Elections 2020

The Prime Minister has chosen to delay the every-three-year Aotearoa election

from 19 September to 17 October 2020

to provide a full month  for all the parties to launch and explain their policies.

We both feel very lucky that we have a Prime Minister who is so highly competent and reassuring, and a Director-General of Health who is so generally trusted because of his clarity and sincerity in responses to questions.   It is a huge achievment for them both to keep up-to-date with what’s happening and to be able to explain their understanding with such honesty about failures and limitations as well as successes. They are well-supported by Ministers Chris Hipkins and Dr Megan Woods, who are making their way through the thickets of bureaucracy, and the sheer complexity of border and quarantine management, with care.

We keep remembering that no government in Aotearoa has had to cope with an epidemic on this scale since the Influenza epidemic in 1918- and we are now in a vastly more complex and fast-changing world.

The government is  totally committed to doing its best to eliminate the virus from our country, in spite of all the unpredictable difficulties they continue to encounter.  They have, for instance, decided to bring in more than a thousand military personnel to assist with isolation and border controls, as some private providers of border care and quarantine have proven unreliable.   Grant Robertson is retaining the confidence of the business community with the steps he has taken to support the people and businesses most affected by the Covid  epidemic.

We hope the Greens and the Maori Party will be alongside Labour  in forming a  new government after 17 October- both groups are offering  really practical and positive suggestions for future development, and maintaining honesty and courtesy in their relationships with others.

 If we all cooperate, accept necessary restrictions, and continue to be kind and supportive of those most afflicted,  we can manage accidental reinfections like the current one, and hopefully create  a safe place for everyone in Aotearoa.