A satirical reflection on obedience, accountability, public power and the strange art of never asking “why?”

I SAY SO CROWN REVIEW Page 1  

Congratulations New Zealand…
We Still Haven’t Learnt a Thing
A satirical reflection on obedience, accountability, public power and the strange art of never
asking “why?”
Remember COVID?
Of course you do.
Some remember baking sourdough. Others remember discovering Zoom. A few
remember learning exactly which relatives would happily disown them over Christmas
dinner.
Good times.
If there was one lesson we were supposed to learn, surely it was this:
Never let fear replace common sense.
Instead…
“Don’t ask questions.”
“Just do what you’re told.”
“If you disagree, you’re the problem.”
It was remarkable how quickly ordinary people became unpaid compliance officers.
Neighbours became investigators.
Families became border control.
Friends became medical experts overnight.
Suddenly everyone had a PhD from Facebook University – or Government Press
Conference Polytechnic.
The amazing thing wasn’t that governments made extraordinary decisions. Governments
always make decisions.
The amazing thing was how quickly many of us forgot to ask:
“Why?”
Or, even better:
“Can you show me the evidence?”
Because that is supposed to be how grown-ups make decisions.

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Not…
“Well… they said so.”
Then there was the phone.
Remember the calls?
“Hello… is this Tracy?”
“No.”
“Are you still living at…?”
“No.”
“Would you like to…”
“No.”
Half the country suddenly had strangers who somehow knew far too much about them.
Where did that information come from?
Who authorised it?
Who benefited?
Those are perfectly reasonable questions in any democracy.
Fast-forward a few years.
Fuel goes up.
Road User Charges.
Power prices.
Water debates.
Data centres.
Apparently we are heading toward an artificial-intelligence future where enormous
facilities need vast amounts of electricity and cooling.
Meanwhile everyone is told to use less power.
So…
Boil the kettle once.
Turn your heater off.
Have a shorter shower.
But do not worry about the warehouse the size of several rugby fields humming away
twenty-four hours a day.
Nothing to see here.
Then there is the Crown.

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Who exactly is “the Crown”?
Everyone talks about it.
Nobody introduces you.
It is like that mysterious relative everyone keeps mentioning at Christmas.
“Oh… the Crown.”
“Who’s that?”
“You’ll find out eventually.”
Maybe.
Public servants are exactly what the title says:
Servants of the public.
Not celebrities.
Not royalty.
Not permanent fixtures.
Most jobs could probably survive someone doing a few years, handing over the keys and
saying:
“Right then… who’s next?”
Fresh ideas.
Fresh eyes.
Fresh accountability.
Instead, some careers seem long enough to qualify for historical preservation.
Councils?
Once upon a time they were mostly about roads, rubbish, water and keeping the lights
on.
Simple.
Now it can sometimes feel like they are running half a corporate empire while still trying to
convince you the pothole outside your house is “under review.”
Here is the funny part.
We complain.
We argue online.
We blame each other.
Then election day arrives…

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…and we largely vote for another version of the same thing.
It is like changing seats on the bus and expecting a different
destination.
Maybe the biggest lesson is not about COVID.
Maybe it is about ourselves.
Did we ask enough questions?
Did we demand enough evidence?
Did we hold enough people accountable?
Or did we simply decide it was easier if someone else did the thinking?
A healthy democracy is not built on blind trust.
Nor is it built on blind suspicion.
It is built on evidence, transparency, accountability, and citizens willing to ask respectful
but difficult questions.
If that is the lesson we finally learn, perhaps all the frustration will not have been for
nothing.
If not…
Well…
At least we will probably get another survey asking us how we are feeling.
Provided, of course, they already know our phone number.

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