This week I had reason to use the saying about canaries in coal mines. For those who aren't aware of the saying, or who haven't spent time finding out about the fascinating coal mining industry, here's a teaser. Back in the olden days, before new-fangled electronic devices that can tell miners when the atmosphere around them is becoming dangerous, canaries were a common feature of mines.
The canaries were there to give miners a heads-up that the air was getting dangerous - when the canaries started falling out of their perches, miners knew that they had to skedaddle lest they also succumb to the fumes. While this was unfortunate for the canaries, and something (were canaries still used in this way) that PETA would no doubt be busy chaining themselves to mine entrances about, it was a good way to keep the miners safe.
Independent journalist Bernard Hickey took on the canary role this week. Hickey is an independent journalist with history across many different mastheads. Hickey's current outlet is The Kaka, a one-man attempt to reinvent journalism in an age where the public gets their information in new and sometimes sub-optimal ways.
Anyway, Hickey wrote about the messaging coming from the Beehive around the elimination strategy. Unusually for someone who normally leans on the left side of the political spectrum, and who strikes me as putting people before profits, Hickey likened New Zealand to a cage. His thesis was that, while possibly taken for the right reasons, the current elimination strategy is forcing New Zealand down a path that will see us locked off from the world for years.