WHEN BORIS JOHNSON announced England’s “Freedom Day”, I was scornful and dismissive. My reaction was much the same when New South Wales and Victoria announced “Freedom Days” of their own. This was irresponsible politics on steroids, I fumed. People are going to die. Which they did – and still are. Politically, however, “Freedom” appears to be a magic word. Utter it, and the ordinary voter’s crap detector instantly switches itself off.
The events of the past few days have, however, have made me realise that Johnson and his imitators weren’t being irresponsible, they were simply making a virtue of necessity. If you’re looking for an expression to mask the fact that you’ve run out of practical solutions to the problem of how to let people out of lockdown while the Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus is still raging around, then “Freedom Day” fits the bill nicely.
Because, of course, there is no safe way to let people out of lockdown while Covid-19 is raging through the community. But, as this Government is fast discovering, there is also no safe way to keep 1.6 million Aucklanders under house-arrest indefinitely.
Nor would there appear to be a practical means of requiring those same Aucklanders to show a valid Vaccine Passport, and evidence of a recent negative Covid test, before departing the city for their Christmas vacation. When the Labour Government finally comes to terms with this brutal reality, then, inevitably, it will start thinking like Boris Johnson.
Matters are certainly not being helped by the fact that the Vaccination Passports needed to make the Government’s new “Traffic Light” system work, are still at the development and testing stage. On balance, however, this is probably just as well. Because, if they had been ready to go, then the fundamental flaw in the system would have been revealed in real time, rather than presenting itself as a looming problem of massive proportions.
Let’s just walk through this problem soberly and logically.
Our first assumption must be that Auckland has reached its target of 90 percent fully vaccinated by the middle of November – and that not much of the rest of New Zealand has managed to do the same.
On the face of it, this can only mean that the border remains closed to Aucklanders wishing to spend Christmas out of the city. Fine. But how does the Government then propose to require Aucklanders to simply suck that fact up for the good of the country? After more than three months of lockdown, they might not be willing to take another one for the Team of Five Million. More likely they’ve reached the point of telling the Team of 3.4 Million to go fuck themselves.
Okaaay. So the Government, unwilling to see Auckland explode, tells the fully vaccinated and the Covid negative that they – and only they – can cross the Auckland border to visit friends and family and have a much-needed holiday. Hooray! Auckland yells, and then promptly crashes the system designed to let people download the Vaccination Passport app. As if that isn’t frustrating enough, they then discover that 30,000 to 40,000 people, all trying to get a Covid test at the same time, is a recipe for the most gigantic shemozzle.
Right about then, the nit-pickers start querying the practicalities of thousands of Aucklanders all trying to get out of the city at the same time when, on the way out, they are required to stop and have their Vaccination Passports and Covid test results sighted by the Police. How’s that going to work, exactly?
[Chris Hipkins had some ideas about this problem, which were actually pretty funny in a “just shoot me now” kind of way.]
Aucklanders consider this problem carefully, and decide that queues of cars, filled with increasingly fractious family members, and stretching for miles and miles, under a blazing summer sun, does not sound like a winning formula for peace and harmony.
Also having difficulty seeing much in the way of peace and harmony in Auckland’s immediate future are those who understand the racial dynamics of vaccination. A situation in which the fully vaccinated are free to leave Auckland, while the unvaccinated are ordered to remain within the city’s boundaries until the rest of the country reaches the magic 90 percent target, will, very quickly, be presented as a neo-colonialist outrage, which grants freedom of movement to the Pakeha, while keeping Māori locked-up in a Covid cage.
So ….. yeah. You reckon that will work?
Tricky situation, isn’t it? And one not overloaded with good, or even workable, solutions. So, what the hell are Jacinda and her government going to do?
Best guess? Pretty soon she and her colleagues are going to tell the rest of New Zealand that Auckland has done enough – and had enough. It’s reached its 90 percent double-jabbed target and is ready to go on holiday.
In the kindest possible way, Jacinda will inform the rest of New Zealand that it needs to rattle-its-dags on the vaccination front.
“You can’t keep 1.6 million people under house arrest indefinitely”, she will tell the rest of the Team of Five Million. “Auckland has carried the burden of this outbreak in every sense. Nine out of ten of them have done everything we’ve asked them to do – and more. We can’t expect the city to remain in a state-of-siege forever. This is Auckland we’re talking about – not Leningrad! It’s time to give Aucklanders their freedom.”
Right about then, is when the Prime Minister will lay it on the line.
“Those of you who have yet to be jabbed have three weeks to get yourselves vaccinated – twice. If you don’t, then you stand a pretty good chance of getting sick – very sick. Why? Because, New Zealand, in three weeks’ time Auckland is coming – ready or not.”
Freedom Day.
Excellent summary.
The big mistake (of many) this government made with the failure of Level 4 restrictions was not acknowledging ellimination was futile and once assured of sufficient vaccination supplies setting a reintegration date.
Then, hoping post dating decision making, obfuscation and bullshit would fool the thickies that are Aucklanders that one day our New Zealand passports might mean something again. All Arderns government achieved was a loss of trust, good will and I argue permanent loss of votes… and counting.
Then being locked away in Hermit Kingdom central, aka Wellington, made it impossible for them to read the room in Auckland, hence Hipkins retarded comments about holiday vouchers and Ardern (or her office) telling us the borders will remain “to keep the rest of the country safe” in motherly we know best tones. So sadly, in glorious ignorance, I think they will keep bungling on.
I’ve said it before, Auckland can easily change governments and come 2023 we do just that if reintegration doesn’t happen soon, as in the next 3 weeks! Call it freedom day!
“The big mistake (of many) this government made with the failure of Level 4 restrictions was not acknowledging elimination was futile”.. No it wasn’t.. It was allowing the Australian government to force Sydney as the main contact point in the “travel bubble” upon NZ.. Perth Brisbane, Adelaide, Darwin, are all cities that would have ensured we didn’t bring the virus back, but no, we had to go to Sydney.. And look what’s happened since…Does it not occur to anyone here that the Australians weren’t fully aware of the risks they were forcing us to take? But then, their governments (particularly federal libs) have never given a tiny crap about NZ, or it’s people… One only has to look back a Snott Moribunds past history of dealing with this country to know where his heads at… It isn’t that much of a stretch to consider that they were hoping what has resulted would happen, purely out of a desire to avoid the negative comparisons with the country they love to lampoon, and belittle to gain brownie points, from a significant proportion of “the great unwashed”… Mark my words, they are that shallow and childish…
Yes that’s an accurate summary and an accurate prediction.
How would you know, John? It suits your wishful thinking, that is all.
In Vino I’m not sure why you seem so obsessed with my comments.
I’m beginning to think you are a secret fan.
No John, your ego believes you have a secret fan. In Vino, like myself know you’re an idiot.
Welcome to the ‘death cult’. Sorry for those wanting endless lockdowns.
That’s the problem. You can lay out all the sensible solutions and pathways for beating the outbreak, but you can’t make people abide by them. If everybody had done what was asked of them by the government from the beginning we would either be virus free (if the rules of level 4 had been followed) or fully vaccinated by now (there’s been ample opportunity for everybody to be jabbed). Opening up was always going to need to happen, and the virus is always going to infect the unvaccinated. The trick for the government has been to try and open up slow enough that you ease the virus into the community in a trickle rather than opening the floodgates and getting one almighty spike. And as you’re doing that you go hard on vaccination. But I agree with Chris, Aucklanders being locked in Auckland for Christmas is asking for a political backlash and it won’t happen. The government just has to decide if they’re going to try and restrict the virus leaving Auckland (through vaccine passports/negative tests) or just throw the doors open and count on a high vaccination rate limiting the damage.
Perhaps Brad it’s the other way around – if the Labour Government had done what was needed, when it was needed instead of sitting on its hands pondering things we wouldn’t be in this situation.
The levels of vaccination that have been achieved in a short space of time are impressive and a credit to all New Zealanders.
Imagine what life could be like if we had had a government that was effective in delivery and had managed to get everyone vaccinated by June as globally there was plenty of Pfizer available.
Aucklanders have every right to move around their country – check the Declaration of Human rights. We should be letting all those trapped overseas come home.
This entire mess is the fault of the government and as the leader, Jacinda needs to own it. Not hide.
I think December the 1st in the viaduct will be a great day – if the bars open like they’re threatening to do, Aucklanders are there and then it’s all on.
LOL. Not going to happen. The mental gymnastics required for the Covid Queen to reach those conclusions will be too much for her. Politics-wise Auckland is still going to hate her and now the bulk of the rest of the country will feel like Poland in 1939. We are talking of a politician that doesn’t do conflict well unlike say Clarke.
There will be a border, people will be allowed to travel out but it will be difficult, muddled and ultimately a vote loser every which way.
I will disagree with you Frankie. Since the announcement this has always been about the 28th November and becoming 90 % vaccinated. The rhetoric has been push, push,push for vaccination. When the question was asked ” what happens if we don’t reach 90 % even by January ” Hipkins replied he would not like to pre- empty any decisions cabinet would make at the end of November. It sounded like code for come December, it will be as Chris has stated. And once that happens, Collins and Seymour will continue to remain hapless in opposition. Collins only hope will be if she’s knifed at the Christmas barbecue and Key’s blueblood child becomes leader.
You would think so Bertie and indeed that would be the common sense political solution but I get the feeling the border will be up as the Maori squad and St Ash will demand it.
And remember elections are lost not won.
Seems like the young Maori female protestor in Northland wasn’t part of that “squad” Frankie. The difficulty for the right is that the genuine can be lost amongst the lunatic factions.
Not all the luny tunes are from our side Bertie. Stupidity comes in all political stripes
Don’t disagree there Frankie.
Although you do own The Kraut and he’s as loopy as a fruit jube.
More like a corny rendition of the film ‘Independence day’. I escaped the rathole of Auckland ( besides my beloved Waitakere mountain childhood home of Huia which is as picturesque as anything I’ve seen in the South Island)… and travelling down in my sneakers and shorts and my fat pot belly to be met by a fantastic young policeman in his 20’s named Sam…
Sam said three times ‘its bloody hot’,… as I sat there like a grey haired old farmer, elbow out on the door…and I agreed ,he was very thorough, he was doing his job and I was happy to comply…he was a good old son. He could have been my boy…out there in Pokeno. There were about 20 of them.
Doing their job in the heat. I was kinda proud of them. Well Sam contacted my son ( same basic age ) to verify my particulars. Sam and my son entered dialogue, to let this old boy truck on through. I gave Sam a hearty thumbs up and a nod knowing full well that I had passed the test , and that I was free to go.
Well, I’m a country boy at heart, maybe a little lax, I don’t know,…I still haven’t got my first jab,( my son has , and his second to get back to work) … I’m a little circumspect and a little cautious,… I’m not anti vax,…but I’ve read so much on both sides it sends me in a tail spin.
Well, I guess I’ll mosey on down and start to get my jabs,….I met my ex , grey haired like me, and it was that we both lit up in happy recognition, surprised at how age had changed us both. Its was so funny. But that’s the beauty of getting older I guess. She’s a councilor, I’m a happy hippy.
I’ve got friends and family on both sides of the camp. Qualified nurses (my sister and cousin) who advise me to to do the orthodox thing and just do it,…and I listen to them dont you worry…but the thing that gets me is the loss of freedom, perhaps civil rights, I don’t know… I’ll probably end up getting the jab like my son has,… but I’ve got wonderful friends who really supported me through the hard times who are opposed.
I’ll never turn my back on them and one of them is a teacher , a lady teacher who teaches those in the ‘difficult class’. And she loves it. (She’s in her early 60’s). Those who have learning disabilities. An artistic, gifted motivational woman and her gifted loving husband.
Salt of the earth types.
They are not pariahs, they are not lepers,…they are good caring parents who have raised a loving extended family and are still emotionally involved nurturing their children into their late 20’s. Being supportive and doing the extra mile. As parents and grandparents do.
Well, I don’t know,… I’ve still got to decide. I’ll get around to it. All I can say is that at my age, I need time to ruminate ,…and the best I can do is give you is give you a song. And I’ll give you two:
Simple Man – Lynyrd Skynyrd
https://youtu.be/sMmTkKz60W8?t=43
And this;
All I Can Do Is Write About It
https://youtu.be/v43bEJG4AXI?t=6
And I’ll say that you slashed and burnt and cut down your forests so much so that that you stabbed your very planets lungs so bad that you didn’t give them a chance to breath for you.
We brought it upon ourselves.
yeah, we did.
choose wisely. kia kaha.
Pretty much what I see happening. Once Aucklanders have gotten to 90 percent fully vaccinated, there is no way anyone is going to be able to tell them they can’t do where they want, no matter that other regions might not have reached 90 percent. From the beginning of December, Aucklanders will be off all around New Zealand, with Covid not far behind. The moment of truth for the unvaccinated will have arrived.
And what about locking down for a change the regions with the vaccination rate lower than say 75% (or whatever)?
And if you believe in vaccination efficacy as this governemn does, why to be scared and panick and insist on controversial vacination passports, the more so that our PM said we had enough ICU beds?
on ICU beds she was at best expressing ‘magical thinking’ you can’t know how many you need until the severity of the coming wave is manifest…at worst she was lying through her teeth.
Yip I’m keen to lock down regions, Tga BOP, can work from home, double vaxxed but will probably die of covid. I’ve been living my best bubble life for a long time 🙂
We bought a year for the govt to work through scenarios and prepare contingencies.
They only have themselves to blame.
People are stupid and/or selfish. The willingness of a certain sector of the population to sabotage plans should have been factored in.
Numerous examples occurred overseas after all.
what a waste of a landslide majority. Shame it wasn’t for an actual socialist party rather than a bunch of neoliberal nitwits.
Jase, this whole thing is a socialists wet dream. Make the poor poorer. Destroy small business. Increase the wealth of the elites. Have us all suckling on the teat of the state. The left always banging on about the rich convincing the middle class to blame the poor. Now it’s those same lefties convincing the middle class to blame the so called ‘anti vaxxers’. Same people playing the same game. Divide and conquer.
Hang on a second there Off White.
….”a socialists wet dream. Make the poor poorer. Destroy small business. Increase the wealth of the elites.”
Say what? There are many definitions of socialism, but that’s one I’m not familiar with, nor inclined to accept!
“…..those same lefties convincing the middle class to blame the so called ‘anti vaxxers’”.
Criticism of anti-vaxxers has been from across the political spectrum, and, quite frankly, well deserved.
The effect of unvaccinated cases overwhelming the health system and depriving others of a treatment, a diagnosis, or a surgical procedure is abhorent. Reading the “I’m not vacinnated because….” missives they all tend to be about the individual, and how the social contract doesn’t seem to apply to them. It’s about me, and the rest of you are just sheep/mental/fools blah blah blah.
This is a separate issue to the neoliberal-inspired lack of planning that has seen a year of being Covid-free effectively wasted by bean counters and the professional management class ‘running’ our hospitals & DHBs. The inability to plan for various scenario’s like the one we currently find ourselves in is beyond frustrating.
But here we find ourselves.
And now I have reached the point where I believe it is time to let things rip, and the high & mighty unvaccinated, who know so much better than the rest of use who actually give a damn about each other, can suffer the consequences.
Spiteful? Yes. Placing lives at risk? Yep.
But between them, the antivaxxers and the neoliberal health management types have produced this sentiment in many many folk I’m afraid.
More than we would care to admit.
Jase, how somebody’s vaccination status is anybody else’s business is beyond me. If you’ve been jabbed, how are you at risk from the unjabbed? As for overwhelming the health system, well there’s the obese, the smokers, the alcoholics, the diabetics etc.
The difference being, here the population is being confronted by a novel virus. A virulent, easily transmissible SARS virus. To which we have little or no immunity.
Thus, those hit hardest are the unvaccinated. Therefore those requiring hospital resources to battle the infection are…yep…..the unvaccinated. And in numbers that FAR outweigh the medical systems normal pre-Covid coping with fat, smoking, boozing usual suspects.
By tying up medical resources, the unvaccinated will deny other people – who have bothered to get vaccinated and thus greatly lessen the probability of their needing medical help to overcome the virus – the chance to access medical care that may save a person with, for example, an early cancer diagnosis.
So yeah, you’d better fuckin’ believe it’s someone else’s business!!
Plain enough for ya?
do you even know what socialism is? because you just describes capitalism perfectly. congratulations.
standalonecomplex, what I have described is corruption, plain and simple. Whether it be capitalism, communism, neo liberalism, crony capitalism it’s all the same, concentrated power in the hands of the few.
Off white – get washed, don’t hang out with the great unwashed, your thoughts are grubby.
And Jase thanks for making the points that any reasoned thinking person should get themselves, you have put the mahi in and explained and I thank you for that.
Grubby, more like Whail Oilish.
It was never going to work. Hit 90% then “open up”. Come to Taranaki where we are at 65% and “limit the damage”. Not gonna happen. Maybe we in the regions should go into lockdown and allow Aucklanders their freedom to roam. Except the shops and cafes will be closed. Might as well stay home Auckland or else it’s CFC.
Covid for Christmas, for the rest of us. This is gonna turn to custard. Hurry up everyone not jabbed because Covid is coming to your town.
There is no doubt, that there is govt inspired dicking around with the interweb as of late to enhance their narrative and to shut down dissension. Dissension which is a normal part of the democratic system. And to those govt worms who are doing this to us ,…you are none other than the same sort of parasites that aided the mustachioed little shitter in Germany some 70 years ago who caused some 66 million deaths. And you can fuck the hell off.
Wild K, indeed.
I am picking 21 December when the Auckland border, both north and south, opens up for everyone.
Waikato and Bay of Plenty will have hit 90% by then. Te Rawhiti, which will still be less than 90% could easily be monitored for traffic.
Northland probably won’t reach 90% by 21 December. However, the vax rate will be higher in the southern part of the Northland DHB, maybe even 90%. If there had to be a sub region where there is more suspicion of the vax, then that sub-border could be set south of the Muriwhenua rohe, that is at Kaeo, and just south on the Maungamukas. That would be able to be monitored relatively easily.
If Auckland gets locked down over xmas the team of 5 million will turn into 5 million teams of one.
Five million angry frustrated teams of one looking for people to blame….
Leaving aside the immense undeliverable task of sighting both the Vax certificate and the test results by officials before you can leave the Auckland region, the real killer is the capacity to test and process the results.
Because the tests’ results are perishable – three days past the time of testing they are invalid. So the capacity for Aucklanders to leave is limited by the government’s capacity to do tests and distribute their results.
Even then – the test results are texted to people without any official verification. The texted test results are very easy to fake.
“Tricky situation, isn’t it?” and one the government has created for itself.
Looking at data from overseas, the rate for dying with (but not of) Covid 19, is in the range of 1.0 to 1.5% of the population. Most of which occurred in rest homes, hospices and dementia wards: People who were at deaths door already. You can verify this by looking at the Aussie data – predominantly the deaths were of those in their late 80s and 90s:
https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert/coronavirus-covid-19-case-numbers-and-statistics#cases-and-deaths-by-age-and-sex
In addition, most of these deaths occurred before the vaccine and the various therapeutics were available. So 90% vaccinated NZ should experience a fraction of this loss.
What I’m gently trying to edge toward saying is that the likely death rate isn’t worth riding roughshod over our basic human rights as enshrined in the Human Rights Act. There needs to be an end to all this restrictive crap. It evidently isn’t working anyway. Time to move on and open up!
Andrew, yes, although far less than 1% cfr, average age is roughly 81.
isnn’t the average age of death from the delta variant 35-64? but hey? who needs facts to make an argument?
It is here at the moment because we only have partial data. This is because most of the infected are an obese and possibly addicted subset of the population.
I would like to know the vaccination status of all the 4 deaths from this present outbreak. The first a lady in her 90’s in a home would have been targeted early on. The second a Samoan Church elder would have been recruited to promote the jab early on. The third in his 40’s (?) the last in home isolation apparently was fully vaxed. Were they all ?
D J S
Thankyou team
D J S
standalonecomplex, that’s not how averages work. But if we’re now shifting the goalposts, yet again, to just looking at delta, well isn’t that just 3 deaths?
Surprised your been this slow to see this Mr Trotter. All in sundry have been saying freedom day is Dec 1st. ACT party even have a partition on it. Leo Malloy is going to open his bar. Retailers are just going to open. Hair dressers opening their salons etc. This would be a terrible look for Jacinda of wide spread defiance and no one listening to her.
Come 29th Nov, or sooner- Jacinda will announce this. Its either this or electoral oblivion and wide spread social disobedience.
Freedom is not freedom when it depends on an arbitrary and ridiculously high and unachievable hoop for people to jump through, and which requires you to surrender a core human right in the name of a useful but only-part-of-solution and declining efficiacy medicine.
Let’s be clear where things stand. 2, possibly 3, deaths from Delta and declining hospitalisation rate. A Government drunk on control to even countenance the idea of state-sanctioned holiday times.
This is not remotely freedom, it is the autocratic bastard child of freedom – you’ll get a right to movement, jobs, protest, etc when I – the Great Leader – decide you’ve jumped high enough.
Now I know many readers will think this is justified. They will prefer hysterical modellers, fixate on Covid-19 deaths above any harm, completely downplay this all as just like wearing wearing seatbelt, and spout out tired ‘death cult’ clichés. Fine. This is debate and discussion. But stop calling what the Government is prepared to grant us lowly citizens as “freedom”. It’s not, it’s not remotely related to “freedom”. It is a day pass from the prison Governor.
Gordon
Best post by far to sum up the entire Covid management fiasco. Living in Auckland is shit to put it bluntly. Living under this govt is shit to be even bluntly.
Living in Auckland was shit before covid. Literally shit, the toilet bowl of NZ. Jmho
Yes Sinic you are absolutely correct.
Yes Gordon you are absolutely correct.
Death cult cliches pretty much sums it up.
Gah. All you are, is a bunch of political mouth breathers. Your words are empty if not complete gibberish. Akin to monkeys,…you have no appreciation of the finer things of life let alone high culture, and yet you parade around in your tribalism like South American Howler troupes swinging through the trees,… as long as this keeps up those who control the interweb as have been doing lately make much sport of you.
Can you not see what’s going on???
Or do I have to throw you another peanut?
I give up.
Have a peanut you fools.
And your words are not empty? I have never read so much crap.
so many lolz, from the empty hollow crapmeister…
Yeah they are probably empty, but crap is great fertilizer. So is rhetoric. My question is, why did you answer? Here’s a beaut song for you anyhows. Enjoy.
Lee Marvin I was born under a Wandering Star
https://youtu.be/NTymtAbaG08?t=8
Why people’s crap detectors an social media can conjure up a mob so easily.
“Ten days ago, a New York judge revealed the full prosecution filings in a multi-state antitrust lawsuit against Google – one of many against the company, and of many more against the ad tech giants.”
https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/01/google_opinion_column/
Facebook’s role in Brexit – and the threat to democracy
https://grahamcluley.com/facebooks-role-in-brexit-and-the-threat-to-democracy/
Also blame the rise of neoliberal and profit led education from primary to tertiary as a big factor in destroying people’s critical thinking, while catalysing any ‘identity’ and individualism issues to new levels of woke. Participation degrees and Masters are the New NZ, education landscape.
NZ lecturer says half of international students in their class failed for cheating, universities turning blind eye
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/nz-lecturer-says-half-international-students-in-their-class-failed-cheating-universities-turning-blind-eye
Student visa fraud: ‘It’s not about education’ https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11759352
Widespread fraud found among education agencies representing Indian students https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/81386128/widespread-fraud-found-among-education-agencies-representing-indian-students
Student visa scam: Company provided info for five years https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/363084/student-visa-scam-company-provided-info-for-five-years
Remember now many of these students will be in the NZ workforce and keeping the Ponzi going employing more people! Even better with wage subsidies!
Don’t forget this little gem: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/126885510/mother-son-appeal-3m-fines-over-suspicious-transfers-on-behalf-of-businessman
Tip of the fucking iceberg.
No questions asked, no jail time, small fines in relation to 53 million in offending.
Sky City also didn’t think anything of the 500 million gambled by Richard Lan per year.
Part of the new NZ landscape, playground for the super rich moneylaunderers to buy up assets here, held up by the neoliberals as wonderful for driving up the costs of consumer products and assets. Funny enough the neoliberals have a hissy fit and the sky is falling in, with the cost of labour going up though.
The rest of NZ treating Aucklanders like lepers isn’t really a “team of 5 million” any more.
Agree with the sentiment that non-Aucklanders can suck it up. And get their arses vaccinated.
Arm jabs not arse jabs 🙂
Bro, we have always treated jafas like lepers this nothing new
Lol weren’t you a cheerleader of government hard lockdown roblogic?
Not very team of 5 million of you to want to infect the rest of the country cos you’ve had your jabs in Auckland now.
It takes a bit longer to get the regions vaxed cos population/distance but fuck them eh.
If only we had been vaccinating earlier eh, imagine being someone who defended the painful slow progress of the government then.
It’s been a hell of a ride, “Do it for yourself”, “Do it for the hospital’s”, “Do it for granny”, “Do it for the vulnerable”, “Do it for Mickey Mouse”, and now, “Do it for Aucklanders”!
Chris
Don’t know where you get your info? But I don’t trust anything anymore coming out of this govt’s. So I don’t believe the ‘freedom’ thing will happen. Also, please Jacinda to stay in Wellington. We don’t need her here in Auckland.
Thanks team of 1.6 million, all you had to do was stay home……
Mark
do you live in Auckland?
I suspect Auckland will be let off the chain by years end and many will bolt to breath some different air. The four thousand (just guessing) that have contracted Covid in the last month may be happy just to convalesce at home. I believe the Government is hoping the anger will subside but the on going health issues related to people isolating at home and the mediocre economic outlook will mean many won’t be happy with this Government’s performance. Add to that the increasing levels of Covid in the region’s, although not life threatening for most, will present a new reality and not a very palatable one. The population is annoyed. Their freedoms are disappearing and they are observing their governments interfering controlling policies more and more in their lives. A pretty awful few weeks for this labour coalition.
and the corpses will pile up but maybe business people will please STFU at long last
…plenty of chances to get vaxxed the wilful (and some innocents) will pay the price, if we as a nation accept that, with no future whinge fest so be it but that isn’t the way it’ll go the intransigent freedumb brigade will start screaming like stuck pigs when they and theirs are starting to kark it….and blame it on some outside failing of govt, soros racism whatever rather than face their own responsability.
gargarin. Plus that little toad Tamaki should have faced public judicial proceedings well before this and told to just bugger off. God knows how many lives he has blighted.
A war crisis requires that democracy be put aside for a command economy and central planing. Freedom becomes limited as mobilisation for war, man-power direction, compulsory vaccination, manufacture re-direction, rationing, property requisitioning and confiscation, take over from a capitalist profit seeking economic system.
The pandemic crisis also needs similar policies as capitalism failed to prepare for this known risk. The climate chaos threat is an expected crisis that is more serious and capitalism is also unprepared for. The neo-liberal, classical and neo-classical theories of economics are a proven failure. If economics were a science then those theories would have been long cast aside. All those people hide their rudenest and vulgarity behind pseudonyms should realise this and accept the past is over and new rules are needed to survive climate chaos.
I think you are on to it Paul B . The big problem for us is that this sudden change from Capitalism has to happen worldwide, and quickly. That, I think, just ain’t going to happen. Life for humans is about to turn to shit because we are incapable of cooperation on a universal scale.
Put it into some context.
Respiratory deaths per year – 3,243 deaths (67 per 100,000 people) in 2017
Respiratory hospitalisations per year 87,500 admissions in 2019 (1,780 per 100,000)
So yes Auckland has covid. But how many other respiratory hospitalisations are happening around NZ. How many deaths. If you look at Australia who provides up to date provisional mortality data by type neither respiratory deaths nor overall mortality were above average even on the worst day of their July covid
outbreak. By far the biggest increase in deaths was Cancer which was well above average. If we are not given up to date data on hospitalisations, reasons for hospitalisation, and current mortality statistics then covid stats without context are meaningless. We don’t have mortality data since 2018!
There’s world wide mortality data. It has been steadily declining since early 70’s. From 12.3 per 1000 to 7.6 per 1000 in 2020. Then if you go to Worldometer for this year you can work out that it will be around 7.2 per thousand this year.
D J S
I really think the govt was anticipating an absolute shitshow unfolding in NSW and t
Vic as they opened, and that would assist them in convincing Kiwis, and even Aucklanders, that they needed to hold on longer to get the vax rates right up there. Fortunatley for the Aussies, but unfortunately for the govt, that has not transpired in time to act as a demonstration case. Petty sure the Aus infection rates will be on the moon by Dec as their second jab collective immunity wanes, but that might be too late to deter the Jafa hordes storming the gates north and south.
@Chris.Yes, I believe you’ve called it accurately CT.
test
Heh. I’m a bit torn tbh
On the one hand I fancy a holiday while on the other lockdown means that the government is giving me $4,200 (resurgence and wage subsidy) to stay home and earn $1,400 a week on top (60% of the non-covid affected income)
$5,600 a week where I was previously getting about $2,700
Lockdown is fine by me
We’ll domdave. The government gives you nothing. We do, and any children and grandchildren you have will spend their taxed income paying the debt off, and any money that’s printed just devalues what little money you have in your pocket. False economy there dd.
No kids in NZ and the money from the govt is going into investments overseas returning higher than NZ interest rates
Though I should clarify: the govt money goes into the business, freeing up the money earned that used to go into the business so I can invest that offshore
Domdave. It’s nothing to boast about, living off the backs of others. Shame.
Plenty have “lived off the back” of my taxes for 30+ years
I’m just getting a small portion of that back
30+ years of taxes have enabled many to “live off my back”
Nice to get some of it back
Enjoy DD. Classic example of a leach, albeit done potentially “legally”. You’ll be lining up shortly no doubt to collect a NZ pension you don’t need as well. Hey, you’re not the only one, but a classic example nonetheless
I will indeed thank you. And nothing “potential” about it, it’s all perfectly above board, them’s the NZ rules
I’m as much a leech (2 x E btw, I’m not the Mad Butcher) as any other beneficiary including those receiving WFF. Did you miss the part where I said I’d paid tax for 30+ years?
I’m also one of the 16% who is actually a net income tax contributor unlike the other 84% who take more than they give
So I will enjoy finally getting some of my taxes back by way of benefits thanks and will very much enjoy spending them when I’m overseas
https://www.treasury.govt.nz/information-and-services/financial-management-and-advice/revenue-expenditure/revenue-effects-tax-changes/who-pays-income-tax
sheesh and I thought I was doing OK getting $500 a week
2 x resurgence payments & 2 x wage subsidies – 2, over 20hr, sole-trader businesses = $8,400 a fortnight or $4,200 a week
Normal earnings for each business capped at $1,500 a week to stay below the GST threshold for each as I holiday for 3 months of year so usually $3,000 a week
Allowed to earn 60% of normal for the wage subsidy so $1,800 a week, although I’m not chasing every $
So a legitimate max c.$6,000 income every week during lockdown compared to normal times of c$3,000 a week
Don’t like it? Don’t blame me – I didn’t make those rules
Mind you, in a normal year I pay about $60,000 in income tax
So it’ll take a fair bit back to make a dent in that
C’mon Chris , and Martyn, That was a serious question that we all deserve an answer to. The govt and health dpt. are being mighty cagy about how the latest deaths are being dealt with . We are supposed to wait till post mortems are completed. Who will report them in 3 months time I wonder. Hopefully every one will be focusing on something else by then.
D J S
It is ok, all the nurses and staff at all the hospitals already have cancelled their leave for Christmas, as they know what is coming. And as one hospital admin told me today ‘ there is not one hospital in nz that is ready for what its coming and our nurses are scared’.
but yeah, go insist on your holidays Kiwis. Go to find a beach to bbq some meat, kick back some beersies and spread covid. Cause ‘we deserve’ it. Right?
The majority of Tamakimakaurauans don’t want the borders around the city to open up. And definitively the people in the regions don’t want the lepers from Auckland bringing the plague out to them, they only want their money. The Govt should just open up Auckland but not to the regions. Aucklanders need to harden up – I wouldn’t want them in the trenches with me. The Tory right wingers are getting excited as they are looking ahead 2 years to the next election. By the way Jacinda should not come to Auckland just so the Tory’s right-wing antivaxxers and freedom fools can scream out their conspiracy crap.
Governments prime role is to protect the people from invasion by foreign forces. So Jacinda keep the grim reaper and his invisible friends at bay. Ignore the Natzs, Act and the Tory commentators and media as their voices are irrelevant.
what if ardern is the grim reaper?
The government and hospitals mark the triumph of death cult capitalism over public health.
By, wait for it; stocking up on refrigerated containers to store all the bodies.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018819568/covid-19-hospitals-scope-refrigerated-containers-for-bodies
Makes me wonder how much death and destruction the government will tolerate to keep the death cult capitalists happy?
When will the government stand up to the business leaders who demanded last September that the economy be put before public health?
When the first young person to dies?
The first nurse?
The first Dr.?
Not even then?
An economy that demands that a certain amount of people need to sicken and die to keep on working normally, an economy that requires us to sacrifice the environment and overheat the planet as part of its normal operation, is in my opinion not worth any sacrifice.
An economy that puts the welfare of the people and the natural world first should be our demand.
The God of Mamon demands a society and economy that eats its children
https://www.bing.com/search?q=the+god+of+Mammon&PC=PI02&FORM=PISBRL
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