It is becoming increasingly apparent that we have in this country a Government that lacks the transparency our “Dear Leader” Jacinda Ardern likes to bang on about. For whatever reasons, and I can think of a few, we, her supposed faithful and loving subjects, are not being given the full picture. We are not being told, other than in broad generalities, why decisions are being made. These are decisions that affect the very fabric of our daily lives. There are some good examples that have recently come to light.
The first and most alarming is from Tailrisk economics, a Wellington economics consultancy. They specialise in the economics of low probability, high impact events including financial crises and natural disasters. Ian Harrison, a principal of the firm, critiqued the only publicly available information on the Ministry of Health’s modelling of the impact of Coronavirus on New Zealand. These are a set of reports all produced by the University of Otago COVID-19 Research Group. The key ‘headline’ result in the report was that if the lockdown shock therapy failed, the consequences would be serious. Between 8,560 and 14,400 could die over the next year.
Mr Harrison says he does not know what drove the Government’s hardline lockdown approach with all but essential workplaces being closed, but these results may have had an effect on the decision. He further comments that going forward it may influence decisions on extending the duration and intensity of subsequent actions. Furthermore, and this of great concern, he makes the point that the Prime Minister said what prompted her to go quickly to the level four intervention was a report showing some extreme outcomes. The report came from an investment firm with limited background or expertise in the field. Mr Harrison says the content of that report has not been disclosed, and it should be.
Damn right it should along with the name of the firm.
The next example comes courtesy of the Act Party and the only person who could honestly call himself an effective Opposition MP, David Seymour. David says New Zealanders deserve to see the legal basis on which their civil liberties are being severely restricted. At the Epidemic Response Committee the Attorney General, David Parker, refused to allow the public to see the Crown Law legal advice on the lockdown. He told the committee he would not release the Crown Law advice, even refusing to allow MPs to see it in private. As the Act party points out the rule of law states that rules must be clear and publicly accessible.
Who does this little dictator think he is? This is the same obnoxious person who tried similar standover tactics with farmers regarding water. People like Parker need to be called to account.
Next up is one idea the Government could examine among a number of others that are being considered for contact tracing. It is branded the CovidCard which you carry around so the Government, under the guise of a health issue, can see where you’ve been and who you’ve met. This is a private initiative and a presentation was made to Kris Faafoi and Andrew Little. The name Little should send a chill up your spine. I don’t want this or any other similar idea thank you very much. In my book, it is PERMANENT SURVEILLANCE. I have no desire to see this country become the next China or North Korea. I note the UK is looking at a NHS app. How many in the most affected group, seniors, will know how to use it I wonder?
We now find out from health insiders that its contact-tracing ability needs improvement and its surveillance system is outdated, with one calling it a dinosaur. If the answer to updating is becoming a compulsory associate card carrying member of the Labour Party, they can hang on to their dinosaur. What a wonderful excuse for keeping us in some high level of confinement for as long as possible. This information is contained in yet another report that hasn’t been released.
To save our “Dear Leader” Jacinda Ardern the bother of googling the meaning of the word “transparency” here it is according to the Cambridge English Dictionary: “the quality of being done in a way without secrets.” A very apt example is given: “We want more transparency in Government”. Never a truer word was spoken. Rather than treating the populace with disdain, Jacinda might like to be more transparent about which reports she’s getting from whom and which ones she’s acted on and why. That’s the very least that should be expected from a Government with nothing to hide about how it’s going about its business. Anything else means questions need to be asked.
I have just spied a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious article on Jacinda Ardern written by Kishnan Naran, a political science graduate from the University of Otago. That probably tells you all you need to know. He comments on a number of ways she has handled the health crisis, one of them being transparency. I don’t profess to have reached the lofty heights of a political scientist but I hope he reads my article.
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