One of the comments that was attached to councils announcement that pools, libraries and council-run I-Sites would be implementing the need to show vaccine passports from Friday 12th suggested that, in the posters view, that council was “happy to exclude people”.

I can assure everyone that this couldn’t be further from the truth.

The decision to close these facilities falls with the CEO, who in turn discussed the options under the traffic light system with senior staff before making the decision. It is a decision that has my total support.

But that does not mean it was an easy one, but on this subject, there are no easy decisions.

The basis of the decision is a requirement at law to keep staff safe in the workplace. A judgment call had to be made as to whether having unvaccinated people in direct contact with staff at our most public-facing facilities was “safe”, especially in light of the near-guarantee that Covid will be in our community sometime soon.

As I’ve said, I wasn’t part of that decision, but in supporting the decision, I have put myself in the position of the CEO, and other employers and leaders across the country. Trying to balance the sadness that comes with having to exclude members of our community from community facilities has to sit alongside asking staff to face people who science shows have a far greater risk of catching and spreading a very dangerous virus. 

For me, the biggest part on that balance is that those staff or their whanau may have conditions that would make the virus even more dangerous to them than to others, and to me the right of those staff to come to a safe workplace exceeds that of unvaccinated people to enter those workplaces.

I feel sorry for those people who are now excluded and I do not like the way our country is being divided at this time, but unhappily, I cannot see any other way that is going to keep the majority of the population with a greater degree of protection than they would have otherwise.   

This is a very difficult and challenging time for all of Central Otago, and for some more so than others. I wish that wasn’t the case, but it is. One day, maybe, things will change and the virus will not be the thing that dominates our lives. Until then though, we all need to see all the sides of the issue, and treat those who have different views with the respect that they deserve. None of this is easy on anyone”.

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