Our branch libraries have not required vaccine passes, as none of them have a cafe.
We have accepted the Government's Covid risk assessment and followed its guidelines to the letter - we did not require vaccine passes to council offices nor public toilets.
Perhaps we should have been singing from the rooftops how permissive we had been compared with Taupo? And aren't you glad you don't need a vaccine pass to go to the loo here?
The country has faced its fair share of short- and long-term emergencies and Whangārei District has not been immune to experiencing some of those in recent weeks.
Northland's mayors and regional council chair as well as Civil Defence and council representatives met recently with the Minister for Emergency Management, the Honourable Kiritapu Allan to discuss roles and responsibilities of local authorities in times of emergency management.
We discussed the recent tsunami, floods, droughts, wildfires and pandemic – it seems the only thing missing off that list was pestilence.
That discussion highlighted for me the debt we owe to those who put their lives on the line when something seriously untoward happens. This was no better illustrated when the Northland Emergency Services helicopter, in hazardous conditions, rescued the five survivors after their charter boat sank off the Far North coast last week.
The sound of fire, ambulance or police sirens is usually a signal that someone is in distress. It's a constant reminder to me of the people whose job it is to protect us. We know many of those people – our neighbours, friends, and family members – and we all know they will do whatever they can to protect us when either our risk assessment is faulty or something untoward happens.
So, spare a thought for those emergency crews sitting in that fire tender, ambulance or police car, and the crews who efficiently restore power when there are outages – they are doing vital work.
I am looking forward to gathering together in larger numbers both indoors and out, in the certain knowledge that emergency services and lifeline utilities are there to help if things turn to custard.