This is edition 2025/148 of the Ten@10 newsletter.
Hi all,
This is the Ten@10, where I collate and summarise ten news items you generally won't see in the mainstream media.
Enjoy!
1. A Public Show?
Chris Trotter
- 📰 Labour’s No-Show Sparks Criticism – The absence of Jacinda Ardern, Grant Robertson, and Chris Hipkins from public Covid Royal Commission hearings drew backlash, with many Kiwis demanding open accountability.
- 🔒 Behind Closed Doors Justified – Supporters argue ministers testify privately to encourage openness and candour, following established Royal Commission precedent.
- ⚖️ Show Trial Accusations – Robertson accused critics of seeking a “show trial,” suggesting public hearings would fuel political theatre, ideology-driven attacks, and social vengeance.
- 🚨 Security & Safety Concerns – Ardern’s potential appearance risked chaos outside the venue, likened to Cersei Lannister’s “walk of shame,” requiring major police operations to ensure her safety.
- 📺 Media & Misinformation Risks – The Commission feared media manipulation, especially by outlets linked to anti-mandate protests, and worried about misuse of video footage.
- 💸 Robertson vs Hindsight Economists – Robertson defended the $60B Covid spending as essential to saving businesses and jobs, rejecting critics who now brand it “fiscal vandalism.”
- 🏦 Neoliberal Opposition Strategy – Opponents aim to focus public attention on the negative economic aftermath while downplaying Treasury’s early collapse warnings and global pandemic chaos.
- 🧍♂️ “Team of Five Million” vs “Herd” – Ardern’s inclusive pandemic messaging contrasted with critics’ free-market logic that viewed human lives as economic units.
- 🧮 High Value on Life Debate – ACT’s Brooke van Velden controversially claimed New Zealand “overvalued human life,” sparking unease and uncomfortable moral questions.
- 🧠 Ideology vs Inquiry – The Commission avoided appearing politically biased by refusing to “put Hipkins on trial” before the next election, protecting its credibility.
- ❓ Unanswered Questions – Vaccine rollout failures, divisive mandates, harsh border controls, and prolonged lockdowns remain central issues Phase Two aims to address.
- 🌏 Covid as a National Crisis – The pandemic required a politically, medically, and economically mobilised state; likely, a National-led government would have acted similarly.
- 🙏 Hindsight & Human Fallibility – The essay concludes that neither Ardern nor anyone else could have predicted the outcome, stressing shared responsibility over retrospective blame.
