Bruce Bisset: National love to point the finger

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during the Covid-19 response update. "Regardless of this new outbreak, the government's approach has been a remarkable success." says Bruce Bisset.

COMMENT

Despite the reoccurrence of the Covid-19 virus and re-imposition of lockdown conditions, it's untenable to blame a government which, on the record, has done as much as anyone could do to get this pandemic under control.

One-hundred and two days until this week without community transmission, while the rest of the world suffered.

And that's despite National, and fringe elements like Destiny Church and Billy TK Junior's mob, relentlessly trying to undermine public confidence while banging on about the economic impacts.

Bear in mind that until now, there's only been the odd border control and quarantine incident, among tens of thousands of compliant successes. And some of those "exceptions" have been nothing more than National party beat-ups.

Remember the "two women from Britain" travelling under an exemption they shouldn't have been granted? You'll doubtless recall it was a National MP who lobbied for that exemption on their behalf – and then blew it up in the media, complete with phantom kissing contacts.

Or the homeless man allegedly sneaking in to get accommodation and meals at government largesse. Except he was a legitimate overseas arrival.

Nor has it mattered who leads National. Whether under Bridges, Muller, or Collins, MPs and party hacks alike have maintained a deluge of criticism, swinging whichever way the pandemic response was blowing to say the opposite should be so.

Open the borders! No, close them completely! Charge returning ex-pats! No, let them in for free! Have a bubble with Australia – or even China! No, don't have any bubbles! And so on.

In short, politicising a health crisis by using fear and uncertainty as their weapons has been the tactic. How appallingly obnoxious is that?

Meanwhile, Jacinda and Ashley and the vast majority of the team of five million behind them have calmly carried on doing what has been necessary in as orderly a way as practicable – and regardless of this new outbreak, that approach has been a remarkable success.

Moreover not once, that I can recall, has the Prime Minister or her colleagues looked to make political capital of it. Sure, they've "enjoyed" a constant limelight, but they've just been doing their job.

Now, when we have a re-occurrence of cases – as logic dictated we would, and as we've consistently been warned was likely – it's somehow still the government's fault.

More, they're accused of not being "transparent" with the information, despite Judith Collins being advised less than two hours after Ardern herself was given the news.

On top of which, National now wants to delay the election because it's "not fair" that they can't campaign fully under lockdown restrictions.

Nor, of course, can anyone else. But, as should be abundantly clear by now, the Nats only care about how it affects them.

Labour may well decide to delay the election, if only to avoid charges the result may be skewed if extraordinary voting measures are necessary.

But frankly, given this unparalleled display of bad faith and poor grace by National, if I were the PM I'd be disinclined to make the Opposition's chances of winning any greater than a snowball's.

- *Bruce Bisset is a freelance writer and poet. Views expressed are the writer's opinion and not the newspaper's.