Cotterill on freedom

Bruce Cotterill writes:

As I’ve reflected on those things, there is one that stands out. It’s something we’ve always had in this country. Something our forefathers fought for. It’s something we’ve now lost.

In Auckland we are struggling without it.

It’s called freedom. I’m missing our freedom.

Sure, I can do my work from home. It’s not ideal. Not as productive as I’d prefer. Some things take longer. Recruitment is riskier when you can’t meet the candidates.

Negotiations take longer when you can’t sit around a table and work through the issues. Building cultures and business planning is almost impossible on a Zoom call. But we’re getting by.

But freedom. That’s a different story. Freedom to do what we want. A morning coffee with a colleague. A beer with some mates. A swim at the local pool. A barbecue with friends. A visit to my mum. Perhaps a weekend away. Or even the ability to jump on a plane and have a holiday.

A break from the madness, if you like.

Sadly, I have come to the conclusion that this is a government that has become increasingly comfortable taking our freedoms away. You see, the more you do something, the more comfortable you become doing it. After a while, it becomes automatic. Even if what you are doing is wrong, it becomes acceptable in your own mind.

I think this is right. The extraordinary threat of the pandemic did require an extraordinary response, but the Government has now come to see these measures as normal day to day tools to be used. How else could they come up with an idea to allocate Aucklanders a designated time they can take their vacation?

By Wednesday it was worse. Laughable, even. When discussing the prospect of Christmas holidays, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins suggested one of the options being considered was vaccinated holidaymakers could be allocated a time slot advising them when they can travel out of Auckland for their Christmas holiday.

Excuse me? This is not even laughable. It is disgraceful. North Korea, here we come.

I think these complacent politicians living in their Wellington bubbles need to hear a few facts. So I’m hoping they’re reading this.

You see, while those making the decisions that affect our lives are collecting their pay cheques every month, there are many New Zealanders who are not. Their businesses are on hold indefinitely. Their busiest time of the year is about to pass them by. And even if they can go back to work one day, their debt and stress levels are unthinkable. It’s no wonder these people are at breaking point.

Small business owners can spend years or decades building up their business to a position where it has sufficient cash reserves, and then they have to see 20 years of hard work wiped out in a few months.

And I have no doubt that one of the greatest tragedies in all of this mess lies in the group of New Zealanders who want to come home, but can’t. We’re not hearing enough of their stories.

Apparently, we have to make room in our MIQ system for criminals who are deported from other countries, and the entourages accompanying our government ministers on their overseas jaunts.

But the average, law-abiding Kiwi who just wants to come home? We put them into a poorly organised raffle every week. There are 30,000 such people. Kiwis. Our people.

I really can’t comprehend why the Government doesn’t allow fully vaccinated NZers who have tested negative to return home immediately and self-isolate. Even if say 2 returnees a day had Covid, that pales compared to the 150+ cases a day Auckland has.

Curbing freedoms is becoming more and more a feature of this government. It started with the daily updates. “Tune in at 1 o’clock and hear from the single source of the truth,” they said. Lockdowns. Confiscating water assets. Centralising healthcare. Centralising education.

It’s not hard to see that the arrogance that comes with such behaviour leads to a stifled democracy. While the locked-down people are tired and frustrated, our politicians place unelected representatives onto councils and boards, take control of newly centralised education and healthcare and rewrite school history curriculums. All such roads leading to further curbs on the freedoms of the people. …

A city of people who are tired and oppressed. A city of people whose freedoms have been eroded and livelihoods destroyed. People who are beyond frustrated and in many cases are now angry.

People who want their family members to come home and their kids to go to school.

People who have played their part, stayed home, and become vaccinated. People who are now being told, by an increasingly authoritarian government, whether and when they can have a Christmas holiday.

Many years ago I observed that an incompetent manager will often limit the opportunity for their team or their organisation by slowing things down to a pace that he or she can cope with. In other words, to control the pace to a level that suits their agenda. We are all learning now that an incompetent government can do the same.

When one party asserts control, another loses freedom.

An astute analysis.