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editorial
With freedom comes responsibility
Cover_Nov21 gold FINAL.indd 1 10/11/2021 11:49:05 AM
NZ Hardware Journal is published 11 times per year (monthly except for January)
Group editor Steve Bohling steveb@mpm.nz
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2456 • 30/9/2018 www.abc.org.nz
EVERYONE IN THE upper North Island (except perhaps those in hospitality)
will be pleased as punch to be enjoying slightly more freedom than we’ve seen the last several weeks and months.
Our rapid voluntary uptake of vaccinations has played a part in this but some sectors are looking for vaccination to be mandated by Government.
Indeed, Registered Master Builders Chief Executive David Kelly went so far last month as to call on the Government to “front foot broadening mandates to the building and construction workforce. “Our members are facing a complex situation in the residential sector where clients are advising they only want vaccinated builders in their homes, which they are legally entitled to do.
“This places the main contractor in a bind, as they are unable to require their employees to be vaccinated, can’t disclose vaccination status to others, or indeed may not know the vaccination status of all their employees.
“A government mandate will clear that confusion.”
I’m happy about the intent and tone of David Kelly’s call for clarity, certainly compared to some of the increasingly vehement, hectoring calls to action I’ve seen on LinkedIn recently.
Be that as it may, it’s been great to see so many DIY retailers and merchants,
corporates and cooperatives alike, making their outside premises available for vaccination pop-ups and nudging the country’s undecided along by making it as easy as possible to get a shot.
Unfortunately, there always be the odd Karen who refuses to conform.
In which respect, faced with possibility of aggression over the requirement
to wear masks in-store, Retail NZ has launched a campaign (#shopnice) with CE Greg Harford saying: “Rates of aggression, violence and anti-social behaviour from members of the public have doubled over the past year, on top of significant increases over the last few years.
“Retail workers have the right to come to work and go home every day without feeling unsafe.
“However, retail teams are often threatened and abused in store, online
or over the phone, and are increasingly being subjected to physical or even sexual assault in-store.
“This is completely unacceptable, and retailers are asking everyone to #shopnice.”
That call for calm certainly resonates with me, in the last month having personally experienced heightened levels of tension, sadness and frustration as a direct result of the restrictions we have been encouraged to respect since 18 August.
So – be nice to someone today and perhaps they’ll be nice back.
Steve Bohling, editor steveb@mpm.nz
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NZHJ | NOVEMBER 2021