It was never my intention, when I wrote my last blog in December last year. that there was going to be such a gap. In all fairness, I didn’t even think my last blog was going to be my last blog of 2021. It’s just the way it happened. You can’t plan these things. Or at least I don’t think you can. And if it was my plan to have a long break then I think I executed it rather well.
So what’s been happening? Even from this remote corner of the planet I can tell that 2022 isn’t panning out the way we would have liked. Well most of us anyway. Maybe there are some sociopaths that wanted exactly this….oh yeah.
When I last wrote, Dear Reader, New Zealand had just lifted most of the Covid restrictions, with just mask wearing in certain places and vaccine passports being required to get into bars and restaurants. Of course the borders were still closed to most, to the annoyance of some, but the majority of the country could live with that.
There was a very minor section of the New Zealand population that objected - something like a thousand people or so - and naturally the media amplified their concerns and claimed that the Covid restrictions were dividing the country. I suppose technically they were but it was more like 0.1% / 99.9%.
Spurred on by QAnon and fake-religion leaders, there were a few demonstrations in our local park but all they seemed to do was make a bit of noise, drop litter, march down the high street and then leave. I’ve got to say, though, that if I was at a protest and happened to glance across and see neo-nazis supporting the same cause, I’d have to question my life choices.
Obviously the government wasn’t going to drop any of the restrictions - they were there to protect the heath of the population after all - so a mass protest was organised.
Well, I say organised but I would question the organisation skills of the group. Two convoys, one form the North Island and the other from the South Island, set off towards the capital Wellington where the mass protest was to be held. Unfortunately for the protesters, nobody seemed to have agreed the route and the North Island convoy took a wrong turn and got lost, whilst the South Island convoy overlooked the fact that they needed to be vaccinated and wear a face covering to use the ferry. You would’ve thought that they would have known this as this was exactly the sort of thing that they were protesting about. They were turned away and set off in search of alternative means to cross the Cook Straight.
Eventually they did turn up in Wellington, or at least some of them did, and occupied the grounds of the parliament building, affectionately known as The Beehive. They camped out there for several weeks and turned the once green and peaceful place into a ….. well let’s just say that with limited toilet facilities that wasn’t just mud that was on the ground! Apparently the stench was something out of the middle ages. They demanded to speak to the Prime Minister, but as they had placards calling for her hanging there’s no surprise a parley didn’t happen.
As the weeks dragged on, and with Wellingtonians wary of going anywhere near the place for fear of being harassed, the Police finally had enough so they set in motion an operation to clean up the place. It did turn a bit nasty with some protesters ripping up paving stones and throwing them at the Police, and others setting fire to trees and a kids playground. Nice people.
Eventually the protest was cleared and a huge clean up followed. To look at the parliament grounds now you wouldn’t know they’re ever been there.
With Omicron is full flow, there was little point in keeping most of the restrictions in place so these were relaxed. Vaccine passports or no longer compulsory and mask wearing is limited to shops and public transport. The protesters are still protesting but in smaller numbers and with somewhat less conviction than they were previously. Naturally they have found something else to complain about - water reform - but I suspect the majority don’t really understand what it is that they don’t like about it. That’s a topic for a whole new blog.
With international travel back on the menu, New Zealand is once again open for business. The government’s popularity rating has taken a hit and now the opposition is trying to frame the whole Covid response as being ‘over the top’ and ‘it wouldn’t have been that bad anyway’.
Hhmm. A recent study suggested that the quick and decisive by the government to the pandemic saved around 80,000 lives and by taking prompt action, the economy is actually in a better place than most others. No doubt it’s been tough for a lot of people, but I’m sure it would’ve been a lot worse had it not been taken so seriously in the first place.
That’s not to say that the pandemic is over. It isn’t. Covid is circulating widely in the community and I’ve gone from not knowing anyone who’s had it, to most people having had it - myself included. But with 95% of the population vaccinated, thankfully the effects are reduced. Nevertheless Covid is going to be with us for a while yet.
So there you have it. With six months of history condensed into a single blog you’re up to date. I promise to try and not take so long to the next one. At least with the borders now being open I might have something more interesting to write about!
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