Here is an open plea to the Government of New Zealand to get past the politics of Covid-19 and put in place the best brains of the country to formulate a plan to manage this disease. We will see multiple outbreaks of coronavirus over the next few years – it is a tricky virus. I am sure we can operate fully in level 1 or 2 if we have a plan.
To date no plan has emerged either from Labour or National on how to successfully manage the borders. We have the opportunity to have contact tracing in 24 hours and yet the Prime Minister has refused to acknowledge that neither she nor Ashley Bloomfield can do this. Bloomfield needs to get back to the job he was employed to do - he is needed there. The Prime Minister is way out of her depth in business management, the science of how a virus behaves and border control.
Let the brains of our country form an independent panel to make a plan and execute it without the politics. We have a wealth of business leaders, scientists, health professionals, strategists etc who can do this. This is our country and we have given our best but to date have been failed. We the team of five million deserve the best.
C.Keeling, Waiheke island
Testing questions
We are expected to trust in Chris Hipkins' daily reports and I do with one condition. Please don't use the phrase absolute confidence. It has connotations of absolute zero which can never be achieved in practice. Absolute confidence requires testing everyone at the border regularly.
Sixty per cent is not absolute confidence and is absolutely not good enough. There can be no excuses for not testing at the quarantine isolation centre. The 40 per cent not being tested at the quarantine centre should present a nostril forthwith or be presented with their marching orders into managed isolation until they achieve a negative test.
Steve Russell, Hillcrest
Lockdowns refined
John Roughan argues that "Lockdown is not a sustainable response" but I would argue the opposite. Lockdowns are sustainable, because each one is a refinement of the previous one and therefore cheaper. Even though both the April and August outbreaks started identically, August's lockdown has been half the length and half the level of April's, and has affected less than half the population.
In April the testing rate was 3000 per day, now it is 19,000. In April nobody wore masks, now people do. In April positive cases were sent home in the hope they wouldn't infect family members and visitors, now they are quarantined. And finally, authorities learn from their mistakes: Day 3 and 12 tests will always be a part of quarantine now, making outbreaks progressively less frequent. The next one community outbreak, if there is one, will no doubt dealt with faster, more accurately and more cheaply again.
Jeremy Hall, Hauraki
Lives changed
A new day has dawned John Roughan has said something I can agree with. The headline says "Lockdown not a sustainable response." One family in Auckland catches Covid-19, and our lives are changed overnight. No wonder the Prime Minister usually does the Covid big announcements as she does it better. It was like a Laurel and Hardy farce with Chris Hipkins and Ashley Bloomfield.
Bloomfield saying Pakuranga College had Covid, and Hipkins saying he hadn't pulled the big lever of compulsory testing at borders, which everyone thought was in place. But he said he would take responsibility for the lapse.
Pauline Alexander, Waiatarua
Failure to test
With the Government reluctant to make masks compulsory, even if only in Auckland, I was gobsmacked to see police on the traffic stops in and out of the city not wearing them. Really! With the failure to test all staff at our border and quarantine hotels it's no wonder Auckland is back in level three lockdown and fortunate not to be at level four. Just a thought.
James Archibald, Birkenhead
Impound the phone
The practice of talking or texting on a cellphone whilst driving is still common place yet nothing effective is being done to deter it. It belies belief that the most effective penalty, one which will stop most of this practice within a very short time, is not being used - i.e. impoundment or permanent forfeiture of the phone.
Modern cellphones hold a wealth of data - personal and business contacts, photos, text and messages, the loss of which would distress the owner more than somewhat. Anyone knows that those who lose or damage their phones become extremely agitated until the situation is corrected so it follows that the risk of being deprived of the phone for a significant period would act as an effective deterrent.
If people are caught using their cellphone whilst driving, instead of a paltry fine, even for a first offence impound the phone for say seven days and until the (substantial) fine is paid. For subsequent offences, permanent forfeiture of the phone plus double fine. Enforcement must be strict and penalties deterrent. Anything else will cause people to thumb their noses and ignore the ban and more accidents will happen.
Robin McGrath, Forrest Hill
Test everyone
Is there something odd here. The World Health Organisation and numerous "experts" all say "test, test, test!" A number of European and Asian countries have followed this directive with some success.
Our Ministry of Health says "only get tested if you have symptoms". What happens with all those who are infected but no symptoms? Do they not spread infection? The MoH should have a target of testing everyone, and it should have started in March. Our "closed" border leaks like a sieve because of slack procedures. The Covid tracing system has been useless - the Government may be surprised to know that cellphones are not universal (yet).
Derek Paterson, Sunnyhills
Look at the records
As we approach the upcoming election, I think we need to look at the record of Labour with the pandemic and that of National with the Christchurch earthquake. We need to consider the public perception of the National Party handling of the major natural disaster and recovery that is still going on in Christchurch under Labour roughly 10 years later. This will be our only option to determine whether National can do a job of protecting our health and safety that is better than the current Government has done to date.
We then will need to consider the economic response to the economic fallout after Muldoon's term as opposed to the economic response to the Global Financial Crisis to determine whether we should have a second term of office by the Labour Party or vote in the National Party. As we gather to vote, I'm not sure if either party can rest comfortably on their records. We will have to have the wisdom of King Solomon to decide who will lead New Zealand through the pandemic and the economic impact and into the post-coronavirus world.
Dunstan Sheldon, Hamilton
Reasons for voting
As an octogenarian I have been witness to a reasonable number of elections in New Zealand and have come to the conclusion that the last thing the majority of voters consider, is the policies that the contenders are putting forward. Firstly, we hear widely, the comment that "I will vote for Leader X", and yet very few of these people that make this statement live in the relevant electorate.
Secondly, statements such as "I have always voted Xxx", "my mother/father always voted Xxx" etc. Finally, following New Zealand's love of sport, I am convinced that many voters aim to pick the winner, so they can brag about their success should their choice become reality. It's very rarely you hear people discussing policies and their impact upon society. "Go the Xxxxers"
Dick Ayres, central Auckland
SHORT & SWEET
On pilots
Judith Collins eclipsed even Donald Trump's delusional schemes when she advocated the use of unemployed pilots to drive complex farm harvesting machinery in lieu of allowing experienced and skilled overseas operators entry into New Zealand.
Peter Culpan, Te Atatu Peninsula
On eradication
Judith Collins claims she has "zero tolerance for Covid-19 in the community". I have news for her, we all have zero tolerance for Covid-19 in the community. Of course the implication of her statement is that she can eradicate the virus. I have two questions for Judith Collins. First, which country has managed to completely eradicate the virus? Second, because the answer to my first question is no country, what would she do to eradicate the virus?
Greg Cave, Sunnyvale
On businesses
Why chastise all those Aucklanders leaving the city for their holiday homes? At least they will be supporting local businesses in the rest of the country; what we have been asked to do and want to do. Which is more than what can be said for the battle-axe the Government has swung down on small businesses all the way through from Wellsford to Pukekohe.
Glenn Forsyth, Taupō
On outbreak cause
I firmly believe that the New Zealand public will never find out what caused this current outbreak. To release it to the public would demonstrate the incompetence of the Labour administration just before an election.
Dr Martin Spencer, central Auckland
