‘The impulse to quickly find blame can seem so foolhardy in hindsight’

They say a week is a long time in politics. It’s even longer if you’re also in a lockdown with two charming but energetic children, and then it’s punctuated by a tsunami at the end.

My Sunday began as it often does, with an early morning appearance on TVNZ’s Q&A. This time we were discussing a return to level 3, following the ongoing community transmission within my ward.

The recriminations against my constituents inflamed social media as well as emboldened hardliners to call for more punitive measures against any rule-breaking. The impulse to quickly find blame – something I’m also guilty of at times – when so few facts are known can seem so foolhardy in hindsight.

Lockdown fatigue has been a sentiment we’ve all shared this past week and I can say with confidence that it’s been felt acutely here in south Auckland.

Regarding this situation with Case L – who was told what and when and by whom doesn’t really matter now.

The lesson from all of this is that the Ministry of Health has to get better, not only to stop the next outbreak, but to ensure the engagement with communities like South Auckland is even more effective to tackle the other health issues our people face. The bureaucracy must trust local organisations who have the reach into our communities and whanau to ensure the messages and social support is getting into our homes.

I feel like a broken record on this subject but, for too long, government institutions have spoken down to our communities, whether you’re on the West Coast, in Tauranga, or where I currently reside in Otahuhu.

Of late, it’s been highlighted most strongly in South Auckland, as our region is home to our biggest airport, the majority of our MIQ hotels, along with having the largest incidence of social deprivation.

All these factors make what happens here relevant to every New Zealander because it will impact the rest of the country at some point, either through taxes or through local crises spilling beyond our borders.

And as if to underline our interconnectedness to each other and the Pacific, the multiple earthquakes on Friday reinforced how our small island nation is very much at the mercy of the elements.

Craving a sense of normality, many of us may have breathed a deep sigh of relief watching the Wellington-based Covid-19 update on Friday afternoon. Perhaps the temptation to bemoan a section of the team of 5 million is now dissipating as our freedoms looked to be restored.

The director-general’s outline of the delegated powers of medical health officials under the Health Act 1956 was a stern reminder that freedoms for some needed to be expressed by acts of compliance.

That’s why this message of kindness is so important.

At times, it seems that the government has found itself slipping and diverging from this approach, but it’s our generosity and grace for each other in the hardest of times that can keep us strong through any future challenges. And it not only serves us well but can also be a beacon of hope and inspiration for others around the world, as it undoubtedly has over the last 12 months.

So while this year may have started with a similar level of drama as 2020, one lesson we can take from the previous year is that we are at our best when we’re united and care for one another.

As we proceed into 2021, let us keep striving to live up to our own ideals and aspirations because if we don’t, we would have only succeeded at fighting off Covid-19, at the expense of destroying our national wairua.