Have crisis, must travel

Crisis: a time of intense difficulty or danger. Looking at media headlines over the past two weeks we have had, or are having, several crises. Hospital staff are reported as on the ‘‘brink of exhaustion’’, and a shortage of specialists means hospitals ‘‘cannot provide safe, quality care’’. Health Minister Andrew Little said the system as a whole was coping well. A Waikato District Health Board staffer said it was ‘‘beyond a crisis’’.

Thank goodness DHBs have been abolished. More jobs in a Wellington bureaucracy will doubtless improve the position of staff at the frontline.

Last week a human rights crisis was declared based on data from the Human Rights Measurement Initiative. Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt said the simple test was whether any children or whā nau were depending on charity for life’s essentials. If so, the Government was breaching its human rights obligations.

The Government failed that test.

In other areas, the ‘‘relief teacher shortage is critical’’, and firefighters are stretched and overworked. Jails are ‘‘critically unsafe as staff quit in droves’’ and schools are ‘‘at breaking point’’ through illness and staffing issues.

In April, 100,000 Kiwis left New Zealand, ‘‘part of a broader brain drain’’, said economist Brad Olsen. Our best and brightest are heading overseas, some at least disillusioned with prospects in New Zealand and able through their education and skills to command bigger salaries and access greater prospects elsewhere.

Unsurprising, as inflation is at 6.7%, its highest level in 30 years and higher than most trading partners. Blame our loose monetary policy; rising interest rates will damage GDP growth and will lower house prices.

Consumer confidence is at its lowest level since the Westpac McDermott Miller survey began in 1988. That means there’ll be less spending, which threatens jobs in retail, hospitality and services generally. In competitiveness we are falling behind the rest of the world. We now rank 31st out of the 63 most important countries, according to the Swiss Institute for Management Development. Australia is 19th. Our economic performance has plunged over the past five years, from 33rd to 47th place. In the same survey, government efficiency also deteriorated markedly, from 7th to 17th place.

For an embattled head of government, conducting diplomacy in person on the world stage has its seductive charms which few national leaders can resist, and our PM is not one of them.

It’s particularly tempting when things aren’t going that well at home (and they aren’t right now). Jetting off on some self-styled important mission to see a series of world leaders is good for a leader’s self-esteem.

I accompanied prime ministers Rob Muldoon, David Lange and Geoffrey Palmer on five ventures to the US, UK, India, Ireland and Germany. In my experience, accompanying media will never write up a PM’s trip as a waste of time even if nothing very tangible happens.

Jacinda Ardern went to the US, got to see Joe Biden, appeared on network television, delivered a charming but harmless speech at Harvard and has now put attending Nato in Madrid ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and the limited charms of Rwanda.

Perhaps she believes that she will convince EU leaders to resist their farmers and give us a better free trade agreement than experienced negotiators have accomplished so far, but frankly I doubt it (unless the deal is already set up, of course).

The need for change in the world today is as great as it was in 1945.