Missteps made Victoria's lockdown harder than it needed to be

Jacinda Ardern’s historic victory in the New Zealand elections shows that voters will reward leaders who make them feel safe. Ms Ardern will lead the first NZ single-party majority government since 1993 thanks to her success in stopping COVID-19 and keeping deaths down to just 25. Whatever concerns Kiwis have about the economic implications of the hard lockdown – an issue that is far from settled – seem to have been a secondary consideration. The Australian toll has been much higher largely because of the second wave in Victoria, which has contributed to the deaths of more than 700 people since June. It is hard to make direct comparisons but it is safe to say Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has not been nearly as effective in keeping his citizens safe. Failures in hotel quarantine and a lack of confidence in the state’s contact system mean the Stage 4 lockdown imposed on August 3 have gone on for too lon