The opposition parties are screaming for the blood of Ashley Bloomfield, the words I have to say about this are not very polite. They are the sorts of words my boys use when a fight in one of their online games is going very badly – yes, that impolite.
There is a time and place for politics, attacking a public servant who can’t defend himself, a man who has worked his butt off doing the right things for the people of this country, that is beyond the pale.
Yes politics is a dirty game, and we can get immersed in our bubble where we judge the merits of actions based upon whose they are. Even so I do not believe that if National and ACT were in power that Labour or the Greens would be attacking the good Doctor in the way the former are.
When did we become so ungrateful? Maybe we always were?
For example - the government announced returning Kiwis from Australia would no longer need to isolate from today, and from the rest of the world from Friday. And what do people do - bloody complain about non-kiwis still having to go into MIQ! Even though the government has already signaled that that too will soon be coming to an end. Anyone have a hankie for Jesus?
Clearly the lab testing system reached a breaking point, realistically it must be very difficult to scale up to handle the number of Covid tests needing to be processed, particularly the concentration in Auckland, all on top of their existing testing load.
Is it any surprise given the massive work load required? These lab workers are people who must have been working incredibly hard with long hours, incidentally not on the highest of pay rates, and people want to put the boot in? We should be thanking them for what they have done for two years not acting as if they have failed us.
National says Dr Ashley Bloomfield's apology over testing delays is just the latest example of him misleading the public, and ACT's David Seymour wants the Director-General removed.
The opposition parties need to read the room, and if this is what the room is saying - then shame on us.
Are these the same opposition parties who reacted with outrage when David Clark “threw Ashley Bloomfield under the bus”? Lets compare what was said.
Back in June of 2020 Clark and Bloomfield were on the podium for the daily briefing. Ashley stood up like a real leader and took responsibility for human error far down the food chain and the unsuited Health Minister of the time essentially threw his hands up and said nothing to do with me - it was all Ashley’s fault.
It was reprehensible behavior then as it is now, from ACT in particular who have taken things to a completely different level as per these quotes from David Seymour yesterday:
"Dr Bloomfield has misled the New Zealand public too many times, made too many bad decisions, and we need to start afresh as we recover from Covid."
"I think based on the quality of the management of the pandemic he needs to go.. ..The things that [Bloomfield] was responsible for have actually been disastrous."
Whereas what did Clark actually say - "The Director-General has accepted that the protocol wasn't being followed. He has accepted responsibility for that." Not quite the same really is it and Clark was gone from the role the following month.
Dr Bloomfield has been the face of the government response, someone the majority trusted, and I hope still do. Yes at times perhaps he could have advocated for changes either a bit faster or a bit slower – he has, if anything, been guilty of being cautious and considered. Without question his approach has served our nation well.
Meanwhile Bishop and Seymour are like school bullies noticing one of their classmates, a kind hearted hard working fellow, has been tripped up and react by throwing stones at him and taunting him.
For those of us with health concerns, or of a certain age, getting Covid can be no joke. If it had been during the first wave of Covid when there were no vaccines, or during Delta a more dangerous variant, the chances of serious illness, or worse, would have been a lot stronger. I am grateful that through the efforts of Dr Bloomfield, and this government, many who otherwise would have didn’t face those scenarios.
Here in New Zealand during Delta and Omicron 1 in 15 people who have not been vaccinated have ended up hospitalized, 1 in 128 for two doses, and just 1 in 213 for those with a booster. The verdict is in on this one people.
The lowest mortality rate in the OECD, literally thousands of lives were saved. That might not matter much to the opposition but I think it is something Aotearoa should be immensely proud of.
Our medical experts identified a sound health based approach and our government listened and followed it. Doesn’t sound like rocket science, surely that is how things are supposed to work, and yet look around the world…
Is that the kiwi way now – when you’ve got someone who has done everything he can for the people of this country do you kick him when he is down? Perhaps we should again be using the classic refrain “we don’t know how lucky we are”, not trying to score cheap points like Billy Bunter and his sniveling mate.
I avoid political news on purpose. What you describe is beneath contempt. Glad I've never voted blue
Thank you Nick - love your work!