The good news is the drought has finally broken.
In just two days we had more than 150mm of rain.
That took the fields from brown to green, the water tanks from almost empty to overflowing, the dams from empty or nearly so to having plenty of water and the stream from dry to in flood.
It was a remarkable transition.
When it finally rained I was tempted to strip and face the rain drops but I didn’t want to be responsible for plummeting local property values.
Answering the phone and watching the news made me both glad and proud that I’m a Kiwi.
The situation over the ditch is a shambles and an arrogant one at that.
Despite New Zealander’s in Australia living, working, paying tax and contributing to the community, when the flack hits the fan their contribution is ignored and they’re on the street
The confusion over many of the Australian moves has been mind-blowing.
For a start their schools are open but parents are encouraged to keep their children at home.
Then there is the hairdressing saga which beggars belief.
Initially hair appointments were limited to 30 minutes, which begs the question as to how you’re going to police it.
Then hair appointments could be longer than 30 minutes but people were encouraged to keep their distance.
That tells me Aussie hairdressers have either extremely long arms or huge scissors.
Surprisingly, international visitors were allowed to disembark from a cruise ship and enjoy the sights of Sydney before flying home.
The British response was similarly idiotic, initially suggesting an immunity strategy. What that meant was the virus would be left to run wild with survival only of the fittest.
The official estimate was that strategy would involve 60% of the population, which is 42 million people, getting covid-19.
It has has been modified with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson telling people with symptoms to stay at home, that there are to be no school trips abroad and that people over 70 should avoid cruises.
Mind you, both Australia and Britain pale into insignificance compared with the American approach.
In January President Donald Trump was offering to help China with its response. The Chinese response was swift and effective, the Americans’ anything but.
On February 2 Trump said he’d pretty much shut it down.
In early March he suggested a vaccine could be ready in two to three months.
In mid March he offered German company CureVac large sums of money to get exclusive access to its work. It was to be for the United States only.
Thankfully, the German government rejected the approach saying any vaccine developed will be for the whole world.
Trump then suggested anti-malarial drug chloroquine would be effective. Medical professionals disputed that and one person who agreed with the president took the drug and died.
It has been estimated the virus could kill between 100,000 and 200,000 Americans.
Compare all that with the NZ situation.
At no time have I been in any doubt about what the issues are and what we’re doing to address them.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been very clear, credible and compassionate with her messages as has the director-general of health Dr Ashley Broomfield.
I know exactly what I’m allowed and not allowed to do and I don’t have issues with any of it.
Further, I’ve worked from home both writing and consulting for 20 years. It suits me and I don’t have a problem.
Where I do have a problem is the lack of contact with friends and family but one or even two months isn’t the end of the world.
Auckland Univeersity says without lockdown 80,000 Kiwis could die. That tells me lockdown is a small price to pay.
So I believe we’re doing it right.
What’s been additionally interesting is the mood on twitter and facebook.
The anti-farmer rhetoric has largely gone.
The reality is that the only way out of the situation is to produce food and the only people qualified to do that are farmers, market gardeners and orchardists and we do it sustainably and well.
Finally, I was sent a quote from facebook that said: Pollution levels are dropping at record-breaking rates. Less cars on the road, less cruise ships on our seas, lass planes in the sky. Same number of cows.
Good on yer mate.
