Feature: General Election

present a bilingual collection of cheeky short plays that respond to his condescending assessment of te reo Māori, the perils of translation, the impact of our treaty partnership and what it might be like if the tables were turned. Again, keep a watch on the Te Pou website for updates on this and other online treasures.

Performance isn’t the only victim. With our galleries temporarily closed and exhibitions on hold there is an opportunity to find fresh paths to visual arts. Imagine the frustration of creating an exhibition to a deadline, and with the intention of having an audience responding in real-time and in a visceral way, suddenly snatched away – hopefully only temporarily. But if you need a fix and galleries remain or are closed again, I can recommend the McCahon100 online project. Here you will find literally dozens of responses to each individual writer’s chosen McCahon work. The range is extraordinary; from well-known arts commentators to writers, collectors and curators; from all ages; from the sophisticated to those who simply have a gut response and a love of his work. It’s easy to access and can be dipped into time and time again. Another accessible treasure is Olympic Park (off Wolverton Road in New Lynn). This awardwinning park has, along with a raft of environmental features, artworks by well-known artists. There is a large art bridge by Steve Woodward’s bridge at Olympic Park. Steve Woodward which links the two sides of the Whau River and provides a view over the whole park. The many easy walking routes take you to sculptures such as Louise Purvis’ Homage to Crown Lynn. On the Portage Road side of the park, leading towards the gymnasium, is a large black and red sculpture by artist Peter Nicholls. Its shape and form represents the confluence of the Waituarangi and Whau streams in Olympic Park, and the heritage of this site as a portage for transportation of waka. Metal eel sculptures by Whare Thompson lead the visitor to information about environmental and ecological issues that are particular to the site. Antonia Walmsley and Bill McKay’s sculpture Hinaki (eel trap), constructed by Murray Couling, also references the area and its history as a place to set traps. All this and more, including an inventive playground for children, make it Hinaki: Aintonia Walmsley, Bill McKay and Murray a great walking and Couling. picnic destination.

And so we forge on, masked and with hands raw from washing! Despite all, our arts and culture will twist and turn and emerge refreshed and ready to create meaning and sustain hope. Reach 70,000+ readers...for as little as 0.005c each.

As I write this, Auckland is again in a lockdown. Businesses are operating with closed doors, schools are open only for children of essential workers, and we are all staying home as much as possible.

This seems familiar because we have done this before, but it is actually extraordinary. Covid-19 is again in our community, and we have again come together as a team of 5 million to defeat it.

The biggest response is from the thousands of New Zealanders who have been tested for Covid-19. In the three days from Friday 14 to Sunday 16 August, over 75,000 tests were completed. That’s 1.5% of New Zealand’s population turning up to be tested.

At the time of writing, no further incursions of Covid-19 have been detected in the community. I hope that as you are reading this, the news has remained good. But if it hasn’t, I know that we can still work as a team to look after each other, and help get each other through.

The best thing we can do is to stay home if possible. The next best thing is to wear a mask. Wearing a mask won’t stop us being infected, but all the reputable research shows that it can help reduce the spread of infection. We can also wash our hands regularly, use hand sanitiser, and reduce physical contact with each other. All of these things help to reduce the chances of infection.

Plus we can keep track of our movements using the NZ Covid Tracer app. It will help with contact tracing if the infection spreads in our community.

None of these things works on their own. But each of them added together reduces the chances of Covid-19 taking hold.

It’s the team of 5 million. Each of us on our own makes very little difference. But together, we can do this.

– Deborah Russell, Labour MP (and candidate) for New Lynn