Limited convoy impact | Otago Daily Times News Online

Anyone who has ever been to a protest will remember the excitement felt, the camaraderie, the hope against hope that it would make a difference.

It can be hard to tell. The tens of thousands of people across the country who took part in the September 2019 climate change march, for example, might wonder how urgent this message went.

They might also wonder about the carbon footprint of the 2022 convoy with its thousands of gas-guzzling vehicles heading to the capital to protest Covid-19 vaccine mandates and ongoing restrictions and rules. Incongruous too, at a time when we are worried about the high price of gasoline.

The timing of the protest is out of step with what is happening with Covid-19 controls given that the government recently announced plans to open up the country.

This copier of the trucking convoy to Canada is not comparable to those of climate change, but there will be some sympathy for parts of the travelers cause, especially among those who support vaccination but may consider the scope of Workplace vaccination requirements are excessive.

There will also be some unease about such a group, most likely unvaccinated, traveling across the country at a time when the Omicron variant is starting to take off.

There were funny moments throughout the journey when attempts were made to deflect the convoy, and the convoy’s shared song playlist was altered to include songs that did not find favor with the convoy. organizers, including Why can’t you find a job.

As we have seen with the Groundswell protests, such events attract those with other agendas. The appearance of flags in support of Donald Trump’s re-election in 2024 will not have served the cause.

For the most part the protest appears to have been peaceful, but it will be interesting to see how long illegal camping on Parliament grounds will be tolerated and how sympathetic Wellingtonians will be to the ongoing skirmishes in the city center streets . At first, the police and other officials wisely played a low-key role. No one will want to encourage martyrdom, but there will be limits to the largesse of the authorities. Maybe some in the hive will dance frantically in the rain hoping that a good soak will solve the camping problem.

Whatever the encampment, it is difficult to imagine that the convoy had any influence on the thinking of the government.

Closer to home, it has been sad to see further degradation of the vaccination and testing center at Caversham’s Te Kaika Health Center in St Kilda.

The post included references to Rory Nairn, the Dunedin man who died of myocarditis last year weeks after receiving his Covid-19 vaccine.

This vaccine was not given by Te Kaika, but Te Kaika managing director Albie Laurence said he wanted to have a hui with Mr Nairn’s friends and a whanau.

“We want them to know what we’re trying to do,” he said.

We hope that this gesture will be repeated because the story of Te Kaika is worth listening to.

Its impact since its launch nearly three years ago has been impressive. He has a health care village concept, where he partners with others to meet the full spectrum of a patient’s needs, addressing not only mental and physical well-being, but helping with d other aspects of their lives such as benefit entitlements, budget advice and housing.

Innovation is second nature to this organization and it has been at the forefront of the Covid-19 vaccination program in the South, organizing drive-through vaccinations, partnering with Maori and pasifika student associations to organize a mass vaccination clinic at Forsyth Barr Stadium, and the organization of Dunedin’s first vaccination bus.

Forcing this non-profit organization serving an underserved community to spend tens of thousands of dollars to repair the damage is not a legitimate protest. It is criminal, unfair and, to use Mr. Laurence’s expression, insane.