View more punitive approach to antilockdown protesters not needed
WELLINGTON: Calls for more punitive action against antilockdown protesters are being dismissed as unnecessary by organisers and some scientists alike.
One of the organisers of the lockdown protest in Auckland on Saturday, Advance New Zealand coleader JamiLee Ross, said he had no concerns about thousands of people flouting the Covid19 restrictions.
Protesters failed to observe social distancing and very few were wearing masks, sparking fears they could have spread the virus further.
Mr Ross said protesters were reminded of the rules.
‘‘At the start of the rally protesters were told what the requirements were, that New Zealand police had passed on told us,’’ he said.
‘‘There was a respectful relationship with the police, and they were just doing their job.’’
He said, ultimately, the protest was about questioning whether the country was on the right track, and whether the community should learn to live with the virus.
However, protesters also took the opportunity to voice opposition to 5G and vaccines, or claim the virus was a hoax — just days after a Government warning misinformation could impede progress to Alert Level 1.
That struck science denial expert Fiona Crichton as the ‘‘most interesting’’ aspect of the protest, because it showed how after people clicked on one conspiracy theory online they became targets for others through social media algorithms.
‘‘We know that the more you use the internet, stumbling on one conspiracy theory, you’re going to be exposed to a lot more,’’ Dr Crichton said.
‘‘If you are the kind of person that is perhaps a little disenfranchised right now, doesn’t trust the Government, you’re starting to believe that narrative.’’
She said misinformation would be very distressing to people who did not understand its complete lack of scientific basis, but it also showed why the police should not take a punitive approach.
Dr Crichton said Saturday’s ‘‘flagrant flouting’’ of Alert Level 2.5 rules was a slap in the face for people who had followed them — but she supported the ‘‘educative approach’’ police were taking.
‘‘If their thinking is . . . that they’re being lied to by authorities, authorities coming and stepping in and starting to be very forceful in the way that they disperse people and perhaps go and fine them, all it does it entrench those beliefs and disenfranchises these people more,’’ she said.
Mr Ross said his party would no longer take part in weekly antilockdown rallies. — RNZ
IT has always been a matter of trust.
So much of our Covid19 response has hinged on how much New Zealanders can be trusted to do the right thing.
The lockdown worked because most of us did as we were asked and stayed homed. Some — well, thousands — did not, but luck and good fortune somehow prevented the virus’ spread.
Contact tracing worked because many — but by no means all — of those who fell ill either recorded their visits or were honest about where they had been.
Social distancing and mask wearing have worked, so far, because enough of us are doing as we have been asked and enough of us have not met the recentlyill, who have not.
We have been trusted to play our part in slowing and containing the virus. Enough of us — perhaps, by now, barely enough of us — did not betray this trust.
Cabinet might today make a decision that, in many ways, will be guided by what it knows about our collective conscience as much as what it knows about the science.
It will review social distancing restrictions on commercial flights as it considers changes to the national alert levels and with it, the fortunes of the regions.
Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult wants the Government to drop restrictions that, in some cases, cut the number of travellers on commercial flights by half.
Air New Zealand previously confirmed it can sell only 50% of the seats on a turboprop aircraft, and 65% on the A320s that fly from cities such as Auckland.
Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch remain Queenstown’s most important domestic markets. Their potential is severely limited by the number of seats on offer.
The South saw how heavilybooked aircraft will help stoke the onagain, offagain postlockdown recovery during the last school holidays.
Without social distancing restrictions, thousands of people arrived to provide a sudden boost for an economy grievously harmed by the loss of international tourists.
Hotels, eateries and skifields were filled to such an extent many reported turnover that was not as horrifyingly different from last year as expected.
Few expect the forthcoming school holidays to be as busy but there is very little chance sharp deals and sharp advertising will reap rewards if social distancing rules remain.
Air New Zealand last week said the rules will cut by 50,000 the number of seats available on its flights, nationally, during the school holidays.
That is a lot of lost potential for Queenstown, Dunedin, Invercargill and every other holiday spot in between.
Mr Boult has many supporters when he says his touristbeloved district needs more than halfempty flights to emerge from an ‘‘economically desperate situation’’.
Masks are already mandatory on flights. Masks are sufficient in spaces in which social distancing is impossible. It follows that requiring both on flights is excessive.
University of Otago epidemiologist Prof Michael Baker in May said masks were an important response that could mean ‘‘you don't have to have any empty seats on buses and planes’’.
The mask/social distancing combination was nonetheless imposed in August, when postlockdown complacency was knocked by the resurgent virus in Auckland.
It would be fair to say not much has changed since then. The virus remains in the Auckland community and has yet to spread to the South Island.
Halfempty flights and face masks will almost certainly have helped prevent the virus’ spread, just as restrictions in Auckland — despite the recklessness of those unwilling to accept their part in our social compact — helped contain it.
The Government says it does not want to see Covid19 in Queenstown as a result of it spreading on an inbound flight, but that it is mindful of how the restrictions are affecting tourism and the southern economy.
It will take another look at the settings today, a fortnight from the first Monday of the school holidays, and it will weigh up the latest official advice against health and economic priorities.
The Government has consistently said the best economic response is a strong health response. It must now consider whether relying upon New Zealanders keeping their masks on, washing their hands and being honest about their health is enough to maintain that response, and improve the health of the tourist economy.