Our Opinion – Coutts conundrum

Manly Sailing Club president, Sir Russell Coutts’ support of the protestors occupying parliament grounds in Wellington sent a flurry of emails my way.

“What does the club think of it and how about the sponsors?” were among the questions raised by readers of this paper.

There are several reasons why I will not be asking the club, or its sponsors, those questions:

He was not representing the sailing club at the protest. He was there as an individual with a political point of view.

On his Facebook page he says it was the first time he’d joined a protest. He also says he’s vaccinated. The mandate is among the issues he is opposed to. No fan of what he calls “mainstream” media at the best of times, he is also among those who believe publicly funded journalism means publicly controlled journalism. There is room for improvement in analysis of what government spits out but with “mainstream” media you have checks and balances – not so much with media found outside the mainstream.

Whatever you think of the government’s response to Covid-19, it has been an attempt to deal with an ongoing health emergency for which there was no precedent and is therefore not perfect. It asked people to put the wellbeing of the community as a whole above their rights as individuals. As well as so far keeping our number of deaths from the virus relatively low and hospitals and health workers overworked and stressed but not yet overwhelmed, it has caused people to lose their jobs, impacted businesses and blocked Kiwis from returning home. There are a lot of inconsistencies in the rules.

People waving placards about freedom should perhaps bear in mind that in this country, we have the freedom to protest and express political views, to a very large extent. While exercising that right, the Wellington protestors prevented businesses from operating and affected the ability of people to go about their daily lives – some of the very downsides of the pandemic response that they are so vehemently against.

Protest, by its very nature, is confrontational and pushes the boundaries – that it turned violent should surprise no one. Even so, taking part in it does not impact Sir Russell’s role as a sailing instructor and president of the local club. 

If sailing club members or sponsors don’t like Sir Russell’s views, what to do about it is for them to decide. He may find favour with others for having the courage of his convictions.

There are many others in this community, in a range of occupations, who, as private individuals, have been part of protests during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is when they are paid from the public purse that the lines become more blurred. For example, politicians should be open with their employers (the community) as to where they stand on political issues like this, so that voters are fully informed.

For anyone else, it is their business – and whether or not we share those views, everyone should definitely defend their right to air them. 

Terry Moore, Editor