtered."
"I reckon you're just stirring, Bruce," I said.
"No I'm not," said Bruce. "Mate, I'm just telling the truth. The problem with this 
country is that we only hear about what the Pakeha did to the Maori. They 
conveniently don't ever mention that the Ngati-Mutunga Maori tribe completely 
wiped out a whole race."
"You know, you're right," I said, "we never hear about this terrible tragedy."
V HILL Wanganui East
Potent weapon
Holocaust is an entirely appropriate word to describe the Maori experience.
Within 100 years of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi 90 percent of the 
Maori population was lost, not only to wars
but to imported diseases.
But language is a very potent weapon and the colonists used it as such 
with terms like rebellion, savages, barbarism and treason being bandied about during 
the land wars. All totally inappropriate, of course, and today's vernacular is no
better. Radicalism, separatism, apartheid and racism are regularly used to 
describe the Maori struggle for justice.
But what goes around comes around, and, as my Maori ancestors used to say, 
"ma te wa!" which, roughly
translated, means "time will tell," or "all in good time".
And as for Maori "haka-ing" in the bush, that's got nothing to do with 
anything either. Everyone does the haka or
postures in one way or another. Queen Elizabeth is posturing when she rides 
around on a horse with all those guys in
funny hats. Parliament postures with the rod when it is opened each year. 
Hitler postured with his stiff-arm salute and
his swastika.
So, again, I must say let's get back to the real issues. Like when will we 
Maori get our country back? The tangata
whenua are still  waiting for formal recognition and consultation. And it 
won't hurt at all. We would, in fact, all be better
off. And so would the planet.
POTONGA NEILSON  Castlecliff
Pertinent
Your leader (September 11) on leader Helen, is truly, pertinent. Her futile 
effort to fudge the real issue of a boarding
house within 100 metres of her home by attacking the messenger rings true. 
Your article exposed it well. Vivent
liberte (long live
liberty).
Tariana Turia, in Beehive Chat, makes leadership her subject and evades 
reference to any white leaders as examples
of good leaders, despite nominating many black and coloured leaders. Surely 
this blatant example of racism displays
a classic illustration of lack of balanced direction/leadership in her own 
case.
By examining the dictionary, H de W Tate proclaims the expression 
"holocaust" as unconditionally appropriate, in
defence of Tariana Turia. Holocaust as defined by the Concise Oxford: whole 
burnt offering, wholesale sacrifice or
destruction. Thesaurus states: plague destruction, shipwreck.
Perhaps if there had been a shipwreck on the way to the Chathams, the 
wholesale sacrificed dished out by the Maori
invaders "against the passive, non-resistant Moriori" could have been 
avoided and there would have been no whole
burnt offering. After all, fair's fair."  JOHN LITHGOW Wanganui
The Hospice
As one whose husband spent the last 10 days of his life in the Hospice 
recently, I would like to bring the other side
of the story to that of Saturday's one-sided article.
Facilities here are far more patient and family-friendly as well as more 
convenient than any hospital could ever
possibly be.
As for it not being a place to spend your last days, but a place to go and 
sort out your symptoms, the writer has
obviously not been there.
My grandson enjoyed visiting his grandad in his "little house". It was a 
home away from home with 24-hour care
provided by dedicated, caring staff and volunteers.
There is no way that, even using the 24-hour call service suggested, we 
would have been able to cope as a family.
We were able to come and go as we wished, and nothing was ever too much 
trouble for the staff.
I stayed there for the last week, so I saw for myself what it was like.
I have since spoken to many people and  without exception, they have found 
the Hospice to be a wonderful place.
 We are very  fortunate indeed to have such a place here in Wanganui.
EILEEN COOK Springvale

The need to broker peace

The threat of Israeli Prime  Minister Ehud Barak to scrap the entire peace making 
process might have succeeded where negotiations, exhortations and  summits have 
failed, and halted the spiral of violence that has now taken
 about 100 lives and threatens to undo
 seven arduous years of search for a
 settlement between Israelis and
 Palestinians. But it was unwise to
bank on it.
The situation in the Middle East is as dangerous as at any time since the 
early 1980s. The risk is not of another full-
scale war to join 1967 and 1973 in the history books. That is something no 
responsible Arab leader wants not least
because, after the demise of the Arabs' main patron, the Soviet Union. 
Israel's relative regional power
is greater than ever.
Instead, today Israel is embroiled m three small wars: with the 
Palestinians on the West Bank and Gaza, with
previously docile Israeli Arabs in Israel proper, and with Islamic 
guerillas, backed by Syria and Iran, on the all-too-familiar proxy battlefield of 
Lebanon.
Unchecked, these are likely to breed equally familiar consequences of 
instability in the region, strengthening of
Islamic fundamentalism and more terrorism.
 The present crisis is born of a lethal
cocktail of  ingredients; pent-up Palestinian grievances is one of them.
 But apportioning blame is futile. There have been mistakes, most on Israel's
 side, starting with the deliberately
 provocative visit by Ariel Sharon to
holy Islamic sites,
 followed by Mr Barak's refusal to join
 Arafat and Madeleine Albright
 at last Thursday's summit in Egypt and
his refusal to permit a neutral
 investigation into the causes of the latest violence.
 But the Palestinians have erred in
failing to grasp the ground-breaking
nature of the proposals on Jerusalem that Mr Barak took to Camp David in July and in 
allowing themselves to be
seduced by their own rhetoric that
with one more heave at the
barricades, their cause could prevail.
What is needed is the utmost restraint on the Israeli side, the realisation 
by Mr Arafat that his people have nothing to
gain by prolonged unrest, and the exertion of every diplomatic pressure on 
Israel and the Palestinians, to broker peace.
What matters is a limited peace on the ground to keep the faint, flickering 
hope of a final settlement alive. The Middle
East must be wrested back from the extremists.

Second chance
Putting aside for the moment how the compulsory teaching of the Maori 
language would honour our obligations under
the treaty and help our tangata whenua to stand tall, let's focus on me, 
a Scottish-English mix, third-generation New
Zealander.
I feel I have been "short-changed". I could have been bilingual, as so 
many Europeans are because of their
geographical proximity to other languages.
I could have, from day one schooling, had two languages and enjoyed the 
fun of operating in both and switching to
and fro.
Far from disabling me in my own language, this would undoubtedly have 
enhanced my understanding of language as
an academic entity
There would have been so little effort required.
It would all be second nature to me with the added bonus of a greater 
understanding of, and communication with,
Maori people.
And if we must go free-market, this ability could help with the learning 
of Japanese. I hear there are many similarities.
As one of the 11 who voted "Yes" in your poll, I believe I am part of a 
silent majority. Let's give today's children the chance we never had.
BETTY LAMONT St John's Hill
History clear
Contrary to the views of S R Hill on Treaty of Waitangi issues, there is 
no need for invention by myself or any other
supporter of the Maori cause. The history as seen by those who were 
present in colonial times and historians, then
and now, is actually very clear.
The aggressors were warned by the Solicitor-General of the time that it 
was unlawful for them to make war on those
tribes that had not signed the treaty. Neither was it lawful to attack 
those who had.
The Simm Commission found that the so-called "rebels" were not actually 
in rebellion but had no choice but to
defend themselves and their property.
Historians regard the suspension  of the constitution in 1848 as a 
flagrant breach of
the treaty. Governor Grey's reasons were that Maori would not stand for it and that 
they were not capable of participating in it.
Very convenient indeed, but the fact is that this is what led to all of 
the problems of that time and all of the problems
that New Zealand now faces in terms of treaty settlements.
And trying to sweep it all under the mat with emotive half-truths, as Mr 
Hill and many others are now doing, is no course to resolution either.
So it is not a matter of apportioning blame. It is clearly a matter of facing the music.
Maori are prepared to be very generous and take a small percentage of what they are 
entitled to as settlement.
All New Zealanders should be grateful for that and get on and move on.
POTONGA NEILSON  Castlecliff
Racial selection
This country of ours, with the help of our Government, is taking us down 
the road of apartheid.
The Labour Government, in particular, is heading us in this direction 
with its policies.
Now we have on Tv One News (October 9) that a Maori-selected team is 
training to go to the Rugby League World
Cup next month.
We will have two teams going: the official team that will be selected 
from the best players, no matter what race they
belong to, and a second team selected only on one race without a 
complaint from
anyone.
This surely must be racism.
IAN BROUGHAM Aramoho
Journey of flowers
The Floral Art Society is to be congratulated on their magnificent 
display of flowers through the centuries featured in
period settings.
It was a unique experience to set, such a superb exhibition, ,worthy of 
great support - particularly as it was staged
voluntarily by the entire Society for Hospice.
How sad our local newspapers did not find the space to encourage 
patronage of this artistic event, with a photographic news item at the time!
J NANCARROW Wanganui

The exhibition was given advance publicity in the Chronicle's arts diary 
and was also the feature story on the front
page of Midweek (October 4) - Editor.
Good idea
Right on, Mr Boswell, re The Information Centre (October 6).
A combined Information Centre and public toilets with adequate parking in 
the centre city would be a sensible project.
I suggest near Majestic Square, maybe where the Police Help Centre is now.
They should have signs at the three main entrances and as you come of the 
three main bridges.
Come on, Enterprise Wanganui, get your pants on.
I think the logo was a joke and a waste of money. And you tell us kids to 
resist temptation to buy worthless things.
ALYS DAVIDSON (10 years)  Wanganui
The blame drain
Chronicle, October 5: Mrs Turia comments on diabetes amongst Maori and 
Pacific Islanders and again says "blame"
must lie with the changes in lifestyle that the Maori have been forced into.
What a load of old cobblers. Life is about choices and changes. If one 
chooses not to heed health warnings given out
by doctors, who is to blame?
 The day the story broke, a doctor was
on Tv that saying some of his
patients were given serious warnings about better eating habits, smoking, getting 
exercise.
Many patients made short-lived changes to their lifestyle but after a couple of months 
decided they could not handle the commitment and returned to living dangerously. As 
a result, they suffered serious consequences. Who is to blame?
In this country  millions of dollars are spent educating the public about such
 issues as road safety, family violence,
 smoking. getting exercise, staying healthy.
again we read statements such as this with regard to Maori issues. The 
blame is with someone else. The cry is always the
Government needs to help more.
It is a cop-out. There is no helping some people. I say take charge of your own
destiny like the rest of us.
There is more money given to Maori than any other culture in this country. 
It is separatism. Billions in land deals,
millions in welfare, education and health, just for Maori. If the policies 
were in reverse we would have a major bunfight
on our hands.
The Pakeha are tired of hearing statements such as Mrs Turia's and others 
about the Maori being disadvantaged. It is
far from the truth.
Why don't you take charge, move on, fend for and help yourselves, just like 
the rest of us who are not so fortunate to
have access to freebies and handouts.
LESLIE BATSON  Okoia
Art evaluation
On the scale of 1 to 10 in art evaluation, this scribe would be hard pushed 
to rate a one, which still puts me 10 points
ahead of the Philistine B.G. Fuller (October 4) who has problems with the 
Edith Collier display, which is on loan to
the Art Gallery, at no cost from the family.
Edith Collier is one of only two New Zealanders mentioned in Women Artists 
by Margaret Barlow, who reviews the
careers of 300 women artists over a 500-year period. That rates a 9 out of 
10, at least.
This distinction attained by a Wanganui artist surely warrants some 
continual recognition of her efforts.
JOHN LITHGOW Wanganui
Energy burned
Re: H de W Tate. Thank you for your response to my comments. Your warped 
sense of humour is very refreshing.
It is unfortunate that you have assumed that democracy pays for my salary. 
In fact my salary is derived from yet
another brilliant strategy of Maori campaigners for equal rights in this 
country. Such People as Derek Fox, Waihoroi
Shortland, Wena Harawira, Archie Taiaroa and the like - Maori people who put 
strategies to this country and are now being drip-fed enough dollars to keep the Maori 
media industry's head above water.
The problem has not been with Maori recognising the issues, but with Pakeha 
allowing us to rectify them.
We have spent so much time defending
ourselves since Pakeha arrival, that we are almost burnt out and are 
running on "E" in the energy department.
Your unfortunate belief that "Pakeha have to look after themselves" is sad, 
also. I mean, you stole most of our land, you take water from our natural resources to 
make power and you make millions of dollars off our culture for your tourist industry.
We indeed have made our contribution to take care of you in this country.
And if you think that as a good, willing Pakeha you haven't been thanked 
enough, then it's probably because
ignorance is not something often thanked.
PIRIHIRA CRIBB  Wanganui
Sold out
The linchpin of the Think Big programme is being on-sold for $4.5 billion 
after Labour sold it for $1.2 billion. All the
people who bought Think Big are laughing all the way to their Swiss bank 
accounts.
The Con Devitts and the muscle arm of the Labour Party have a lot to answer 
for.
BOB HARRIS  Wanganui
H de W Tate (letter October 11). The points you raise were explained in a 
story on Page 2, Chronicle, October 10
(Pecuniary interest claim dismissed). Editor


