Claire Trevett: A rare defence of Simon Bridges' Covid-19 criticisms

National leader Simon Bridges. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Just before I started in the Parliamentary Press Gallery 13 years ago, a veteran dispensed some advice.

It was to take the contrary view to everybody else on any given topic, and there would be a 50 per cent chance of being in the right.

This person was admittedly someone of inconsistent wisdom, but this advice sees me now defending National Party leader Simon Bridges' response to the Government's Covid-19 package.

Whenever somebody argues that there should be "unity" and no criticism from the media or the Opposition, it brings to mind the days after the Pike River Mine disaster.

Then there was a similar approach to the mine management during the press conferences: that it was not the time for criticism or hard questions, but for support. Peter Whittall was the good guy.

The ones asking hard questions in those press conferences were the Australian journalists. It transpired those journalists were right all along.

Now a similar sentiment seems to exist over Covid-19.

Bridges has been hung, drawn and quartered for criticising the pace and scale of the Government's response, for calling for more testing, and for his response to Finance Minister Grant Robertson's $12.1 billion mix of wage subsidies, business tax relief and benefit increases.

Bridges' speech in Parliament on the latter was much less measured than his press release.

He did agree with the wage-subsidy package but did not believe it went far enough, especially for companies with more than 25 staff.