Greta who? Or Judith who?

I read Judith Collins’ column (Focus, April 5) for the sake of balance – I’m a filthy leftie, guilty as charged. That column has stayed with me, uneased me. I read how we’ll all be asking ourselves how we could have so unquestioningly given the Government a free pass to lock us down and ruin the economy. Simple answer, we wanted to be saved from the killer virus. Note the world’s populist leaders who ignored Covid-19 and whose citizens are now paying the ultimate price.

I will rush off to support the deemed non-essential businesses that are and will no doubt be suffering. My partner and I are such a business and it will be hard, we know.

But now I sit at home, quietly happy. Happy to have time with my family, lucky enough to have a home and garden where I can potter, him out in his shed tinkering happily.

I for one hope that this is a reset for a lot of people and we won’t do things the way we always have.

Don’t get me wrong – I love money as much as the next person but this situation we find ourselves in may make people realise they can work and live in a different way, at the moment there is no pressure to shop, shop, shop.

Maybe people will not say ‘‘Greta who’’ in couple of months, but ‘‘Judith who’’? look back and assess our collective mistakes. Our bureaucracy will be seen to have been weeks or even months behind in each critical decision.

I am more interested in the failures to come. Where is the plan to get back to work? Why is there even consideration that an extension of the economic vandalism of lockdown can continue?

The economy is not a machine that can be dialled up and down at will.

The only thing that should be discussed is how to work. Where do I get the thermal tests for my business to open? Do we wear masks? If so, where do we get them from?

Deliberately instituted economic vandalism we are considering will be too costly. Better to focus all endeavour on the medically vulnerable, on equipment and protective gear and still have an economy left to live from later.

Paul Chrystall, Auckland are conducting illegal operations with no legitimate training or authority, all the time ignoring government advice to go home and stay home, seems to be just fine with our elected representatives and law and enforcement agencies.

Meanwhile we law-abiding citizens are told we risk prosecution if we try to save our businesses and employees’ jobs by continuing to operate (albeit sensibly, safely and hygienically) or even go for a swim, paddleboard or fish off a perfectly safe beach. All this for a virus that has affects only 0.025 per cent of our total population.

Where is the common sense? Where is the justice? Where is the quality leadership? It certainly isn’t here in New Zealand.