I think I'm encouraged by the numbers of submissions into the Covid inquiry. 

This is Covid inquiry part two. 

The second part is to try and rectify the stitch up that was Covid part one from the previous Government, who were determined to set criteria that would not expose the true damage they wrought upon most of us. 

31,000 have had their say this time. It is pointed out they came from all ages, all locations and were both positive as well as negative. 

Given Health NZ submitted on whether Wanaka should have a McDonalds, do not underestimate the establishment's ability to spend an indecent amount of time and money in putting a best-case scenario forward in a butt-covering exercise. 

This part of the inquiry looks into masks and mandates, vaccines and lockdowns, and 31,000 submissions tells me we are still very much exercised about the historic nature of the event and our keenness to try and come up with something that sees nothing like a repeat of the last exercise. 

I note the other day poor, old Chris Hipkins still tries to walk that very fine line between admitting they were in charge of a balls up and pretending it went mostly well. 

He is in an unwinnable place. As the last sap left standing, given Jacinda Ardern and Grant Robertson are long gone, he has the sorry task of defending what really were some astonishingly poor decisions. 

But that doesn’t mean the inquiry will come up with answers. 

Answers such as will a pandemic be the same, or similar, or not similar at all? What sort of Government will be in? Will that Government be competent or experienced? What roll will the public service play? 

Will epidemiologists become household names again? 

Will New Zealanders sink into a myopic funk again waiting for a leader to tell them what sort of stuffed animal to put in the window? 

What made last time so bad was the control, and out of the control, followed the anger and fear. 

I'm not sure an inquiry can dictate answers or solutions around emotion. 

But 31,000 submissions tells you the emotion is still very, very real. 

At least in putting the second part of the inquiry on, we attempt to recognise how profound those dark and troubled days really were. 

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