Ardern’s iron fist and velvet words

compare them favourably with other unfortunate countries, struggling to contain their selfcentred citizens. It must be true,

said so. Ardern has decisively shaped the discourse and it is being echoed across the country, from newspaper editorials to celebrity social media posts and neighbourhood Facebook groups.

She is firmly in control of those conferences: even when faced with the blip of Health Minister David Clark’s blundering disregard for lockdown rules.

But hey, whatever works. A little low-level propaganda is more favourable than police and military enforcement. It’s definitely preferable to Covid-19 rampaging through the community.

And we can count our blessings. In the US, White House reporters have begun skipping President Donald Trump’s briefings because his boasting, attacks on the press and rivals, and misinformative rants don’t have enough news value to merit breaking socialdistancing measures.

However, reassuring as these daily news conferences are, they don’t substitute for truth and accountability.

A lot of questions are going unanswered. Most pertinently there seems to be a huge gulf between these Beehive briefings and experiences of frontline health care workers over personal protective equipment, contact tracing and levels of testing.

It’s still not clear why initial border controls were so haphazard and slow to be implemented.

These briefings give the appearance of effective and extensive communication and transparency in a time of crisis.

For the media and by extension the public, it’s useful access to some of the decision makers and offers an up-to-date assessment of the numbers on the ground.

But it’s unsatisfactory because, at present, it’s really our only chance to ask questions. They can’t be detailed, they can’t contain specific answers, and they are rarely allowed to be followed up.

They concentrate all newsgathering from official sources into one narrow time-slot, and into the hands of a few figure heads. (And a narrow slice of media representation: the parliamentary press gallery).

As the government grapples with getting a grip on Covid-19, we can expect this imperfect flow of information to continue, for at least the period of level four.

So long as we stay alert and wary of how the message is being imparted and manipulated to influence our behaviour.

P Ludford, Wellington

We have seen the effect of Covid19 in the US where their president makes jokes about Greta Thunberg. Perhaps we can be grateful that politicians in this country, who also belittle Greta’s efforts, are on the Opposition benches rather than in Government. I’m glad that Collins wasn’t prime minister three weeks ago.

John Reilly, Christchurch

There will be plenty of time to

We’re all in this together (except for David Clark, Minister of Health).

Stay home, stay local (unless you’re Clark, behaving as though an unprecedented health crisis isn’t happening).

Be strong, unless you’re the prime minister, whose response when initially questioned about Clark’s behaviour was customarily jocund, a superficial answer disguised as a quip, relentless flashing of the signature smile, and blabber that switched to the subject of Neve’s potty training, segueing into yet another message for the nation: ‘‘We all need to go easy on ourselves.’’

We’ve got this. But have they? Jane Livingstone, Auckland

I am disappointed in central government, local government and the police for supporting vigilante roadblocks in the regions. The fact that activists

Fiona Mackenzie, Auckland

Grant missed

Recent letters offered contrasting opinions when assessing Damien Grant. He has been described as inherently evil; on the other hand those who are more rational believe his views are well considered and worthy of debate. I was sorry to hear that financial constraints mean his column will no longer be appearing.

Regrettably, the number of columnists who hold to conservative viewpoints is becoming fewer and fewer. Instead there was an op-ed from Green MP Chloe Swarbrick, that champion of a toxic substance. But now I am starting to sound like those who I criticise so harshly. We can all learn from what others have to say at the best of times, even when we disagree, and these are not the best of times.

Bruce Anderson, Christchurch

At the very time that local magazines are trashed and valued opinion pieces disappear, you consign Grant’s column to