I get why many Kiwis don’t want to live in a “New Normal.” But what I can’t understand is why they want to return to the pre-Covid “normal.” To want this papier-mâché world to return is simply bonkers. We can do much, much better. Believe me.

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Nathan Smith is a former business journalist and columnist at the NBR. He also worked as the chief editor at the New Zealand Initiative policy think tank. He is now a freelance writer and copy editor.