Radiologist Graeme Campbell who took part in fundraiser for mental health in his tractor from Bluff to Cape Reinga. Photo / file
Radiologist Graeme Campbell who took part in fundraiser for mental health in his tractor from Bluff to Cape Reinga. Photo / file
I first want to say congratulations to Olga McKerras who received a Queen's Birthday honour this year for her tireless community work. Olga's time with the budget service only scratches the surface and the recognition is thoroughly deserved.
33 years is a very long time of service but I wouldhazard a guess, for Olga, that time has flown by. Indeed, when people are at their happiest and most productive it is almost as if the time is not a factor as you tend to bounce from activity to activity concentrating on production and value rather than focussing on the ticking clock.
For many, though, the past few weeks will have had an opposite effect. Time has dragged and with that, uncertainty makes a fertile ground for anxiety.
And anxiety leads to other impacts – from lost sleep through to more serious afflictions.
Yes, the "team of 5 million" has done a great job but the sacrifices made by some dwarf those of others. Likewise the ongoing challenges and loads to carry for some will outweigh those borne by others.
More and more articles note that Covid will become endemic and it looks increasingly like we will live in a "Covid managed" future.
It is crucial therefore that policy makers and the community in general grasp that, although we have all been in a storm(s) together, we are all in different boats.
If you have an "essential" role or an "essential" business you are going to ride out this period of time in a different way to an employee or business in tourism or retail for example.
For a number of people there is emerging genuine worry around a slip-up in the management of Covid leading to a return to the more harsher levels than what we are in now.
Olga McKerras has spent more than four decades volunteering.
These concerns are real and need to be listened to, in much the same way that epidemiologists and health policy makers have the ear of decision makers.
And it is also time to significantly increase resources into mental health support – not only for businesses but for the population in general.
People, even before Covid, were under stress and the period since late March has introduced new worries and concerns that were not calculable before.
To hear the PM say "By and large the economy is back" is disputable and I doubt we will hear the definition of "back" anytime soon.
I think it would be good for her and her Ministers to tour the country (with media) to hear first-hand what is going on at the economic coal face, but more so to understand and fully grasp the sacrifices business owners and employees have had to make to get us this far, how tenuous most feel the recovery is and to answer how future support is going to be delivered.
A number are doing it tough at the moment but there are some inspiring success stories out there and others are battling, successfully, to keep things going.
But all the stories for all the circumstances are stories of commitment, guts and creativity in very difficult circumstances and it is time they were heard at the highest level.
I have always said that the best decisions are made with the best information.
Policy makers need to hear from "those at the front" otherwise they will lose "the war".
The rewards for listening are huge and will better enable businesses and careers to exist well into the future and have more chance of hitting their own 33 years.
