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Andrew Dickens: It's time to ask what we can do for our country

Author
Andrew Dickens,
Publish Date
Sun, 12 Apr 2020, 10:29AM
Asking politicians for a plan isn't a plan, argues Andrew Dickens. (Photo / NZ Herald)

Andrew Dickens: It's time to ask what we can do for our country

Author
Andrew Dickens,
Publish Date
Sun, 12 Apr 2020, 10:29AM

So here we are again. The third weekend of lockdown.

Each day has challenges. Big ones for people and nations and little ones for individuals,

Today's challenge for me was finding my car keys and my wallet. Sounds silly but it took me a quarter of an hour to track them down. Because honestly, when do you use your car in these strange days and when do you need a wallet?

Cash is dead because cash is dirty. Touched by thousands before it ends out in your wallet. Will it ever come back? Is this the new cashless age? That's the fear of the black economy. Is it the end of jobs for cash: sex for cash, dodgy deals for cash.  Covid may even change criminality.

Meanwhile, my tank of gas has already nearly lasted me a month.  I've barely used the car this week. None of us has. Which is probably why the light is so good.  Enjoy the air. It'll never be better.

I found my wallet with my swipe card and my car keys in the pair of jeans I wore last Monday.  Which is also the last time I wore long pants until today.  We’re a T-shirt and shorts nation while the women wear activewear.  Which is why I was so shocked to see a woman the other day working her dog, wearing a short white cocktail dress, full makeup and heels. Funny how making an effort is such an effort these days.

The silly little things you notice in a desperate time.

And it is a desperate time.  I know my first victim of the virus. My sister in laws mother passed away yesterday in the UK. It’s not my story to talk about but what I can say is that it was fast. Five days ago she was fine.  It upsets me when people compare morbidity rates with flu.  Susan didn’t die of the flu.  It was something completely new.  Something we can’t yet fix or prevent.

The other evil of the contagion is that my sister in law could not fly to her mother’s bedside. They said goodbye through a device and an app.  It’s desperately sad and totally surreal.

Which is why we are fighting this so hard, and why we are tolerating the cost. 

And there will be a cost.  Sir Bill English said that this week.

He wrote: "New Zealand now has zero net migration, zero tourists, zero foreign students and zero inflow of temporary workers. These flows, which have been drivers of the labour market and the housing market, won't just turn on again.  Let that sink in. This could be a structural shift. Our economy is not going to fire up again at the flick of a switch."

But now is the time to look forward.  This week the government will start a conversation about post lockdown plans. It’s something we must all put our mind to.  Many people have asked me what does a Level 3 Alert look like?  Or a Level 2?

We don’t really know but we can all contribute.  Are you ready to trade with social distancing?  Are your cashiers protected?  Have you a PPE plan? Who can continue to work from home?  Who has to come back into the workplace? How will your business change to suit a more domestically focused economy?  What will your pricing be in a post lockdown world?

These are not questions a government can answer for you.  Shouting ‘we need a plan’ at a government is not a plan. What’s your plan?  How can you help?

At the beginning of February, I said this period of time would be a test of New Zealander’s personal and collective responsibilities.

John Kennedy’s famous line could not be more appropriate today. Ask not what your country can do for you.  Ask what you can do for your country.

Let’s get cracking and think about what we will do for the greater good of New Zealand.

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