Holiday crisis reveals issues

Helen Varley Jamieson

On February 2, we arrived in Dunedin, my home town, for a six-month visit. The plan was to have a break from work, spend time with Mum, and for my partner to experience normal life in New Zealand as opposed to short holidays. I was also curious to spend some settled time in Dunedin again – I moved away in 1994 and since then have visited often, but never more than a few weeks at most.

Even before the pandemic, the trip was not turning out as we planned. Barely a week after we arrived, my uncle died and we were thrown into organising a funeral in the North Island and dealing with his estate. We were already checked in for our flight back up to empty and clean his house when the lockdown was announced. So the first week of lockdown was a flurry of un-booking and un-planning — amid a million emails, calls and urgent questions such as, is firewood delivery an essential service? (happily, it is!).

It’s hardly an experience of normal Kiwi life for my partner; neither is it a break from work for me. I’m a freelance artist, working in theatre and digital art, so having time off is difficult at the best of times. As a large part of my practice for the last 20-plus years has been cyberformance (live online theatre/performance) the lockdown has plunged me right back into work, answering calls for help and organising and attending online events.

The pandemic and lockdown have shone a bright light on many pre-existing problems. Social and financial inequalities are exposed more than ever — being locked down in a comfortable house with a well-stocked kitchen and all the latest technology can be fun, but if you are homeless, or living in cramped accommodation with an extended family, living with an abuser, or grappling with serious mental health issues, it’s quite another thing. Those in stable financial positions can weather the lockdown relatively easily, while those in precarious job situations face economic ruin. Luckily, we have a government that is addressing these problems and trying to solve or at least mitigate them. It’s now clear that, when there is the political will, solutions to these problems are possible. That’s great — but why have we had to wait for a crisis to do this?

And we have learned that governments can print money when they want to. Money is, after all, a human creation. Cuts to social services are not inevitable in hard times, they are political decisions that exacerbate inequality. In times of crisis, we remember what a well-functioning society really needs: we need a properly funded public health system, including mental health; we need housing for everyone; we need a secure food supply, from primary producers to supermarket workers; we need teachers capable of rapidly adapting to a new environment; we need a free and independent media; and we need artists. Imagine how much worse lockdown would be without books, music, films, and the wealth of humorous, funny and poingnat memes and videos people are producing. And right now, we need imagination more than anything, because we need to reinvent the system.

"After the pandemic", the global economy will not be the same. Who knows what will happen to the airline industry, and to international tourism? Can we hold on to the changes that are so obviously beneficial for the planet? Will we be more cautious of over-dependence on fragile international markets? Will we finally understand that privatisation of essential infrastructure and services is not a good idea? Capitalism failed long ago, but there’s been no obvious alternative. Coming up with something better is difficult, but necessary; and necessity is the mother of invention. Humans invented capitalism, ergo we can invent something better. The pandemic presents us not only with the opportunity, but also with the necessity. We just need to put our imaginations to work.

 - You’ll find Voices from John Cuttance and Robyn Johnston at odt.co.nz/opinion.