On this site in March, 2020 when the coronavirus panic began, I predicted that when it’s all done and dusted, Sweden’s “live with it” approach will have proven the correct path to adopt. It’s not yet totally “done and dusted” globally but the developed world will reach that stage sometime this year.
Meanwhile, increasingly liberal societies have woken to the realities and are adopting the Swedish model, mindful that with widespread vaccinations, restraints are now irrational.
Of course, vaccinations regardless, there are still freakishly rare fatality exceptions, but closing down society at a massive social and economic cost, the consequences of which will be a huge economic upheaval ahead, to prevent “freakish” contingencies, is simply insanity.
Britain has now woken to that as increasingly are other nations. The latest to adopt a “live-with-it” approach is Denmark, a nation with an economy and society significantly more advanced than ours. There are no longer any covid rules there, be it mask wearing or whatever. Normal life has 100% resumed.
And as the Economist reported recently, despite some hiccups along the way, Sweden is now at or near the top on all social and economic European nations measurable success criteria.
The government-led hysteria to a lapdog New Zealand population in 2020-21, was at times mind-boggling in its idiocy.
As I pointed out back in 2020, it’s not callous to be rational. To close everything down to prevent deaths requires perspective. After all, if that’s all-important, ban motorcars and swimming.
Mind you, back in 2020 that’s precisely what did happen in the initial massively insane government response. Kiwis could only leave their homes for necessary purchasing purposes, swimming was illegal on the utterly insane grounds that if someone got into trouble they could tie up police resources. So instead we banned swimming and employed hundreds of police patrolling beaches and rivers to arrest any offenders. Madness of course, but those were but two of many examples of the government’s spell-binding incompetence.
The only happy people were the Labour politicians who history shows (the Lange and Clark governments excepted) love bossing people about.
The same goes for Australia. Just as Jacinda hogged television seemingly all day, every day, so too in Australia. The Victorian Labour Premier, one of the most boring people ever to draw breath, emulated Ardern with lengthy daily television monologues while establishing the longest lockdown anywhere in the world. Subsequent events showed it made not an iota of difference once it was finally of necessity lifted.
I make two further predictions. First, the Ardern government will be utterly decimated in a landslide defeat next year and second, that in the course of time given some perspective, it will be recorded as the most incompetent by a country mile in our post-war history.
Later this week I’ll explain both of those predictions.
22 Comments
Yes, yes and can’t wait.
I hope your prediction is correct!
Exactly Sir Bob. I like to think that the people of this country will wake up and oust this Labour Government but people are saying to me that so many (the brainwashed and frightened) will still be thinking “she saved us”, and more pathetic reasons to keep her. I sincerely hope you are correct in your prediction and I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Never before has so much social and financial damage been done by so few, and we will all have to pay the price for the utter foolishness of their actions.
I left Auckland, New Zealand for Europe in August because of the government’s insane Covid19 policies. I spent most of the time in my holiday apartment in Odessa, Ukraine but also visited 6 other countries. I have had a great time, got a booster in Houston, Texas and haven’t caught Covid19. I entered most countries on just my vaccination certificate. No MIQ or self isolation. Also not much evidence of overrun health systems. Your article is absolutely correct!
Spot on, the Ardern edifice is starting to crumble, not even a wedding will save it, it remains to be seen what the economic and social damage to New Zealand and all New Zealanders will be – it won’t be pretty. Unfortunately the illogical MIQ rules continue, the latest example being someone not allowed to visit their dying father!
This Labour Government has removed more money from our Economy in 4.5 years than any other Government.
Tax increased by 17 Billion Dollars. The new Workers Insurance Scheme will take 3.7 Billion out of our Economy in the first year.
We are slowly being Bankrupted by a Corrupt Labour Government.
Well said sir bob
Bob Jones right on target again.
Never a truer word been said. Labour have shot themselves in the foot ..they are DEAD MEAT !
I am not sure why we need time to make the call on the governments competency.
Possibly Muldoon government was worse but this crowd are simply useless and dangerous.
There is still a real risk that they get back iin but need the Greens. That would be even more damaging.
It’s certainly the most incompetent and deluded NZ Government in my lifetime. I would be interested if any historian could point to a worse one since 1840. I attribute that to the fact that it is now unnecessary for any experience outside of academia and politics to become via MMP a party-appointed member of the Government. We are governed by wordsmiths, not doers.
Not only the most incompetent but also the most divisive
We need to be very careful as to what we replace them with. I’m a hard labour supporter but no way I’ll ever vote for this lot again or the rest of what is on offer. We need a new start we need a new way of living we need something to leave our kids
Can you ask Jacinda if we can we come out from under the bed yet?
I accept your views. Will a new Govt be any different? Have all politicians been bought by Schwab, as he himself boasts?
Can NZ recover from this traumatic disaster?
thank you this should be printed and posterised, glued to every , bus stop phone box, Mac D’s, etc
New Zealand has on average been under less restrictions than virtually any other Western country over the last two years with relatively short periods of tighter lockdowns.
Now with vaccines available and a slightly milder variant of the virus the game has changed and New Zealand needs to change policies to those that fit the new situation.
Can you list the countries in question and the restrictions you have compiled?
Google covid stringency index our world in data. NZ was strict on the border control but outside of that we spent relatively little time under other restrictions.
Oh you have hit the nail on the head Sir Robert – brilliant essay; I cannot wait for a General Election!
I was brought up in a Labour voting household, but I do not vote for Labour now, here is why:
1. You cannot rule by fear
2. I have a deep concern when a country is run by a personality, especially one elevated to God like status
3. I look at the Labour MP’s and see a long list of Union officials, teachers, lawyers and in general people with agendas, but see much fewer people with practical experience, especially in business and in understanding how economics actually works.
4. I do not like any hidden agenda’s – issues concerning ethnicity, gender are two of many such issues that are being progressed without actual robust national debate.
5. The media are, with few exceptions, government captives, frankly this comes about because most reporters are simple minded, slogan believing sycophants, easily manipulated by the relentless government media machine. A good example of this is found in lack of debate about the government reaction to Covid and a slavish belief that epidemiologist predictions are based on science, rather than art!
All these things and more give me cause for alarm, and a growing concern that a tsunami of really alarming outcomes are already impacting, or about to – think racial division, rampant inflation and more.
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[…] I make two further predictions. First, the Ardern government will be utterly decimated in a landslide defeat next year and second, that in the course of time given some perspective, it will be recorded as the most incompetent by a country mile in our post-war history. – Bob Jones […]
[…] I make two further predictions. First, the Ardern government will be utterly decimated in a landslide defeat next year and second, that in the course of time given some perspective, it will be recorded as the most incompetent by a country mile in our post-war history. – Bob Jones […]