By Eva Churchman

Yesterday I visited a friend in Wellington.  When I arrived there were three police cars around the the end of the cul-de-sac and three neighbours were talking to each other on the footpath.

I went and spoke to them and discovered that the reason for the police cars was something had happened in the house next to my friend.  The previous day the wife of the man of the house had gone distraught to one of the three neighbours on the footpath about her husband having “gone off the deep end” over losing his business due to the government’s continuing petty restrictions on the business’s ability to trade and that the people who were employed in it were now without jobs.

It wasn’t necessary to inquire further what had happened, it was obvious.

Although I had seen similar stories on the TV current affairs, it was a shock when this happens to someone you have seen around for several years.

I feel that the high level bureaucrats and the present cabinet ministers on their big salaries just don’t appreciate the very negative consequences of their silly restrictions which don’t affect the sick, but the healthy.  Unfortunately, there is probably going to be more such sadness in the months ahead.