Jacinda Ardern once said it was possible to never lie in politics, which are now quite possibly words she wished she had never uttered.
This past week has seen a veritable potpourri of lies issue from her lying mouth.
We were told that the military was being called in to fix the border stuff ups, only to learn that they had actually been in charge for four weeks prior.
Then we were told that we had the most strict border control regime in the world, except we didn’t. If we did why would we need first the military and then veteran salad dodger Megan Woods to fix it?
Not to mention the often used but now less repeated lie that we went hard and early when it was as obvious as the Prime Minister’s gnashers that we were the opposite, soft and late.
Now, we find out that the beatified one has been lying her pants off again, this time about the testing regime in place at the border.
The Prime Minister is making COVID-19 testing mandatory at managed isolation facilities, extending a ban on cruise ships and launching a new testing programme in an effort to strengthen New Zealand’s border and curb the spread of coronavirus.
In her post-Cabinet press conference on Monday afternoon, Jacinda Ardern announced that our current health order would be made stricter when the Government renews it at midnight tonight.
Her announcement means it’s now compulsory for individuals at managed isolation and quarantine facilities to submit to testing during their 14-day stay, and they must test negative for COVID-19 before being allowed to leave.
“We’ve taken the opportunity, while renewing that health order, to make it crystal-clear that individuals must submit to testing and medical exams, including the potential of multiple tests,” Ardern said.
“It also spells out that for a person to meet the low-risk indicator by day 14, in order to leave isolation or quarantine, they are expressly required to submit to a test – and that test must be negative.”
So her claims as early as yesterday morning about the testing regime were simply slogans. Contrary to her nagging assertions, the Health Order issued previously did not require testing and people could actually refuse them.
Now we have a Health Order which is a breach of the Bill of Rights in that it forces people to undergo a medical procedure against their will.
It seems that this government plays fast and loose with the law, and even with a veritable army of civil servants can’t even get its health orders right.
Time and time again Ardern’s mouth has run away on her. Her government’s actions almost never match her claims.
This is just another one.
The technical term is “cluster-fuck”, but we are more polite these days and so must call it an omnishambles.
The Prime Minister took all the accolades for the actions previously so now she’s gotta get her big girl pants on and take it on the chin. The health system that apparently slayed the virus is the same health system mismanaging the border testing regime.
It stands to reason that maybe, just maybe, the reports during the lockdown about a plethora of issues were probably correct and therefore we managed the lockdown, not through skill but through blind luck.
Now as the second wave approaches the luck has run out.
Sadly, there are still scores of dunces out there who still think the Princess has wondrous robes and can walk on water.
I’m waiting for some media wag to ask the Prime Minister precisely what sort of dance she did when she found out that we weren’t actually free of the Chinese plague.
From all her back pedalling yesterday it appears she may have been doing the moonwalk.
