Own goal after a hat-trick

Anybody watching Thursday’s press conference when the director-general of health, Ashley Bloomfield, faced some scathing questions about recent quarantine botch-ups would have seen a man displaying empathy, humility and intelligence.

It was the same day as commentators called for his head. The calls no doubt came from a sense of exasperation. The country had been through a period of unprecedented sacrifice, justified by the prospect of eliminating or at least neutralising Covid-19. The sacrifice worked, but the gains were put at avoidable risk by the week’s failings.

Bloomfield, as the face of the bureaucracy’s response, got much of the credit for the country’s success, even though he had a huge team behind him and possibly the most favourable conditions in the developed world for tackling the pandemic. But he was the one who fronted up every day and became the trusted figure so crucial to a public buy-in.

The health bureaucrat turned into a household name and even got his visage on T-shirts. He was the subject of praise and adulation. His contribution seemed crucial and invaluable, even if there were signs all had not gone well. In March, passengers arriving in New Zealand by air were surprised about the lack of attention or testing. Issues over the availability of personal protective equipment were raised. But these were understandable given the novelty of the problem and the scale of its difficulties.

The blunders revealed this week are more worrying. The compassionate exemption given to two women from the UK who drove to Wellington without being tested appears to have resulted from inexplicable confusion on the front line about whether testing was compulsory before anyone could leave isolation. This confusion appears to have been clarified only on Tuesday. This failure to ensure public health staff understood what was expected by Wellington leadership is unforgivable.

There is an element of the tall falling further about the latest drama. Bloomfield was put on a pedestal so, when the border blunders arose, it was a long way down. Some want more than just the apology he offered after he dusted himself off. Some scream for accountability.

Bloomfield cannot be everywhere. He must trust his managers to do the job, and ensure they have the resources to do so. He must listen and react. No doubt many calls are made on his time and attention, but those difficulties can be managed. One question is whether his trust in his team was justified, and whether a degree of complacency set in as New Zealand seemed to get on top of Covid-19.

No doubt other mistakes and failings will emerge over coming weeks. Maybe they will show Bloomfield was too kind, too nice to be the towering example of eagle-eyed managerial excellence that we wanted to believe was in charge. However, a couple of mistakes do not shift him from hero to zero.

He did not ask for the way he was portrayed or promoted, often by the same people by whom he is now vilified. The failings exposed this week do not negate the excellent work Bloomfield and his team have done. He is like a football player who creates three marvellous goals against the opposition but then scores an own goal.

Even with his reputation tarnished, he deserves to stay in the job and the public should avoid a distracting hunt for a scapegoat. We don’t need a public bloodbath. Bloomfield should get the benefit of the doubt. On this occasion anyway.

Bloomfield must trust his managers to do the job ...