There were two Jacinda’s
The first was ultra conservative and saw change in incremental stages that were heralded as ‘great first steps’ but amounted to jogging on the spot, and then there was the Jacinda with the enormous emotional intelligence who could channel NZs infamous emotionally stunted headspace to embrace the huge moments that defined crisis in NZ.
From volcanoes, to terror attacks to a once in a century pandemic, she cut a glowing light of hope against the darkness of those moments.
Her masterclass in leadership that Jacinda performed defying the feral QAnon antivax lunatics and death cult capitalists by protecting us from 32 000 Covid deaths deserves special attention.
Was the personal sacrifice steep to all of us?
Yes.
Was the economic cost steep?
Yes.
Do the recent revelations by Pfizer that the vaccine didn’t stop transmission suddenly prove all the anti-vaxxers right?
Not at all…
Social media users are circulating video clips of testimony by a Pfizer executive, who is said to “admit” that the company and its partner BioNTech did not test whether their mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine reduced virus transmission prior to rolling it out – which is something the companies were not required to do for initial regulatory approval, nor did they claim to have done.
To get emergency approval, companies needed to show that the vaccines were safe and prevented vaccinated people from getting ill. They did not have to show that the vaccine would also prevent people from spreading the virus to others. Once the vaccines were on the market, independent researchers in multiple countries studied people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and did show that vaccination reduced transmission of variants circulating at the time.
As these results on transmission were emerging in early 2021, national health authorities in many countries implemented or proposed vaccine-passport-style regulations that prompted ongoing debate (here) over the ethical and legal basis of the rules.
The misleading posts imply that national restrictions such as vaccine passports were based on a promise of vaccines blocking virus spread that neither the companies nor EU regulators made before the vaccines were marketed.
…Jacinda’s courage to go hard and go early caused deep societal anger and dislocation, but so would have 32 000 dead!
We all sacrificed, some more than others, but we all paid a pound of flesh to get through this horror and while the response wasn’t perfect, the truth is we were running blind through a once in a century pandemic and Jacinda saw us through that better than most.
The immediacy of banning the favourite machine guns of psychopaths in the wake of the white supremacists terror attack in Christchurch was another example of her ability to provide true leadership.
Those crisis moments made her and saved us, but her incremental reform of the neoliberal Wellington Bureaucracy, her ‘Neo-Kindness’ is what robbed her of her strongest strengths leading a Government with an unprecedented MMP majority.
Jacinda’s aspiration didn’t meet the reality and in her interview with Jack Tame last year had the audacity to call any criticism of her aspiration unfair by arguing it was better that she had high aspirations rather than not having any at all.
That’s her argument, sure we aren’t doing anything meaningful or transformative, but it’s important she had high hopes.
That’s neokindness.
At the end of 2017, 108 people said they lived in cars and John Key’s Government was torched for that.
Last year there were 480 people living in their vehicles.
A Million dollars a day is spent on motels for vulnerable people causing enormous social carnage with no real wrap around support services present and 27 000 are on emergency waiting lists – we can’t solve those problems apparently but the Government can spend a billion dollars on consultants each year?
$1bn spend on consultants each year
“Labour’s spending on contractors and consultants has climbed to nearly $1bn a year, despite Labour coming to power suggesting that they would rein in this use of the private sector. Much of this is spent on the “Big Four” contractor firms – Deloitte, PwC, KPMG and Ernst and Young.”
What the hell happened to left wing transformative change? (BTW – Since becoming the Associate Minister for Housing, Marama Davidson issued just eight press releases and introduced no new laws, if Labour were missing in action, where the hell were the Greens?)
You can not spend a billion dollars a year on the professional managerial class in consulting while 150 499 children live in extreme poverty, while we hand out 100 000 food packages each month while our suicide rates soar.
You can’t spend a billion dollars a year on consultants while so many are in material hardship.
Jacinda’s neokindness wasn’t enough, if you aren’t forcing the Wellington Bureaucratic Elite into radical reform, they play you and stymie your agenda.
Jacinda’s neo-kindness is a cautionary political failure of obscene proportions.
To paraphrase Tennessee Ernie Ford,
You work 16 hours, what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt St. Jacinda, don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go I owe my soul to the the company store
We will mourn Jacinda’s resignation because it was driven by feral abuse from the lunatic fringes but we also mourn the loss of true transformative change that we were promised in 2017 alongside the sinking realisation that the neoliberal Wellington Elite Bureaucrats will always win no matter how talented the Prime Minister we elect.
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Best Moment for Jacinda representing NZ –
Jacinda Ardern wears Māori cloak to Buckingham Palace
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/20/jacinda-ardern-maori-cloak-buckingham-palace-new-zealand
There were some good moments, maybe some great moments in Jacindas reign but also now too many misses in policy. Probably not Jacinda’s fault, but taking NZ backwards nether the less in many areas that scare people and are personal.
Many ordinary people seem to really dislike her, but I think poorly thought out Labour and Green policy is one of the biggest issues to why middle NZ seemingly has turned against her as well as social media campaigns anti vaxx messages.
Personally thought Labour did the best with Covid – probably their finest moment, homeless off the streets and into accomodation, wage relief (didn’t agree with the methods but at least they tried to help) and virtually zero deaths.
– no aid to small and micro businesses after that useless wage support that literally was just a keep people of the unemployment chart. Businesses have been vilified as bludgers and abusers ever since. The ‘grant’ is a loan and it is coming due now for many small / micro businesses that took it to pay for either the bills of their businesses that were closed on governments orders, or to pay the bills for their life because they had no other income for the period their businesses were closed on government orders. I am not talking large/corp businesses but small / micro businesses/ sole traders those that don’t have an income if they don’t work and those that also don’t get easily benefits if they are out of money. Guess how many dislike the Labour Government for that? The total abandon of the small fry of the working class with no benefits in many cases due to the ‘relationship’ clause, to debt – raked up to pay commercial leases for dead businesses because the Labour Government could not find / create a law that would have helped businesses get out of such leases if their business was now defunct due to Government rules/regulations/mandates/stay home orders.
-the kids that are riddled with anxiety, that had their world turn upon with lockdowns, school closures, playing grounds taped off limits, the constant fearmonger of ‘we gonna all die’ ‘the sky is falling on our heads’, the anger/anxiety/fear that the saw experienced by their parents and families, the lack of financial stability because the bills were larger then the wage relieve/benefits, the having to go for a food parcel, the being locked up at home with sick people wondering if they was gonna die, the kids that weren’t allowed to see their mates, that became best friends with obscure chat groups on the internet, yeah…..the kids and you know why some people really don’t like Labour and their former Leader of the Party and government. No one gave a shite about the kids, we still don’t, and we never will. We just wait for them to turn 18, then tell them that they are adults, and here is you go to prison card.
You want to know why the 11+year old kids are somewhat odd, ask yourself how they spend the last three years.
– the potholes, the unmowed council estates, the water leaks, the crumbling hospitals, the lack of police, the unfathomable arrogance of council workers who should all be getting another round of ‘customer service’ training, and you know why a whole lot of more people are getting sick of the government that oversaw the general degradation of public assets over the last years. Never mind the crime. The ram raids, the murders, the wanton violence, the tolerated anti social behavior of a few towards their communities because they are Government sponsored tenants in public housing, never mind the waiting lists for surgery, the cancelled appointments after a 6 month wait, the pulling of ones teeth with pliers…………and a few more people are unhappy with Labour and whomever is leader now and for the next round.
Healthcare – fucked beyond believe. Billions for Companies that hopefully will hire these Labour Party MPs when they retire, and the nurses can go wait in line for a food parcel.
Mental healthcare – well, thanks to the worlds deities that there is Gumboot Friday and Mike King
so yeah, if you were unhappy with health under national by now you should be fuming, and many are.
Education – the kids will know all the gender flags and but its not guaranteed that they can read, write or count. And we charge you for your indoctrination in university an interest rate that you will pay for the rest of your life. Thanks for your contribution, said both Labour and National. What is not to dislike about that?
The first lockdown was an adequate response to a threat. Everything else after that first lockdown served to push through an agenda that most people had no idea of, that no one ever campaigned on, that are not popular with people, that don’t enhance the life of the community in general, and the new Leader of the Labour Party and the Government will continue in kind. His appointment of Carmel Sepuloni is loud and telling. The figure head changed, a face swap in the public eye, but the rest is the same.
Reactionary the right wing mouthpiece.
Since when is it right-wing to state verifiable facts about the state of our education system?
Match results – Gus red card for sneering : RB the Cup filled with cool cider (yum, or own choice) for a passionate detailed call in favour of a better NZ.
Tend to agree
With Bratty that is
Except of course the vaccine stopping the spread, unvaxxed are a risk etc etc are key messages that drove the mandates.
The mandates were a bad idea and we are now seeing the consequences of there creation.
Hear hear
The mandates were a great idea .They sorted out those at are function ing members of a united society from those that are selfish. To get these people weeded out of education in particular is a great move and they should never be allowed in front of children again.
“80% of people kowtow to authority without thought. Scientifically proven – “Obedience to Authority”.
Those who refused the mandates of junk products thy did not need were right, and you can’t handle that.
what kindness? a bog standard ‘comes up with the rations’ identikit neo-lib…lets not get dewey eyed about it.
It’s when they put a on the jack boots that’s on your throat.
Jacinda was brilliant for her moment.
She was unique and gave it her best.
Times change and new energy is needed now.
Chippy will do well too with his brand of energy and insights.
Interesting times ahead this year me finks
Working,eh trade,Parliament,politicians,how old you,beleive, the fear they carry,outside Muldoon,is a look care,of our party say,egits coment,wake up,your ignorance,beleive,yoour idiocy,been among,nothing you never.
Well said Bratty. When did the truth become right wing? Oh that’s right, the truth is subjective now. Keep up the good work.
I don’t look in much any more, or comment, after a writer personally attacked a commenter some time back. But I’m happy to encourage and give credit occasionally.
Reactionary Bratwurst reflects what many think. On balance it is hard to argue that NZ did not go backwards under Jacinda’s watch. Sure she had some crises to deal with particularly Covid which went ok initially and then didn’t. I’m looking forward to no more Jacinda and not too far away no more Labour and then a better future for all. Nact can’t be worse than the current lot. Chippy may well be better than Ardern though?
Well “Lorde” loves her: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-has-spent-time-with-lorde-at-a-private-dinner-in-auckland/2IVXXPE2E7CZ7XOABVCTGQZWXQ/
finally got that off my chest.
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