Covid Watch

I think what the protesters did yesterday was remind most of us that we’re not interested in going backwards, as a country. And it felt like that’s what yesterday’s protest was doing. Going backwards.

Banal pleas like locking up the PM, ‘when I say Cindy, you say jail time’ was one of the chants. And while I’m as sick of the Prime Minister as you are, this ain’t it.

This is not how you effect change, this is not how you get people on board. It’s certainly not how you get rid of a Prime Minister. 

To be a great leader, or to even gather a credible movement, you need to have buy in from a large swathe of people, not just your cultist followers who’d go anywhere and chant anything for you. Which is what the rabble yesterday looked like.

It looked like a fringe event, filled with Destiny Church followers who would march anywhere if Bishop Brian was at the front.

The annoying thing is, for all the people who say – well you’re the media, you shouldn’t be covering it, why are you giving them airtime?’ The problem is, news likes good pics - and protests, banners, crowds and flags make good pics.

They also cause a lot of inconvenience which needs reporting too, like closed roads or diverted bus services. And the fact that it’s at Parliament – it all adds up to newsworthy and they know it. It gets the attention they want it to get, but does it get the results? 

Will they really get the PM locked up? Of course not. Are they seriously thinking the Government will drop all mandates just because they say so? Again, no.

As for the ‘hands off our children’ placards, what hands are on whose children?

There’s a lack of clarity in the messaging, shouting ‘freedom’ and ‘enough is enough’.. freedom from what? Masks?

Look I agree with them on that front, we need to move on from the traffic light and the mask mandates, the rest of the world has, but I don’t think we have no freedom because of that. 

And I don’t think this is the way to go about getting rid of them.

Other chants included, ‘Beehive bullies must go’… Government must go’.. Trevor Mallard must go too apparently – well he’s already off anyway to his cushy number in Ireland, but Brian Tamaki wants wife Hannah to have that job.

Not sure that’s going to take off, but like I said, a lot of messages. 

They were calling for a snap election – they held a ‘people’s court’ to charge the Government with crimes against humanity.

Then Tamaki announced a new umbrella political party and they all dispersed relatively peacefully by mid-afternoon. So let’s hope that’s the end of it.

I didn’t appreciate them blocking the motorways in Auckland and cutting off traffic to busy shopping precinct Newmarket a couple of weeks ago, I’m sure Wellingtonians didn’t appreciate the disruption they endured either. 

And that’s the nub of all this. It really doesn’t affect the politicians who just carried on about their business expelling Sharma, but it did affect commuters, students and local businesses.

All that 'people’s court' and trying to get the Prime Minister ‘locked up’ is not effective protesting, it's just a group of disgruntled people letting off steam.

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Actions, as it turns out, do speak louder than words.

Last week's poll around our view of Covid is backed up by; 1) another poll and 2) more importantly, real life.

Last week's poll had 65 percent of us wanting all restrictions gone. That's a fairly large majority.

This week's poll has fewer and fewer of us adhering to the so called rules.

Those willing to use a mask - down 11 points.

Those willing to isolate - down 12.

RAT use down three and reporting a rat result is down 27 percent.

People see this for what it is and are acting accordingly, but in the real world it's even starker.

I went to the mall and I hardly ever go to the mall. No one, and I mean no one, in the mall was wearing a mask and I felt reassured about that.

Polls and stats are one thing but the real world is another. In the shop itself inside the mall, the ratio went up. Now this is a bit of grandmother research but roughly it went up by about a third of people wearing a mask.

But you can easily say the majority weren't wearing one and this was a major department store.

All the staff had them on but very few of the customers which made me even more reassured.

Having started what was clearly a research project into mask wearing, I monitored use on the way home.

It seems we are in camps. Because once outside, hardly anyone was wearing a mask, but those who left the shop and left the mall kept their masks on - i.e. they wore them all the time.

And in wandering down the street you see them; a combination of the full mask wearer and the half mask wearer. You know, the one that still has it on despite the fact it has slipped down and doesn’t work.

Now, I am not anti-mask, if you want to wear a mask wear one.

But I am a realist and Covid is no longer a ‘thing’.

It’s a virus we might catch like a cold or the flu. We have at last, thank God, got to that point. It is clear the rules are no longer being followed; the surveys show it and the real world shows it even more.

The Government of course should have read all of this. We have left them behind and I assume at sometime between now and Christmas they’ll read their own survey and work this out.

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The country's largest home and community care provider is calling for an end to Covid vaccine mandates for health workers.

NZ Health Group estimates about 800 unvaccinated staff want to return to work.

CEO Josephine Gagan told Heather du Plessis-Allan the vaccine mandate has unfairly affected thousands of vulnerable Kiwis.

“A support worker will visit four or five individual people a day, so multiply that across the whole week. It’s a lot of people.’

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A year this week since Delta arrived. I hesitate to mention it, given I'm over Covid and have been for ages.

I note they still publish the numbers each day. Lord knows why, does anyone really care?

I also note in reading a bit about this year since Delta and yet more lockdowns arrived, that various people doing various studies about what we know and don’t know about the virus, still don’t seem to know a lot about it.

We don’t know where it came from, for example. A couple of recent reports seem to agree Covid came out of the market in Wuhan, but nothing really concrete.

Long Covid is an issue potentially to plague us for a while. Michael Baker still pops up far too often with his forecasts of yet more doom.

I also note we remain hopelessly behind the rest of the world because of fear. We have absurd rules around masks that never really made sense and make even less sense now and we are still seemingly forever in Orange.

The uptake of the booster was a joke. The second booster is an even bigger joke.

I sort of feel vindicated about my prediction that, ultimately, like most viruses, Covid would morph into something more innocuous. And so, it has proven to be.

But the biggest reaction I tend to have when I think of Covid is the ongoing damage. Not to our health, but to our country and economy.

The Reserve Bank yesterday upped interest rates because they too became so driven by fear and panic, they printed money in a way we have never seen and I pray will never see again. The Government ran us towards a fiscal position we won't even begin to pay off in our lifetime.

The fear to common sense ratio was off the scale. Here we are in a winter of discontent in a complete mess.

Tourism that hasn’t recovered, planes that are cancelled, migrants that aren't arriving, New Zealanders that are leaving, jobs that are unfilled, NCEA credits we are giving away because no one goes to school, and violence from kids who didn’t go to school so decided their future was driving cars through windows.

It's quite the list, isn't it?

Plus, we have a hospital system that was not and still isn't properly prepped for an outbreak.

A year on since Delta, not really a lot to be proud of. No wonder the Government are refusing a review.

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Relief from principals, about the Government's third year of changes to NCEA.

Students taking NCEA this year will receive an extra credit for every five earned through assessment, to support those affected by the Covid pandemic.

University Entrance will also been lowered to 14 credits in two approved subjects, and 12 credits in a third subject.

Canterbury and West Coast Principals' Association President Phil Holstein says told Kate Hawkesby it reflects the major disruptions students have been facing.

He says schools were particularly affected by Covid and other sickness during the latter part of Term Two.

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The principals have got what they wanted. A couple of weeks ago, they wrote to the Government about easing the NCEA requirements.

They claimed students were getting depressed and everyone was at breaking point. And the Government has come to the party.

46 merit or excellence credits instead of 50. For University Entrance, 12 credits from two approved subjects, instead of 14 from three. In simple terms they have made it easier.

It's not hard to make it easier, but to what end?

I'm torn, as a parent and as a person who sat all this stuff, I couldn't wait to leave school. I hated exams, I found large portions of the academic exercise completely fruitless and futile, and I knew what I wanted to do, how to do it, and school was holding me back. I have seen it in some of our kids as well.

My School Certificate and University Entrance qualifications have meant virtually nothing to me once I left school, other than a record that I turned up for a number of years and passed some exams.

So, make it as easy as you want, what does it really matter?

But then, it's critical isn't it? What is it we are teaching? How are we teaching? How do we compare? And how do we compete? School is the foundation of learning. It's the starting pack for life and participating in it.

The evidence shows as a country we aren't doing well. In those core subjects like science, maths, and literacy we are slipping and slipping badly. Where once we were at the top of the OECD, now we aren't and we aren't even close. And making stuff easy, like handing out free grades, doesn’t help.

Yes, Covid is tough and school life is tough. You can't get teachers and schools are social welfare agencies, but tough times are a test not a reason to acquiesce, to quit, give up, or ask for a free pass.

We are sadly running a lowest common denominator operation. I have three kids in education. They've all been disrupted, they’ve all been at home, but they haven't given up and they don’t want an easy ride.

Covid is an excuse, it's been used. And it continues to be used as too much of an excuse.

We can't do this, don’t do this, that’s stopped, and we aren't doing that anymore. Do many aspects of life that because of Covid, no longer happen.

It's “have an inch take a mile” mindset. You know how it goes, why is it delayed?

Because of Covid.

And now the schools, kids' education, and an investment for life are being given up because of a couple of years of disruption. If the subject was determination and mindset, on this decision we fail.

And when we fail, we fail our kids.

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Air New Zealand will cut its planned schedule and operate 1.5 per cent fewer seats than originally planned during the next six months.

The airline says it is taking proactive measures to protect customers' travel plans as sickness continues to cause disruption.

And in a move that will anger former crew hoping to get their jobs back, the airline is exploring expensive "wet leasing" aircraft with crew for the busy summer period.

The airline said most customers who experience a flight change will be transferred to another flight on the same day for domestic travel, and for international travel, on the same day or a day either side of their original booking.

Where customers cannot be accommodated within these timeframes, they may change their booking online, opt into credit or request a refund.

Those customers with changes will start to see them from today and will be automatically transferred to another flight. Those with further onward connections may also be disrupted and "we will work through these directly with impacted customers".

Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran said making these changes now gives customers advance notice and will help the airline provide a service that's more reliable during its rebuild.

"Like many airlines around the world, we've been ramping up our operation at a time when Covid and the flu continues to impact the aviation industry. Looking at the disruptions our customers and staff have faced over the past five weeks, we've made some adjustments to reduce short-notice cancellations in the months ahead."

Sickness has been three times normal levels and the airline is still in the process of bringing back its biggest planes, Boeing 777-300s.

"While we did factor sickness into our ramp up plan, we've seen the highest rates of crew sickness in over a decade. We see these challenges continuing not just for crew, but for our whole operation, and so we're making proactive changes to address them."

Air New Zealand has used charter operator Hi Fly previously to plug gaps. Photo / Supplied

Foran said reducing the number of flights means the airline will be able to have crew on standby to cover illness, which has not been possible lately.

The airline is "pulling out all the stops" to minimise disruption and provide surety for our customers over the next six months.

"We have rehired or brought on more than 2000 pilots, airport staff, cabin crew, contact centre and engineers, and we're going as fast as we can with recruitment and training."

The airline was also exploring options to lease a crewed widebody aircraft for the busy summer period.

"We know customers want the Air New Zealand experience, and that's what we want to deliver too. But at the moment we're stretched to capacity and making sure our customers are able to travel is our top priority. The lease of an additional crewed aircraft may help us achieve that."

In the summer of 2017-18 the airline wet leased aircraft from specialist Hi Fly from Portugal to plug gaps caused by the grounding of Boeing 787 Dreamliners which needed engine repairs. T

Air New Zealand's domestic and international schedule will be operating at 90 per cent of pre-Covid capacity for the next six months.

Advice to travellers:

What should I do if my flight changes because of these schedule changes?
• If your domestic flight has changed and you have not been given a flight on the same day, then you will be able to request a change online under Manage my Booking, opt into credit or request a refund.

When can you get a refund?

- Grant Bradley, NZ Herald

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A tourism leader says things are looking up for the sector, after years of travel restrictions.

Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has unveiled a new plan to strengthen the tourism and hospitality workforce for the upcoming tourism boom.

It includes measures to improve training and working conditions.

Real NZ CEO Stephen England-Hall told Mike Hosking the sector is now in a good position to restart.

He says while it will take a while to get back to pre-pandemic levels of travel, the future is certainly certainly brighter than the last couple of years.

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Students will now be feeling more confidence heading into exam season.

The Government's announced changes to award one learning recognition credit for every five earned through assessment.

Students working towards Level One can get up to 10 extra credits - with eight for those at Levels Two and Three.

Greater Wellington Principals Association Chair Kevin Carter joined Heather du Plessis Allan Drive to discuss the changes to NCEA. 

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