Labour / NZ First Government

[jonu]

We need to look at the stats.
Although both Ardern and Health Minister Chris Hipkins have assured New Zealanders there are enough Covid-19 tests in the country to satisfy the demand, there is a limited supply. Yesterday a record-breaking 15,703 tests were processed, bringing the total number processed since the in the last 48 hours to almost 26,000.
Only 20 days supply if we continue to test at 15,000 per day.
Only 524,414 tests done in New Zealand from 22 January in the last seven months.

So why prior to the latest community outbreak were they not testing all the staff at the border? There was no pressure on the testing regime when there was no community transmission. It is inexplicably incompetent. A monumental cockup.

[macduffy]

I agree that blame is wasted energy because it focuses on the past, and stays stuck there. Taking response-ability means learning from past mistakes, responding to the problem, and looking at strategies and solutions so it doesn’t happen again. It means being answerable and accountable.
When you say “now, they must also accept blame,” it means finding fault because to blame is not just to hold responsible but to find fault with.

Yes, that's what I meant.

[jonu]

Getting no response on the other thread so I figured I would repeat it here.


Quote Originally Posted by jonu View Post
He's a person speaking his mind. A rare thing in the PC woke world in which Labour and the Greens exist.

moka, be so kind as to explain the exit strategy from NZ's level one and associated closed borders. I'd really love to know so that I can explain to my grandchildren why it is they are still paying of the debt in thirty years time. I don't recall Labour telling us when they committed to spending 150+ billion dollars.

From what I can tell it must be based on the gamble of a vaccine becoming available to the public within the next 12 months (backdated to April). How's that working out?

At what point do we abandon the closed borders and write of 150+ billion to experience?

No answer to this moka? Any Labourite care to enlighten me as to what the exit strategy is?

[dobby41]

Getting no response on the other thread so I figured I would repeat it here.


Quote Originally Posted by jonu View Post
He's a person speaking his mind. A rare thing in the PC woke world in which Labour and the Greens exist.

moka, be so kind as to explain the exit strategy from NZ's level one and associated closed borders. I'd really love to know so that I can explain to my grandchildren why it is they are still paying of the debt in thirty years time. I don't recall Labour telling us when they committed to spending 150+ billion dollars.

From what I can tell it must be based on the gamble of a vaccine becoming available to the public within the next 12 months (backdated to April). How's that working out?

At what point do we abandon the closed borders and write of 150+ billion to experience?

No answer to this moka? Any Labourite care to enlighten me as to what the exit strategy is?

Crusher isn't going to let it in either so maybe they will have the same exit strategy?

I do wonder how long we can keep the current settings though.
It seems 'experts' think elimination is still the best strategy, depends on which experts you choose like for all other advice.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/hea...nz-experts-say

[Balance]

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/hea...l-stays-silent

Perfect summation of how dismally this government has failed to deliver post the previous lockdown:

"The Government had one job, to isolate the outbreak, but had failed."

“The Government set itself one job: test, trace and isolate the virus in three days. But it has failed, at a cost to all of us,” Seymour said.

“If the strategy was always for restrictions to last one incubation cycle of 14 days, the Government should have said so.”

Seymour earlier said the Government needed to have a plan to live with the virus, even if that meant tolerating small outbreaks. New Zealand should try and mimic Taiwan, which had managed to have low rates of death and infection without imposing severe lockdowns."

[moka]

Crusher isn't going to let it in either so maybe they will have the same exit strategy?

I do wonder how long we can keep the current settings though.
It seems 'experts' think elimination is still the best strategy, depends on which experts you choose like for all other advice.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/hea...nz-experts-say

As a non-expert, I think elimination is the best strategy and if the current outbreak can be contained we can go back to elimination. And go back to life pretty much as normal except for lots of handwashing and kindness, and border controls.
So far all the cases have been linked to one cluster so it may be possible. As Michael Baker says the alternatives to elimination were undesirable for both health and economic reasons. And yes there are a range of experts with a variety of opinions, just pick one to confirm your bias.

[moka]

We expect to move in and out of elimination for the foreseeable future, says epidemiologist Amanda Kvalsvig.
We know that elimination is possible because New Zealand eliminated community transmission before. The goal is to maintain zero community spread but this country will always be under threat from infections being introduced through the borders. No border-control system can be 100% fail-safe. But because we’re starting from a baseline of elimination, it should be feasible to extinguish each new outbreak using all the control measures we have at our disposal, including case and contact management, physical distancing and mass masking.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02402-5

[Balance]

We expect to move in and out of elimination for the foreseeable future, says epidemiologist Amanda Kvalsvig.
We know that elimination is possible because New Zealand eliminated community transmission before. The goal is to maintain zero community spread but this country will always be under threat from infections being introduced through the borders. No border-control system can be 100% fail-safe. But because we’re starting from a baseline of elimination, it should be feasible to extinguish each new outbreak using all the control measures we have at our disposal, including case and contact management, physical distancing and mass masking.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02402-5

In other words, economic strangulation by a thousand cuts.

Strategy of a cancerous cell.

[Zaphod]

In other words, economic strangulation by a thousand cuts.

Strategy of a cancerous cell.

The other worrisome aspect is the development of lockdown fatigue. Each and every additional lockdown will cause more people to psychologically revolt against it, potentially placing us into a more risky situation.

[moka]

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/pol...t-you-wish-for
Postponing the election? Careful what you wish for.
Should the Government postpone the election? No-one is going to take any notice of Judith Collins calling for a delay but that doesn’t mean it’s the wrong thing to do.
The more this election looks like a foregone conclusion, the less people will feel like voting. Democracy relies on participation and people believing their vote counts. More difficult voting processes could also act as a discouragement to voting.
Maybe Collins should be careful what she wishes for in delaying the election because the current climate could present it with a God-sent opportunity.
What was Gerry Brownlee playing at this week by insinuating the second outbreak and move to level 3 were part of some grand Government scheme? This is not gutter politics, it is nutter politics. As the former earthquake minister, he, of all people, should know how to ride this out with dignity.
Delaying the dissolution of Parliament and using the powers of the Chief Electoral Officer provide the mechanisms to postpone the election to a date suitable for the current circumstances. Let’s do it to ensure a healthy election