A volunteer helping at the food bank at Nga Whare Waatea marae in Favona. Photo / Dean Purcell.
Every day we are updated on the medical impact of Covid-19 and I accept it is very real. I think that what we also need to realise is the dire social and economic disaster that is being created by the asset price bubble
that all the fiscal stimulus and Central Bank actions that are being undertaken is creating.
The inequality that this is creating is a recipe for a social disaster for which you do not have to look too far back in history to see the consequences. Not to mention the completely illogical economic outcomes. This being illustrated by the fact that we have had an explosion in demand for food banks and at the same time the stock and housing markets are at or close to record highs.
This was clearly illustrated to me when a quote from a property developer was recently repeated in the Herald that said, "this is a poor person's recession".
People such as columnist John Roughan and correspondent Phil Hayward (Weekend Herald, August 22) who think there is a "right" answer to manage the tension between public health and economic health under the present pandemic and personally know what that answer is - might just be running ahead of the facts.
Continued references to Sweden are in fact antithetical to their arguments because hard economic data shows the Swedish economy contracted more sharply under Covid than its Nordic neighbours. The US economy is hardly a beacon of light and hope either, particularly unemployment rates.
I don't think there is a "right" answer and I do believe it may be years before the best strategy among the many that have been adopted is clear.
Clearly the NZ strategy can't run indefinitely without the introduction of an effective vaccine but the trajectory of current developments should become clearer in the next two to three months.
In the meantime any economic impacts we may suffer are to a large extent reversible; death and permanent damage to hearts, lungs, brains and other vital organs not quite so.
John Christiansen, Mt Albert.
John Roughan (Weekend Herald, August 22) is correct in writing that open debate has fallen casualty in NZ when it comes to Covid-19. We are indeed all too often being led by fear and emotion in accepting restrictions arising from an overreaction.
A case in point is a report in the same edition, which presents a completely one-sided and negative take on Sweden's different approach to Covid. It highlights Sweden's high death rate versus its neighbours, but fails to mention that it has lower rates than many other countries that locked down. It also fails to report that Sweden's Covid deaths are now virtually zero.
Dealing with a new virus is a complex problem and treating Sweden's approach as all bad and NZ's as all good is simplistic and unhelpful. As Oxford epidemiology Professor Sunetra Gupta says, the number of confirmed cases worldwide has been rising exponentially faster than the number of deaths, indicating that herd immunity is gaining traction. In the likely absence of either a cure or a vaccine for many years this may be our best hope.
David Gibbs, Beach Haven.
Chris Darby's proposal (Weekend Herald, August 28) of selling off strategic council-owned assets is misguided. Not only is selling off assets a permanent long-term solution to a short term problem, but it appears he is trying to sell off assets that the council doesn't actually own.
Darby has included Entrust in his list, but Entrust is not a company owned by Auckland Council that can be sold. It is a trust that exists for its beneficiaries, who are the users of the Vector lines network. That asset is owned by the people and it cannot be sold.
We need to be wary of our family silver being flogged off once and for all just to plug a hole in a budget.
John Deyell, Ellerslie.
Councillor Darby's notion of selling half the Ports of Auckland to the Government to bolster this city's Covid-crippled coffers highlights why we are in the strife we are.
The time to sell assets is when you have a clear picture of the pathway forward. Not when you are in some desperate frenzy that most likely still has some way to play out. If it does take longer, what other assets will we need to sell to keep the lights on and water running?
During these uncertain times perhaps it is better to raise debt, even if it is at less attractive rates, than it is to sell the family silver. Do Aucklanders really want Government to own/control its port?
Geoff Senescall, Freemans Bay.
Councillor Darby 's proposed Govt buyout of 50 per cent of POAL makes good sense. The Port Companies Act makes Auckland Council as owner financially liable for POAL's actions but strangely provides POAL full independence. This has proved disastrous for ratepayers with POAL's debt now reaching half a billion dollars.
The most visible fails being the building of a new multimillion-dollar parking building straight after the port was told it must move and the spending of one hundred million dollars of ratepayer money on automation. Two years later, ratepayers are still to see any benefit.
POAL is reportedly well-managed, operationally. However, as evidenced above, the same cannot be said of its financial management. Indeed the UNISC report rated POAL as no longer viable and this was confirmed some months later by the port's inability to pay a dividend.
With the Government having created this situation, it is only appropriate that it solves it. A 100 per cent buyout would be even better.
Neal McCarthy, Auckland Central.
After his ping-pong interview with Chlöe Swarbrick's, Steve Braunias was clearly very taken with her candour, for example about her depression (Weekend Herald, August 22). I've always thought well-played candour is an effective means of stealing the thunder of critics.
Swarbrick is also candid about "pursuing the fulfilling route" in only the short-to-medium-term: not a word about service. Speaking as a voter, short-term self-fulfilment is not what I look for in MPs.
And the "KO, Boomer" pun on Swarbrick's famous "OK, Boomer" generational put-down overlooks the fact that the put-down offended many. I didn't find the candour of Swarbrick's contempt at all refreshing.
Lily Williams, Waikanae.
Former National Party Minister Steven Joyce concludes his criticism of the Government's border controls by suggesting that "a little more honest communication would go a long way" (Weekend Herald, August 22). His main concern is the disparities between some of the comments in daily updates by the PM, Ministers and the director general of Health.
I have no reason to think that the officials are not being straight and honest in their communication updates.
There are so many possible loopholes around the many border entry points it is inevitable that errors will be made, and easy for National to exaggerate isolated incidents as major calamities when it simply may not be so.
On the subject of honest communication, Joyce may be reminded of the many recent incidents of dishonest communication by the National Party.
David Coy, Hamilton.
Doubtless all of your correspondents who criticise the Government's "lax" handling of the coronavirus threat can attest that, since it became recommended practice, they have never (not even once) failed to: wear a mask while in public; wash their hands before and after touching anything outside the home; and check in at any place they went using the official tracer app.
Their conscientious practice of zero tolerance for error is an inspiration to us all.
Peter Calder, Westmere.
Far and wide, all the way to our Parliament, New Zealand said "this is not us" – and thanks to our Prime Minister's statesmanship and oratory skill, the world heard us. Karen Tutt, Palmerston North.
The surprising inclusion of Steven Joyce's opinion in the business section (Weekend Herald, August 22) surely echoes the opinions of many thousands of Kiwis who are being fed a one-sided version of current events. Ted Partridge, Māngere.
Post Covid-19 New Zealand will require something like the Marshall Plan or New Deal programmes. Has the Labour Party the vision or capability to execute such a plan? I think not. Mahendra Kumar, Ōtāhuhu.
I don't know what to fear the most... Covid-19 or Judith's constant negativity. At least Jacinda gives me hope. Lois McGough, Ōrewa.
Is there anything Stephen Colbert can do to help inform the US public about the actual situation in NZ? He is after all a "New Zealander". Judy Lawry, Golflands.
Government failures, Jacinda's failures, everyone's failure except the National Party who, a couple of months ago, was advocating opening the borders and moving as quickly as possible out of lockdown. J Saunders, Paihia.
It beggars belief that people are being denied elective surgery when there is only a handful of people in hospital with Covid. Seems there is a lot of tail chasing going on. V. Hall, Whangaparāoa.
All new standalone houses should have a water tank. You get the idea the council don't like this idea. S P McMonagle, Greenhithe.
Has the magic of blood sacrifice and scalp taking refilled the dams? Tony Dove, Cockle Bay.
What happens if a vaccine is not produced for four years, or ever? Do we remain in splendid isolation like a lost tribe in the Amazon jungle? P.C. Sewell, Campbells Bay.
We fans hope the new Warriors consultant Phil Gould is better at his job than his predictions. He reckoned the boys would only win two games this season. Rex Head, Papatoetoe.
It beggars belief that high-up people at Auckland Council are pondering which assets to sell off to maintain the excessive salaries, hundreds over $100,000, some even above our Prime Minister. Jim Carlyle, Te Atatu Peninsula.
I wonder if there is any difference in the infection levels of men and women in societies where women are traditionally required to wear yashmaks? Jeanette Grant, Mt Eden.
Perhaps New Zealanders should be asking themselves, what is the point of being Covid "free", if their backbones are dissolved through the administration of large doses of compulsory lockdowns and the availability of Government subsidies? J. White, Epsom.
As Auckland hopefully comes to the end of another lockdown I hope the rest of New Zealand appreciates what we have been through these past few weeks. The rest of the country has never rated us but we have had to stand up and do the hard yards. Proud to be a JAFA. Robyn Nielsen, Half Moon Bay.
Deputy Political Editor Thomas Coughlan interviews Americans on the streets of Philadelphia ahead of next week’s election. Video / NZ Herald