ABSTRACT

The experience of Covid-19 in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2020 has been strongly shaped by a narrative emanating from a robust partnership between politicians and public health experts. This narrative, as we illustrate in the sections below, treads a careful line between hard and soft responses. To elaborate, enacting policy such as closing borders and requiring ‘lockdown’ was swift and firm but was accompanied by an attempt to develop a disposition of care and empathy towards the public. While there has been hardship for some families, the soft messaging has, we argue, led to aspects of the response that have been decidedly child-friendly. At the regional scale, border closures have impacted heavily on Pacific Island families, separating families as parents have been unable to return to their home islands and through the loss of economic opportunities associated with seasonal work and in local - often tourism dominated economies. In a COVID-era the future looks uncertain for children both within New Zealand and in the wider Pacific realm.

摘要

2020 年 Covid-19 在新西兰 Aotearoa 的经历很大程度上受到政界人士和公共卫生专家之间强有力伙伴关系的叙述的影响。正如我们在以下部分中所说明的那样，这种叙述在硬性和软性反应之间小心翼翼。详细地说，制定诸如关闭边界和要求“封锁”之类的政策是迅速而坚定的，但同时也试图培养对公众的关怀和同情心。虽然一些家庭遇到了困难，但我们认为，软信息导致了对儿童友好的反应方面。在区域范围内，边境关闭对太平洋岛屿家庭产生了严重影响，由于失去了与季节性工作和当地通常以旅游业为主的经济体相关的经济机会，父母分离的家庭无法返回他们的家乡岛屿。在 COVID 时代，无论是在新西兰还是在更广阔的太平洋地区，儿童的未来都充满不确定性。