The trouble with political post-mor-tems is that they’re never done on corpses. Those being dissected are very much alive.
The real purpose of any politician who advocates a formal review of how important issues and crises have been handled is to inflict on those who did the handling as slow and painful a public torturing as possible.
Still, it’s hard to contradict National’s call for inquiries into both the government’s pandemic stewardship and the Reserve Bank’s fielding of the downstream monetary challenges. The pandemic was not only an unprecedented experience in modern times, but one which, epidemiologists assure us, we’d better get used to having more of. As for inflation, it’s such a destructive global affliction, the more expert analysis of what’s working to conquer it and what isn’t, the better.
Trouble is, we can no longer trust ourselves to treat such inquiries as important learning tools. Rather, they’ve become shrill blamefests. We can’t just blame combative politicians for this. The media rewards conflict with more airtime and column space than it does iterations of common sense and best practice. Social media provides a ceaseless clamour from members of the public for heads to roll, in all conflicting directions.
The government has accepted the need for a formal public inquiry into the pandemic response, but remains understandably evasive about when it should happen. It fairly argues that with new Covid variants raging and other winter ailments made extra severe as a result of lockdown-depressed immunity levels, this isn’t the time. Most experts are still too busy with the crisis to review and reflect.
この記事は New Zealand Listener の August 13 - 19, 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は New Zealand Listener の August 13 - 19, 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.