There were 98 new cases of COVID-19 in the community on Tuesday.
Video / Dean Purcell / Michael Craig
OPINION:
For many of us in Auckland, some downtime outside of the city's regional limits seems a fair way to end the year.
Those in power - the very leaders who steered us through the last two years with just 44 Covid deaths - say we're good to go.
Theysay nothing has been left to chance, and the system will cope as the virus spreads throughout the country. Appropriate preparations have been made, and perhaps most important, the vaccine rollout has had enough time to reach everyone.
Iwi leaders responsible for communities with low vaccination rates have made it clear their preference was for the inevitable spread of cases, largely out of Auckland, to be delayed. They wanted more time because, where they are (Te Tai Tokerau, Eastern Bay of Plenty, Te Tairāwhiti) the vaccine rollout still has a way to go. Contrary to the Government's stance, they also stressed local families and communities are neither resourced nor prepared to deal with Covid cases.
Te Runanganui o Ngāti Porou chair Selwyn Parata summed up concerns in a letter to fellow iwi members.
"If you want to come home to Ngāti Porou, please consider the health and wellbeing of your whānau back here," he wrote.
"Please consider how you would feel if you brought Covid-19 on holiday with you. Please remember that our region's services will struggle to look after you and your whānau if you become unwell."
Te Runanganui o Ngāti Porou chair Selwyn Parata. Photo / Supplied
So, what gives? Why are local leaders and the Government at odds over summer travel? And what about me? Isn't it only fair I recoup some of the freedom I've lost in the past three months by leaving town? Surely, those who've followed the rules and are vaccinated deserve a "Kiwi summer"?
At face value, these questions seem pretty ordinary. As I said earlier, there's a general acceptance getting outside of Auckland would do a lot of people good. But look a little closer, and there's a bit more to it.
Certainly, New Zealand's approach to Covid has done well for the majority of people. Deaths have remained low and life for much of the past two years hasn't had severe restrictions.
However, we also know Māori have had it worse. Data for the Delta outbreak shows Māori make up about 45 per cent of cases, 36 per cent of hospitalisations, and 39 per cent of deaths. Also important alongside those numbers is the impact of the disease on families and communities - there's the requirement to isolate, which affects incomes and education. Again, this impacts Māori (and Pasifika) more because of the types of jobs they tend to do and household arrangements.
Māori health providers and health experts have also been clear more should have been done to avoid that trajectory. From the implementation of an age-based vaccination rollout to a lack of resources and independence for Māori health providers throughout the response, there's been a pattern of decisions that have led to the current, disproportionate impacts.
Where then does that leave the Government's enabling of travel to places which have requested otherwise? Aren't they simply balancing those pleas with the realities of people's summer plans?
Not really.
Yes, holidays are important. But so is being able to take stock of what's happened so far and make decisions based on lessons learned. Overriding the concerns of iwi and community leaders who are genuinely fearful for what is to come doesn't signal a more sophisticated process. In fact, it only adds to divisiveness and puts unnecessary pressure on communities and people. Not to mention the ugly rhetoric confusing inequity in health and social resources with the "personal responsibility" of being vaccinated that comes out.
So, as we all get ready for the summer break, let's hope the Government is pumping everything available into those communities which simply aren't ready for what is to come. Because, as we know in Auckland, it's the next three months that will really test things.
