Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Isn’t it interesting how much lower the bar is for bureaucrats than the private sector? Even our sports teams get more scrutiny. Imagine if Ashley Bloomfield was an All Black coach. Bear in mind, this guy is our number one, head and shoulders above the next best suitable candidate. That’s the worryingly low benchmark we’re setting and accepting across the state service for where performance expectations sit. If he was an AB’s coach, he’d be getting dissected, analysed and critiqued by all, including the NZRU. There'd be unsolicited nominations from pundits left, right and centre on who should replace him. But obviously the national game is of greater public importance and held to a higher standard than our Covid response. Not only is this a major concern for the continued underperformance of our Health Ministry and Covid response and more importantly planning, but it also gives a stark and alarming insight to the calibre of bureaucrats in the Ministry of Health.  In a global pandemic threatening our safety an