Labour / NZ First Government

[Balance]

Are you suggesting we shouldn't have done anything then?

I read his comments as suggesting that the lockdown need not be the ‘strictest’ in the world.

If supermarkets & dairies can be opened, why couldn’t hardware stores like Mitre 10, general merchandise stores like Warehouse and Briscoe and appliances stores like Harvey Norman be opened?

[fungus pudding]

Do you accept that the future Health Budget is being compromised by paying people to do nothing for 5 weeks?

Are you aware that supermarkets, which have face to face transactions across all sectors of the community, have not been hotbeds of infection?

Don't all supermarkets have a screen to protect check out operator and customer?

[Balance]

Don't all supermarkets have a screen to protect check out operator and customer?

Easily installed - as they are now going to do with the fast food places.

[jonu]

Are you suggesting we shouldn't have done anything then?

No. I'm saying the risk can be managed in a much less expensive way.

[dobby41]

I read his comments as suggesting that the lockdown need not be the ‘strictest’ in the world.

If supermarkets & dairies can be opened, why couldn’t hardware stores like Mitre 10, general merchandise stores like Warehouse and Briscoe and appliances stores like Harvey Norman be opened?

And back around to that argument.

[dobby41]

No. I'm saying the risk can be managed in a much less expensive way.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
All expenses aren't in yet - from any country.

[jonu]

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
All expenses aren't in yet - from any country.

And they never will be. There are plenty of ummeasurables on all sides of this problem. How many thousand lives will be lost because we can't improve the health system in years to come due to being swamped in debt?

[dobby41]

And they never will be. There are plenty of ummeasurables on all sides of this problem. How many thousand lives will be lost because we can't improve the health system in years to come due to being swamped in debt?

We could compare our effort with Ireland or Sweden?
Or compare with Aus after this is over because only then will you know the relative costs. Aus's response hasn't been free for the Govt or business you know.

[Balance]

We could compare our effort with Ireland or Sweden?
Or compare with Aus after this is over because only then will you know the relative costs. Aus's response hasn't been free for the Govt or business you know.

What a loser attitude some NZers have.

Compare with those who have done well and see how we rank - like Australia, HK or Taiwan - or even China.

The ABs do not compare themselves to Zimbabwe, Canada or Georgia - or maybe they do which is why we lost the RWC.

[iceman]

All we have are our individual opinions. Mine is “yes, we do need to have the strictest lockdown regime” to achieve it. Without the lockdown restrictions we have had/still have, the figures may very well have been significantly different.

That is only looking at the infection figures. I question whether they are the only figures we should be looking at, while the "house burns" and will take future generations decades to rebuild at great cost. It is easy to shut down an island at the bottom of the South Pacific and achieve low infection numbers. The hard work is yet to be done.

Last numbers I saw from Sweden (admittedly a few days old), which has basically done nothing except asking people to take care, had 80% of deaths were people over 70 and 70% of deaths were vulnerable people over 80 years old. Nobody had died under 30 years old. I am not advocating we should have done nothing like Sweden but this sole focus on infection numbers in NZ is wrong and politically driven with an eye on the upcoming election, not what is best for NZ in the long run.

Labour´s election manifesto is to get the infection numbers down and wheel out the likes of Helen Clark (Tui please) to be interviewed by the likes of The Atlantic like she was a couple of days ago singing Ardern´s praises, lapped up without scrutiny by the NZ media !