Like a true nature’s child

I see on the news that there are now electric motorbikes on the market.

Looking at those nerdy little machines I couldn’t imagine the late Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper tooling down the open roads of America on them.

Unless, of course, Steppenwolf changed the lyrics to Easy Rider – i.e., ‘‘Get your generator humming, head out on the highway (being aware of other road users and the conditions) looking for adventure (though nothing too dangerous, mind).’’

Born to be mild!

John Capener, Kawerau

Coach’s failings

New Zealand Rugby must know by now that many fans were unhappy at Ian Foster’s selection as All Blacks coach. The people’s choice (and mine) was Scott Robertson. Yet the rugby union signed Foster right through until the end of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.

Over the years we have had some great coaches who were able to get the best out of each individual regardless of their position. I do believe we have the players but to me they were playing under Foster’s instruction and were not able to use their individual initiative. Tom Stephens, New Plymouth

Covid responses

If our Covid-beating Government is really ultraconcerned about the Omicron variant wreaking merry havoc – rather than (as seems more likely) keeping it up their sleeve as a trump card they can milk at will for political advantage (well knowing that Kiwis by and large are scared witless by the prospect) – then why haven’t they done the one and only thing to keep it permanently (as far as humanly possible) at bay: i.e. properly secure our international borders?

Just asking.

David Bernhardt, Dunedin

It would be useful if New Zealand journalists like Tracy Watkins, or politicians like Chris Bishop, actually paid attention to the Covid situation elsewhere before touting magic solutions such as antigen testing. As anyone who follows the situation in Australia or the UK or the US should know, these quick tests haven’t prevented major outbreaks. The tests need to be done frequently and tend to give false positives and there’s a shortage of them.

We also can’t just shut the borders, because we need twoway traffic including health workers and other necessary skills – so what the Government has done is taking the best of the problematic options.

There is no easy solution so it’s time for the media and the Opposition politicians to grow up and stop pretending that they’ve found the holy grail. Dolores Janiewski, Wellington

Civics awareness

I couldn’t agree more with Steve Liddle (Letters, January 16) that civics along with history should be a compulsory part of New Zealand education.

However, I couldn’t disagree more with his disparaging views on migrants also needing civics education, implying they as a rule didn’t have one.

I find his comments somewhat discriminatory. As one of many migrants to New Zealand, I arrived here in my 20s with a great education behind me including world history, civics and philosophy which are taught in high schools abroad. In my mid-50s, I studied te reo and also political science (honours) at university.

Arbitrarily branding all migrants as politically naive and unprepared for a modern civil society, as Liddle does in one single sentence, shows what a long way New Zealand has to go before it can call itself a truly multicultural society.

Judit Tardi, Christchurch

Gayford’s apology

At the same time that we read that a doctor has been fined, quite fairly, for breaking Covid rules, we read that the prime minister’s fiance is involved in urging a pharmacist to break the rules in favour of some musician friends. If he had done so, the pharmacist, too, would have faced censure from the authorities.

What really sticks in my craw is that Clarke Gayford is not man enough to front in person for his error of judgement but instead issues an apology through his manager for the ‘‘confusion’’ that could have had a devastating impact on the pharmacist’s career. Apology through management?

Not exactly the act of a man of the people. Gayford has had four years to understand the circumstances where he can use his influence to lobby. It is worrying that he can still get it wrong and apparently feel an apology through his PR firm is sufficient.

Ron Scott, Tauranga

Academics’ attacks

Alison Mau is mistaken to say that Dr Siouxsie Wiles and Professor Shaun Hendy have been treated appallingly and should be treated with respect (Opinion, January 16).

In a letter to The Listener in July last year, seven academics claimed that Ma¯ ori knowledge is not science. In response, Wiles, Hendy and others responded with an ‘open letter’ of