The Government’s shambolic handling of COVID from the outset proves that they are the biggest cluster of all. Starting with the late closing of the borders through to the latest misinformation about testing the Government has shown that the superintendency of the virus was, for them, a step too far.
On reflection, they have stumbled from one crisis to another. Be it testing at the border, the supply of necessary equipment, the isolation procedures, confusion about the rules at the checkpoints, nothing has gone without a mishap of one kind or another. One of the more humorous episodes was Police not knowing that Orere on the Firth of Thames was in the Auckland boundary. They thought it was in Waikato and weren’t letting people through.
Did Auckland need to return to level three? Would there have been hundreds more cases if we hadn’t? We will never know because Jacinda is fixated on elimination. As she said on Sunday if she sees the need to reimpose a higher level again she will. In saying this she highlights once again her complete ignorance of the effect this will have on businesses and the economy. Continuing with this strategy will in the end prove to be her downfall.
The reality is the virus will probably be around longer than she will be Prime Minister even if she wins the election. Most of the rest of the world are coming to the realisation that learning to live with it is the correct strategy to employ. This means other countries will be opening up their borders well before New Zealand and their economies will be in recovery mode before ours. The elimination strategy she is persisting with is purely one of self-glorification in the vain hope that she can stride the world stage like some COVID colossus echoing the famous words of Sir Edmund Hillary – We knocked the bastard off.
Meanwhile it is becoming increasingly obvious she knows nothing about what is going on around her in other parts of Government. She admitted to Mike Hosking she knew nothing about the rental housing fiasco involving the Ministry of Social Development where landlords were taking their rental properties off the market to make them available to the Department. Landlords were able to make up to $3,000 per week through the scheme the Department was running where normally they would average only $550.
It was alleged that real estate agents were also making hay out of this by turning over vacant properties supposedly without the owner’s knowledge in some cases. Perhaps the reason Ardern was unaware is because the Minister of Social Development, Carmel Sepuloni seemed unaware as well. Similar to Hipkins at the weekend who seemed unaware of the misinformation regarding everyone having to be tested in South and West Auckland.
Then there is the twelve million dollar grant to the Green School in New Zealand. Did Ardern know anything about this? There is a lot of talk, quite correctly about the hypocrisy of the Green Party but Labour is equally hypocritical. They are quite happy to ban charter schools on the one hand but then have no problem pouring money into an elitist school. Grant Robertson, in a rare moment of honesty, says the decision can’t be reversed. I am sure he would have had he wanted to. Is he hoping this blunder will kill the Greens off?
Oh, and by the way Jacinda, do you know anything about zero tolerance with regard to the speed limit? Is this Ms Genter wanting everyone on a bike or is it some control freak higher up the chain? Thankfully, National will reverse it.
The Government, and particularly the Prime Minister, needs to realise that zero tolerance is not very far away with the general public, particularly in Auckland. I have some advice for her. There’s an election around the corner Jacinda, in case it’s slipped your mind. To win the election you need to win Auckland. I wouldn’t be pulling the level three stunt again between now and then if I were you. You might find after October 17 someone else is in control.
We can but hope.
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