Sir Bob Jones: Weep for New Zealand

Well done to Murray Bolton for challenging the Government’s ludicrous refusal to allow incoming vaccinated Kiwis to isolate at home, and congratulations to Justice Geoffrey Venning for directing MBIE to reconsider this. In fact as public servants MBIE are simply following the government’s orders.

Sir Russell Coutts is 100% correct in slamming the government as a dictatorship. They’ll be out of office in 18 months but in the interim are doing massive and costly damage to society and the economy.

Like so many I know I’m out of here next year and periodic visits aside, will return when grown-ups are back in charge.

Daily show-boating on television has paid off for the PM to date but she’s highly polls sensitive and will volte face once, as it will, the polling pendulum swings the other way.

The gross mismanagement of Covid will mark this government as the most incompetent in our post-war history. Sadly, authoritarian governments are now the norm world-wide as the evidence is clear that a sizeable timorous section of populations like being told what to do. That’s certainly true of New Zealand.

Conversely there’s also a sizeable section who prefer to stand on their own feet and not be bossed about. They’re the doers and shakers critical to a society’s success and right now they’re seething with rage.

Regardless of his motives I was pleased when Winston opted for Labour two elections back. I don’t like four term governments as they always become arrogant and in National’s case, complacent. As well, for all its shortcomings our two principal Party system has worked. A fourth loss would have seen the Labour Party’s demise.

Unfortunately their MPs were largely the dregs of a fading movement and as we have seen, totally out of their depth in handling an unprecedented crisis.

Labour governments have shaped New Zealand as they’re ideas people and malcontents, always seeking change. But at best, never allow them more than two terms as they fall into a “Thousand Year Reich” mentality, convinced they’re infallible and intervening and dictating every element of peoples’ lives. The sole exception was the Clark government which lasted three terms by acting like a National government and respecting people’s individuality. Additionally, Helen never succumbed to the divisive maori wonderfulness nonsense, illustrated by her standing up to the seabed silliness. She was a good P.M.

Had she been in office when the Covid crisis arose, she’d have been pragmatic. If people don’t want to be vaccinated she’d have respected that but when they began to drop, they would not have hospital priority and could take their chances. The late no nonsense Michael Cullen would have readily told them that, and acted on it.

Unlike the Ardern government Clark had the benefit of a number of competent cabinet colleagues.

Frankly, I fear for New Zealand as the disastrous economic and social legacy of this government will take a decade to repair.

Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton.