As Anzac Day approaches, let’s not forget those who saw and experienced the horrors of war – letters to the editor

Having known a former member of the SAS, it was patently obvious that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder that affected not only him but his family as well.

As Anzac Day approaches, let’s not forget those who saw and experienced the horrors of war and who still have to live with those horrors on a day-to-day basis.

Bernard Walker, Mount Maunganui.

Divided country

Glib with the tongue she might be, but Jacinda Ardern certainly divided the country in a way that no modern leader has done.

On one hand she told us to be kind, yet on the other put in place rules that prevented families from attending funerals. On top of that, she had absolutely no idea on financial management, leaving the country in a far worse economic state than when she began, and had no problem in rewarding political cronies like Trevor Mallard with plum overseas postings.

She surely must go down as one of the worst PMs we have had.

Paul Beck, West Harbour.

Covid response

Reading “You divided the nation” (April 9) is actually a worthy account of leaders during the Covid years as they faced a country’s safety, based mostly on scientific and medical information as it came.

The Prime Minister at the time, Jacinda Ardern, gives a clear and honest account of why they chose to follow the science, even though at times the information was not always foolproof. How could it be? No one in the world knew quite what to do.

Making decisions to save lives and keep as many people out of hospital as possible was at the expense of those individuals who saw their own rights threatened. These numbers grew as the country moved safely back into normal life.

Today, though, we are left with a prevalence of long Covid (survey notes 400,000 adults), which, as reported by University of Otago professor of public health John Donne and research associate professor of public health Amanda Kvalsvig, needs the coalition Government to take seriously, as the results show major health issues these people suffer. It interferes with every aspect of their lives and causes an unnecessary health burden.

Vaccinations reduce the risk, but ongoing requests to this Government have been ignored. Why is that? No money? No care? Not a priority?

Makes one wonder how they would have handled a Covid pandemic.

Emma Mackintosh, Birkenhead.

Monarch butterflies

It is very disappointing to see the lack of monarch butterflies. In the summer of 2025, many eggs were laid but the wasps were abundant.

To my surprise, in about August my young grandson told me there were striped caterpillars on my swan plant. He was right, there were about eight there. The swan plant is beside my house and gets the sun from midday. No wasps at this time.

They all were able to grow and eventually fly away. I don’t know how many survived. This year we have had the wasps again, so no caterpillars.

Judith Dexter, Mt Eden.

Oil prices

The news states that oil prices have reduced substantially overnight. Will the prices at the pump now come down as fast as they went up?

As soon as the prices of oil went up the oil companies put the prices at the pump up immediately so why won’t they drop the pump price just as quickly?

Let’s hear the oil companies’ usual excuses.

Jock MacVicar, Hauraki.

Concept of war

The concept of war as a means of dealing with disputes is surely outdated.

World leaders need to find a more rational way to protect their people’s interests which do not involve disrupting their lives by war.

Not only does war lead to human suffering and loss of life on a horrific scale, but it also leads to the destruction of our valuable resources which are finite.

The planet Earth, seen from the Artemis spacecraft, is beautiful and solitary. What is contained in that globe is all we have or ever had – or will ever have. As it is more and more ravaged by its shortsighted, quarrelsome inhabitants, the life of its future people looks bleak.

Anne Martin, Helensville.

Winston and Rubio

Among your letters of April 9, it was disappointing to see a writer clearly misunderstand the importance of our Foreign Minister meeting directly with Marco Rubio in Washington.

Winston Peters accepted the invitation from the US Secretary of State and this has already proven to be a great opportunity for NZ, during difficult times, to further foster our relationship with the most powerful country in the world.

Peters’ talks with Rubio included discussions around fuel security and established that the US is well capable of meeting our needs if necessary.

Good work, Winston.

Peter Dodd, Hamilton.

American diplomacy

Mathew Hooton’s analysis of America’s performance in the Iran conflict (Herald, April 10) points to an uncomfortable reality: the United States is no longer a consistently reliable strategic anchor. Until Trump leaves office and, hopefully, some adults return to the room, we should forget about the USA in terms of global stability and security.

Nato is now under threat and Europe must be ready to stand on its own. The assumption that the US will always underpin Western security no longer holds.

There is an alternative. A European-led alliance – centred on the current EU members and expanded to include Britain, Norway, Turkey and Ukraine – would massively outweigh Russia and begin to rival the US in both economic and military terms.

If like-minded democracies such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Singapore aligned with such a framework, it would form the most powerful coalition the world has seen.

For New Zealand, the message is simple. Relying on a single great power is no longer a strategy – it is a risk.

The world is changing. We need to change with it.

Mark Crouch, Hamilton.

LIM reports

Your story in yesterday morning’s edition leaves me wondering.

For sales of our last houses, we have always secured the LIM report and an independent builder’s report. This means there is no expense or delay for a potential buyer in obtaining those base reports. Equally, if you are a buyer, and considering a number of properties (varying reasons may make a buyer be considering more than one), then going to the expense and delays of this each time can be a nuisance.

Considering the situation in Wellington, why aren’t estate agents advising sellers to apply for a LIM at the beginning of the listing process? Then by the time the marketing etc is all finalised and ready to launch the sales campaign, the LIM should be available for the marketing process.

Noel Thompson, Howick.

I read that almost 200,000 New Zealanders suffer from long Covid, the main symptoms of which include cognitive dysfunction (brain fog), fatigue and post-exertional malaise (feeling worn out after doing the housework). And I thought it was just my age.

Ron Hoares, Wellsford.

Who in New Zealand would pay $5.32 a litre for a plastic bottle of water? We fill our 1.5 litre bottles up each night out of the kitchen tap, throw them in the fridge overnight, for enjoyment the next day.

Glenn Forsyth, Rangatira Park.

We have had two inquiries into the Government’s response to the Covid pandemic. Why haven’t we had one into the people spreading the anti-vaccination rhetoric? These are the people who sowed distrust and created division which still exists to this day. Who knows how many lives they may have cost and where are the consequences for them?

Geoff Leckie, Flatbush.

We all know what a shallow, celebrity-driven country the USA is, so no surprise this supposed “accidental“ documentary Prime Minister has been nominated in the Emmy Awards. Reality has no place in American society when it comes to a pretty face.

Christine McNamara, Wellington.

Any chance we can rename Cyclone Vaianu to Cyclone Donald? It’s barrelling toward us with zero direction, powered by gusts of ego, tearing everything apart in its path, then vanishing and leaving everyone else to deal with the wreckage it created.

Chris Mann, Mt Albert.

Further to correspondent West’s case for EVs (Herald, April 4), the numbers speak for themselves. With an average of 2100 sunshine hours per annum (almost six hours per day), NZ is perfectly equipped to reduce its dependence on imported oil. Coupled to a rooftop solar array, this would generate a range of about 180km per day through a standard home wall charger, more than enough for the average commute.

Steve Maric, Warkworth.