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Increasing the fines for breaching covid rules is a nonsense isn’t it?  Â
The PM cannot seriously expect us to buy this. Â
This is clearly designed to make it look like her government is cracking down on lockdown rule breakers when they’re doing nothing of the sort.  Â
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The Prime Minister announced this afternoon that fines are going up  Â
On-the-spot fines for individuals who break the rules will go from 300 dollars to 4000 dollars.Â
For companies that goes up to 12,000 dollars.Â
Court-imposed fines for individuals go from 1000 dollars to 12000 dollars.Â
And for companies it rises to 15,000 dollars.Â
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But first problem: these fines only come in from November.Â
Hands up who thinks Auckland is still in lockdown in November. Â
If that’s the case we’ve got much bigger problems on our hands than handing out fines.Â
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And in any case, what does lifting fines matter if the cops aren’t enforcing and fining in any case?  Â
The list of people who’ve broken the rules and faced no sanction that we’re aware of is rather long.Â
The Wanaka couple - who as good as admitted what they’d done - 12 days on: still no charges.Â
The guy who broke into north shore hospital: not charged.Â
The passenger in the car taking the black power gang associate to the Waikato who crossed the Auckland border and then didn't return to Auckland: not charged   Â
Makes no difference if you increase the fines if you don’t plan to use the fines does it?  Â
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You want to really crack down on rule breakers? Â
Send in the cops in. Â
If you’ve got the whole suburb of clover park in South Auckland now required to be tested, then you’ve potentially got massive rule breaking going on there.Â
Why not patrol the streets?  Â
If you’ve got police and health apparently tracking down 50+ mongrel mob members to urgently test them then you’ve got multiple bubble breaches. Â
Why not park some cops outside the gang pads and make sure they stay home?  Â
This is not something I’m making up.  This is essentially what Des Gorman was suggesting on this show a week ago.  That if you want a failing lockdown to work, you need to consider increasing enforcement.  Â
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We can all see how much rule breaking is clearly going on here.  Â
But none of us can see the authorities on the ground trying to stop it.  Â
So increasing the fines?  That’s not fooling me, and I’m not sure how many people it will fool.  Â
It’s just nonsense. Â
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