1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,640 Speaker 1: This COVID Phase one report. The verdict is in and 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:07,280 Speaker 1: it's pretty much guilty your honor fine to begin with, 3 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:10,360 Speaker 1: and then they as the single Podium of truth basically 4 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:12,960 Speaker 1: went too far for too long, tell us something we 5 00:00:13,039 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 1: don't know. Trust in our institutions is shot. Media took 6 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:21,279 Speaker 1: a hammering, and rightly so in some cases. Labour supporters 7 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:26,920 Speaker 1: and hysterical scientists and other groups went full militant. I 8 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:29,040 Speaker 1: never spoke about the messages I got from some of 9 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:33,320 Speaker 1: them during my interviews challenging Old Jacinda Adurn during that period, 10 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:37,320 Speaker 1: especially those outside of Auckland during the lockdown to end 11 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:41,680 Speaker 1: all lockdowns. They were threats of beatings on my social media, 12 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:45,959 Speaker 1: loads of homophobia. I was killing people with my questions. 13 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:49,400 Speaker 1: There was hate, there was vitriol. Now I'm not complaining 14 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:51,559 Speaker 1: about this, this is part of my job, but it 15 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:55,280 Speaker 1: just shows how wacko everyone got. Which is not to 16 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:58,280 Speaker 1: say the anti mandate lot were angels either, but what 17 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:01,400 Speaker 1: we the public were fed a meal from only one 18 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 1: of the two menus. Then there was the Miaq cruelty. 19 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: You will never get another opportunity to kiss a loved 20 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:13,440 Speaker 1: one goodbye never. I watched Hipkins in his media stand 21 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 1: up yesterday with the usual half mere culpa lines, we 22 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: can learn lessons from this in the future, and the 23 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 1: benefit of hindsight is a great thing. What's the problem 24 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:26,120 Speaker 1: with that? Well, there were plenty of people with plenty 25 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:28,840 Speaker 1: of advice at the time he could have listened to, 26 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,120 Speaker 1: but chose not to. Instead, they labeled the protest as 27 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:35,480 Speaker 1: a river of filth. We wrote off entire sectors of 28 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: scientific community in the name of social cohesion, like a 29 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 1: pack of rabid dogs attacking a limp lamb. That's what 30 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,959 Speaker 1: we were. We turned into that. Had they listened to Auckland, 31 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 1: to the planned Bears, some economists and experts in other fields, 32 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: to Lady Deborah Chambers, who bravely put her head above 33 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: the parapet on behalf of the legal fraternity. Simon Bridges 34 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,520 Speaker 1: basically lost his job over a Facebook post pointing out 35 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: many of the problems that turned out to be quite accurate. 36 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:09,280 Speaker 1: But now it was all Susie Wiles and co. Crying 37 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 1: because we didn't go further and go harder. And where 38 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 1: are we now? Kids not going to school, productivity jabbed 39 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:17,360 Speaker 1: in the face, crime out of controlled mental health and anxiety, 40 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:19,959 Speaker 1: particularly for kids also taking a head to the face, 41 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:25,600 Speaker 1: the weightless for critical medical treatments delayed, construction stopped, projects delayed, 42 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:28,960 Speaker 1: despite the Aussies being faster and looser on both counts. 43 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:32,640 Speaker 1: It was the biggest overreach of power, both in real 44 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:37,640 Speaker 1: terms and in some cases legally this country's potentially ever seen. 45 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:42,399 Speaker 1: And only now do they say we might reconsider forcing 46 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: a barista to get a jab that they don't want. 47 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: Don't get me wrong, I got the jab twice, but 48 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:52,240 Speaker 1: that was my choice to a large extent. And is 49 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:56,600 Speaker 1: this all Labour's fault. No. The bigger culprits, in my mind, 50 00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: media hype, social media pylons, and unwavering support for the 51 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:06,799 Speaker 1: party pushing that lockdown agenda. The problem was tunnel vision. 52 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: It was arrogance, ignorance or both, and now we're all 53 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:15,000 Speaker 1: paying a very hefty price tag for it. There was 54 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 1: just one thing missing from yesterday, any response from the 55 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: four horsemen of the apocalypse, Grant, Jacinda Ashley and Adrian Orr. 56 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 1: Where were they? Grant's on eight hundred thousand dollars at 57 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 1: Otaga University alls doing victory lapse for cutting rates he 58 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:33,760 Speaker 1: hiked too high and then flooding the country with cash 59 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 1: and Adirn. Remember she said her single biggest driver in 60 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: politics was to fix child poverty. Now living in New 61 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: York while the cost of living crisis, she helped engineer 62 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:49,480 Speaker 1: then deny was existing hammers some of our poorest and 63 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 1: to use a word they made famous during the COVID catastrophe, 64 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 1: our most vulnerable. For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, 65 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: listen live to news talks at b from Fun weekdays, 66 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.