Is the government quietly saying "I told you so”?
Under their bubble scenario, you’ve arrived this week in Queensland, you've taken time off work, and you thought you'd treat yourself to a long Easter weekend.
But whoops, it's locked down – well, some of it until tomorrow. Whether in reality it would lock you down I guess is now open to debate. For example, if you were in Brisbane, wouldn't you have scarpered to the Gold Coast or Mooloolaba?
Anyway, I am assuming under the reciprocation of the bubble, our border might be shut. And according to chief fear monger, Chris Hipkins, you would be on your own. No government help would be available.
Why he thought it necessary to say that a couple of weeks back in the latest round of their excuse making, I've got no idea. As a general rule when you go overseas, you don’t spend a lot of time on the phone to the government.
But this is a good, practical example of the sort of thing the government are talking about. Just what would you do if you were in Queensland? Would it put you off travelling? If you want to extend it out a bit and head towards the government's end of conservatism, is this a good enough reason not to have a two-way bubble at all?
It’s a crap shoot, isn't it? You could just as easily have chosen Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart, Melbourne, Cairns, or Perth, and your holiday would remain untouched.
Does the fact you're in Queensland and in a lockdown make you have regrets? Can you adjust your time off to suit?
Obviously if you're one of those sitting there going , "oh thank God we don’t have a bubble, and this is exactly why I wouldn’t go, even if we did have one," that's fine. Live your own life and make your own choices.
But the reality is this sort of thing, whether it's in Brisbane, Melbourne, or Auckland, is going to happen for the foreseeable future. It is not a reason not to get on with life.
It's certainly not an excuse, which is what the government is desperate to find. Any reason not to move forward. The Cook Islands announcement of an announcement Friday is all you need to know what a jack up this really is.
In life, it's all about attitude. Anything is an issue if you want it to be.
If I was stuck in Queensland right now, there would be no regrets, and no phone calls to Hipkins. It's life and we need to get on with it.