Kerre McIvor: The Government plumbed new lows in yesterday’s conference

OK, so this morning.  
I have a plan for the way the next three hours will go, and what I'll do is tell you a bit about how the first hour will go on Wednesday morning and then if you stay listening, I'll let you know what the show will look like on Friday.  K....?  
Seriously.  I wasn't expecting much from the press conference yesterday but the government plumbed new lows.  
Announcing that there'll be an announcement on Friday - that is plain cruel.  
Two more weeks for Auckland living under lockdown restrictions, at least one more week for Waikato, Northland, you're free to leave detention, and the South Island - well, it would appear this government doesn't know it exists.  
And I know Grant Robertson sounds all lovely and reasonable and rational, but it's just not on to have 15 per cent of the population — well, it's even less than that — because there are some people who want the vaccination but can't take it — let's say 12 per cent of the population to hold everybody else to ransom.  
There need to be more carrots for those who ARE doing the right thing and have been doing the right thing for the last 18 months.  
I'm sick and tired of the time and money being spent on those who for whatever reason don't want to and aren't going to.  
1000 operations cancelled every week at Middlemore because 28 people are in hospital with Covid.  
And because 28 people have died of covid since the pandemic reached these shores.  It doesn't make any sort of sense.  
And it's all well and good the Finance Minister banging on about support for businesses — a) they're not getting the support they need to stay in business, they are simply getting some money to pay part of their employees wages and b) they would rather be working.  
They didn't go into business to get a benefit.  They didn't work every hour god sends and put their house on the line to stay at home and receive a pittance from the government.  I despair for the well-being of those good people.  
For the lovely elderly couples who only have so much time left and want to be able to spend it with each other but they can't because of these cruel rules.  
For the school kids who have missed a big chunk of their youth, having fun, hanging out, travelling to sports events, going to concerts, getting all gorgeous for the school balls, getting the help they need to be the best they can be come exam time.  
And those poor poor children for whom school is the only safe place they know.  So many people are hurting. 
Because the government has set an arbitrary vaccination target — finally — that is unrealistic and simply won't be reached among the people they want to target.

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