Winston Peters Talks Sense

Winston Peters is 100% right. End this unbelievably foolish lockdown right now.

Overnight the WHO expressed alarm at the historically unprecedented incidents of family violence, a euphemism for angry home imprisoned men beating up their wives and children. I can’t believe they were surprised. I predicted that two months ago.

The utilisation of a law none of us were aware existed, whereby our democracy can be transferred to a dictatorship by a single unelected bureaucrat, has had disastrous consequences for New Zealand, exactly as I predicted 6 weeks ago on this blog.

I also forecast 25% unemployment, a figure worse than the 1930s depression.

I’ve since watched with amazement diverse bank economists predicting 7% unemployment. They live in fairyland.

The Reserve Bank has now predicted 18% unemployment, a figure still too light.

Meanwhile all about us is economic devastation. Thousands of small businesses (our largest employer sector) have been wiped out. The continuing absurd lockdown is simply masking the degree of the damage.

The much vaunted leadership by Jacinda has been a disaster for in reality she totally abdicated in to an unelected official while promoting an absurd panic in the population.

We’re four months out from an election. Call me cynical but I can’t help suspecting the government is deliberately prolonging the lockdown to avoid exposure pre-election of the economic devastation their mismanagement has caused.

The Nats are equally culpable for in their time-honoured fashion they simply ran along with it, as they’ve always done with Labour government initiatives, both good and bad.

But the cold hard fact remains that our small population, isolation and young average age, were all factors that meant we didn’t face the problems of the likes of Italy and had no need for such extreme measures.

It’s fashionable in New Zealand to treat New Zealand First as a dubious proposition, and not without justification.

But one salient fact remains and that is they’re earthy realists, as evident by Winston now going public on his Party’s opposition to the ridiculous and unnecessary hibernation inflicted on the nation.

The teddy bear in the windows, Easter bunnies, infantile “Be Kind” messages and similar mush, no longer washes with thinking people.

It will take five years of misery and hardship to restore our nation’s health. Prolonging the current lockdown is either political cynicism or sheer stupidity.

The new National leadership should seize the opportunity to attack this continuing hibernation. That would be historically revolutionary for the Nats to be so bold but they’ve got the facts on their side.

Meanwhile, all credit to Winston for going public about his Party’s opposition in cabinet even if it breaks political convention. They deserve public support in the election for doing so.

Meantime, I’d remind the government of the recent victory day reminiscences on the 75th anniversary in London.

The royal family with Churchill on the balcony and massed crowds praising the PM as the saviour. Not long afterwards they voted him out.

Future commentaries will expose the government as the most inept and destructive in our history for the disastrous way they’ve handled the virus threat.

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