It’s been a really interesting year. I would be denying reality if I said that it has been an easy one. The lockdown was a time for great reflection. It’s probably not a good idea to state this publicly, but I enjoyed it. We read a lot and we walked and talked an equal amount.
We have to be grateful that we have a Government which addressed the Covid 19 epidemic with great courage, whilst ignoring the advice they were getting from Public Health specialists on talkback radio. For this the Government was richly rewarded in the election campaign and our Prime Minister was feted from one end of the globe to the other:
The world politics was led in some of the major countries of the world by men who were simply dreadful. It took these photos to confirm my worst fears:
As we got used to wearing masks there was a new problem for us all to address:
We also had to balance “rights” and “responsibility” as the team of 5 million worked together:
As owners of a small business, we were extremely grateful for the assistance which Government provided which enabled us to keep our staff and ensure that they could pay their personal rent and living expenses at a troubling and challenging time in our lives. That payment to business worked and the numbers in employment despite the predictions of “expert” economists.
However, some of the Government assistance with the Reserve Bank pumping in $42b into the banking system. Tony Alexander has produced the following graph showing that $38b was on deposit at the Reserve Bank, and that only $4b was in circulation. You can find more on Tony’s Thoughts (tonyalexander.nz).
Here’s the graph which shows that the Government intervention in the market has caused the economy to bounce back faster than most. This graph is by Karen Zollner at the ANZ bank.
These graphs demonstrate that if the Government was of a mind to create masses of new homes, they could show how by copying what they have done for the business sector by intervening in the market. This would create new partners and achieve what our forbears did only a generation before mine.
Next year we will continue promoting ideas which address the housing crisis.
CDHB
Another issue we have dealt with in great depth this year has been the scandalous removal of the senior leadership team of the CDHB. The photo below should not be forgotten. We will continue paying attention to this topic. I am still convinced that the Crown Monitor and the Chair should both be removed by the Government. Next year the Government intends implementing the creation of new health structures as promoted by the Simpson report. I have read enough documents on this to think the cure of the new structure may be worse than we imagine.
Governance in the Red Zone
A major issue which CCC has to get right in the New Year is the governance of the Red Zone. So far, their handling of it has been ham fisted. Next year we will help them get it right.
The Tuesday Club
The Tuesday Club has traversed a mass of issues this year. Both international, nationwide and local. We add value to the local discourse, and have made submissions to politicians and public institutions. We will continue with this next year. Thank you for participating and for contributing.
I especially want to thank Rosemary Neave, who puts the Tuesday Club notes in a format which is understandable and cuts out anything she thinks I’m being silly over. Without Rosemary these notes would be dreadful. So, thanks a heap Rosemary.
Thanks Aaron Campbell for filming and doing our best to make what happens at the Tuesday Club accessible.
See you all in the New Year where we will have a chance to reflect on the 10th Anniversary of the February 2011 earthquakes and to celebrate the opportunity to look forward with newly abundant confidence to the future.
Keep it up everybody. Keep riding on the footpath…
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