Covid struck and suddenly Queenstown was a Kiwi playground. Photo / Supplied
If there is one thing I have learnt this past year, it is this: we can do things if we want to.
We had money for everything Covid. We could create jobs, we could extend immigration and we could afford to fill the car
with petrol.
We could get to the South Island on a budget never before seen, Queenstown actually valued the Kiwi visitor.
Many ivory castles were destroyed by Covid. Where there was a bureaucratic minefield of rules and regulation, somehow, they were excused in 2020.
It just goes to show that we live for holding on to power and possessions, somehow when a crisis of a pandemic nature appears, what was once off-limits because of political will, became less relevant, and necessary.
Here we are, thinking that a pandemic is turning world economies upside down. Little time is spent on the huge array of positives that has crawled out from underneath the tin that was previously darkened inside with human ego and greed.
Yes, maybe one species is badly affected by a tiny invisible virus, but what Covid-19 has done for almost every other species is beyond amazing.
Where previously we were bragging about when to carbon-burn our next overseas holiday, we are now blogging about how to minimise pollution, live healthier and support local economies.
Flora and fauna has had a small window of massive help from this virus, so let's use this knowledge to re-start with a blank canvas and practise more of the kindness to one another (including the planet and all other species), that our Prime Minister has repeatedly instilled into us.
Let's celebrate the great lesson that Covid-19 has handed to us on a plate. New Zealand should, again, set an example, on how to turn a temporary glitch into a massive positive for all we ultimately depend upon, because without care and kindness there will be no planet worth living on, regardless of the size of the economy.
René Blezer, Taupō.
I support the statements from Glennys Adams, Oneroa (Weekend Herald, December 26). Why is it that our government departments and their agencies are so shortsighted about the long term effects of funding valuable supports and research? This Tertiary Education Commission funding was probably peanuts to the Government but it might have made a huge impact on outcomes for people with dementia.
Similarly, why did the Ministry of Social Development and Treasury decide one week before Christmas, they would not continue to fund high needs Ongoing Resourcing Scheme students leaving school in 2020 into their community programmes to enable them to continue to have a life?
These young people with a range of disabilities will be unable to make choices, as this funding is their stepping stone to their future and includes options such as tertiary education, work skills training and a raft of other opportunities as well as meeting their social needs in the community with all other young people who are leaving school in 2020.
This decision also conflicts with the Enabling Good Lives programme of choice and control for individuals and the ministry's own policies in line with the United Nations Charter regarding Rights for People with Disabilities.
Some families may have to give up their paid work and their tax contribution in order to provide support and safety to their children now they can no longer have the safety net of daily school attendance.
Support Worker, Auckland.
In response to columnist John Roughan (Weekend Herald, December 26), I quote the professor of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, Devi Sridhar: "Now more than ever, it's clear why we need a proactive strategy to eliminate Covid altogether... It's no longer enough to just flatten the curve, or treat Covid-19 like a yearly flu.
"This will devastate our economy and society and run down our health services. The model of living with the virus and allowing it to run through the population has failed. Even Sweden, once hailed by some as an example of how to avoid harsh measures, has been hamstrung by outbreaks, run out of hospital beds and asked its Scandinavian neighbours for help."
Dennis N Horne, Howick.
John Roughan's column (Weekend Herald, December 26) made interesting reading. Would he have written that if a close family member that he cared about had died, probably slowly and painfully? Or permanently damaged by "long Covid"?
Does he realise that he is privileged to live in perhaps the least affected place in the Western world?
Has he considered taking himself and and his loved ones to a place where "sensibly" they have placed more reasonable estimates on the virus - such as perhaps the US or the UK, or Italy?
Hidden behind his "logic of numbers" is a very interesting mindset on human values.
The difference between the actual 25 deaths here, and the potential of several thousands if we had treated Covid like another flu is not inconsequential.
Alan Hay, St Heliers.
John Roughan (NZ Herald, December 26) claims under-reporting for the incidence of illness in the current pandemic, but accepts the number of deaths as accurate, thereby arguing the death rate is lower than reported.
But here is the catch. The number of deaths may not be any more accurate than the number of illnesses. The latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that deaths in the US from March to May 2020 is 122,000 higher than previous years. Could these be unreported coronavirus deaths?
That would mean the actual deaths are 28 per cent higher than the reported Covid-19 deaths. Please leave the epidemiology to the epidemiologists. To argue that schools should have been open is irresponsible when we are still learning who gets Covid-19 and how it is spread, and what the consequences of the illness for survivors are.
Sandra Coney, Titirangi.
I'm so disappointed in TV channels 1, 2, 3 and 4. Did they put on anything new fun or special for Christmas? No. Just the same old same old.
Blah, blah, cooking shows, same old movies, same old faces, crappy TV programmes. Honestly. I know many people are away and won't be watching TV. But there are a lot of your usual watchers who are home and are so bored with you.
So now I'm just going to watch Netflix. So many choices and no ad breaks which is a big plus. Sky Sport is great, also.
After always going to rugby and cricket live when young, now I'm older, TV sport is even better. Relax, uninterrupted view, coffee or a wine whenever, feet up, bliss.
Susan Lawrence, Meadowbank.
I hope I see another article about that vast fortune given to a church that shows half of the money is given back to the family. That would show compassion by the church. Norm Empson, Tauranga.
Regarding your front page article on Harold Plumley: There is an old adage: If you want to know what God thinks of money just look at whom he gives it to. Hopefully the Roman Catholic Church might offer some to victims of priestly sexual abuse. Adrian Muller, Pāpāmoa Beach.
Would you have rather seen Mr Plumley buy mansions and expensive cars like Eric Watson and Mark Hotchin? R Harrison, Kohimarama.
It would be very very interesting to know what the Catholic Church will do with the huge donation. Frances Sullivan, Morningside.
What price do Gerhard Sundborn and other co-authors of the anti-lockdown letter put on a human life? The bank can print $60 billion but no one can restore the dead to life or those affected by Covid to full health. Marie Kaire, Whangārei.
Have you noticed how often actors on TV are portrayed smoking a cigarette? One could be excused for suspecting the tobacco industry has found a surreptitious way to advertise. Peter Culpan, Waitākere.
Regarding the Italian backpacker asked to leave a Bondi restaurant after her outfit was deemed "not acceptable". It's the clothes she wasn't wearing that is the issue. Andrew Montgomery, Remuera.
If I still had a restaurant, this young lady would be welcome anytime and would say she is finely dressed for Bondi. Gary Stewart, Foxton Beach.
Being a dad of three older adolescence daughters and - like millions of parents worldwide, I am sure - we pray constantly that their paths never cross with a preying monster such as Grace Millane's killer. We hope he draws his last breath behind bars. Glenn Forsyth, Taupō.
How thoughtful of Peter Lewis, vice-chairman of the Auckland Property Association, to give his valuable holiday time (Weekend Herald, December 26) to render a response to yet another correspondent genuinely trying to find a solution to the housing problem he is very much a part of. John Norris, Whangamatā.
I see it as imperative that we continue our "overestimation" of this pandemic, for as long as the world is endangered by this virus. Clyde Scott, Birkenhead.
Oh, for the days when all that was necessary was to tune in to the appropriate Sky channel. Spark Sport is user-unfriendly and the source of enormous frustration. Peter Clapshaw, Remuera.
I have come to really enjoy the Spark Sport's cricket commentary. Larry Mitchell, Rothesay Bay.
Why do people complain about Trump playing golf during the current Covid and funding programme crises? I would have thought most Americans would be grateful all this time away from the White House and causing less damage. Ian MacGregor, Forrest Hill.
Detectives flew to Victoria, NSW and Queensland as part of the investigation.