O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant
O come ye, O come ye to Wellington
O come and behold her
Born the Queen of Kiwis

O come let us adore her…

Such is Audrey’s admiration for Ardern that the Christmas carol is pretty much appropriate. Audrey says few could have predicted the level of compliance from New Zealanders that helped break the level of transmission. Perhaps the grief that the country had experienced following the mosque massacre meant there was already a strong sense of collectivism that readily became a nationalistic effort.

Bah humbug Audrey!

The level of compliance was brought about by she who must be obeyed launching a campaign of fear based on some idiotic modelling from Otago University that 80,000 of us were going to die. What should have happened is for the elderly to be looked after and the rest left to get on with their working lives. Had that happened we would not be in the economic mess we now find ourselves in.

The BFD. Cartoon credit SonovaMin

Audrey is of the opinion that because of the way Ardern and Robertson navigated us through the economic and health crisis they are the only choice for Politicians of the Year.

Spare me Audrey.

We were heading for an economic crisis before Covid struck and the health system was and still is in crisis mode. My wife has just had a knee replacement and there is no physio available through the local DHB.

According to Audrey, Ardern did more than just comfort and reassure the country every day at 1 pm. You’re right there Audrey. She turned her daily appearance into a party political broadcast. It might have comforted and reassured some but it damn well annoyed the hell out of me and no doubt many others.

Audrey says she was on top of every COVID-19 issue and so was Robertson. They had a zillion issues to deal with, they sought advice, THEY ACTED QUICKLY, and then they explained it well.

The BFD, Cartoon credit SonovaMin

Bah Humbug again!

Audrey dear, what rock have you been living under since March. What you just said is a load of poppycock. We all know the opposite was the case. They were far too slow off the mark in all areas. Borders weren’t closed soon enough, testing wasn’t started soon enough, those involved in testing were saying it was chaos, the communication was appalling, police didn’t know where the Auckland City boundaries were, vaccine and PPE gear weren’t supplied promptly enough, there were people escaping from isolation and on and on it goes. A shambles from start to finish.

There’s praise from Audrey for Megan Woods who cemented her reputation as troubleshooting minister when she took over the managed isolation and quarantine facilities. It’s her tongue that needs cementing Audrey. When she talks it’s like a river about to burst its banks. In Question Time her voluble answers appear to be intended to give the impression that, in Shakespeare’s words, the question was much ado about nothing. Like her ministerial colleagues, the reality is she has failed in all her portfolio areas.

Chris Hipkins also gets an honourable mention. Audrey says this is the year he made his mark as a super minister, taking on health as well as education, to lift the performance of the health sector. Really? Where’s the physio for my wife then?

As for education, as Alwyn Poole points out on a regular basis and statistics continue to show, we are a nation of falling numbers of student achievers. Alwyn has the answers but Hipkins is run by the teachers’ unions. A change of government is needed, Audrey. Hipkins, as per my points above, also made a complete hash of running COVID-19. He did no better than the mountain biker he took over from.

The BFD. Cartoon credit BoomSlang

Now, dear readers, how much more of this Bah Humbug can you take?

One more instalment to come.

Please share this BFD article so others can discover The BFD.