NZ Initiative Wellington, 3 September 2020 – A chokepoint at the border is blocking entry of critical workers and suffocating the economy, according to a new paper from The New Zealand Initiative. New Zealand’s small size means both the public and private sectors often need international experts with niche skills.
Press Release: National Party The first full week of lockdown cost nearly 400 New Zealanders their jobs every day, National’s Finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says. Statistics from the Ministry for Social Development show that in the week till 21 August a total of 2,717 Kiwis joined the now
Press Release: New Conservative New Conservative congratulates Family First on winning the appeal against their de-registration from the Charities Register. This is great news during a time of great erosion of core New Zealand principles such as free speech and democracy for the people. In 2017, the Charities Registration Board
Press Release: ACT Party “An interview with Taiwanese Digital Minister Audrey Tang shows the way to making elimination of COVID-19 affordable through a Wellbeing Approach,” says ACT Leader David Seymour “ACT has been saying for months that New Zealand should look to Taiwan’s approach to managing COVID-19. I have
Press Release: Plan B New Zealand experts and officials are betting the nation’s health and wealth on the slim chance of eliminating a virus and getting a vaccine before the natural end to the pandemic. The Covid Plan B group says today’s announcement that the Government is putting
Press Release: Plan B The extension of Auckland’s lockdown shows the cost of the Government’s continued pursuit of the elimination of COVID-19 and intention to wait for a vaccine. The Covid Plan B group says New Zealand is now one of the few countries pursuing elimination and “hiding”
Press Release: ACT Party “The Ministry of Health’s opaque process for Auckland travel exemptions is suffocating local businesses,” says ACT Leader David Seymour. “The Government needs to be open and transparent about how efficiently the process is working. “How many applications for exemptions have been received, approved and declined?
Press Release: ACT Party “A consensus is growing for a Wellbeing Approach to tackling COVID-19 with the Director-General of the World Health Organisation calling lockdowns unsustainable,” says ACT Leader David Seymour. Yesterday, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: ‘We must all learn to control and manage this virus using the tools
Press Release: Act Party “The Prime Minister is politicising the public service by making Labour Party campaign videos featuring public servants,” says ACT Leader David Seymour. “It’s completely unacceptable for campaign videos to be filmed inside the Ministry of Health featuring public servants including the Director-General of Health Ashley
Press Release: Plan B The serology tests on Wednesday being demanded by experts as necessary to track the mystery resurgence of COVID-19 have been banned by the Ministry of Health. Simon Thornley, epidemiologist with the Covid Plan B group, has criticised health commentators as hypocritical in calling for serology testing
Press Release: ACT Party “The Prime Minister has today admitted that she sat on information for nine days from health officials that people working at the border didn’t want to be tested,” says ACT Leader David Seymour. “I asked Jacinda Ardern in Parliament today when and where she got
Press Release: ACT Party “The Government’s response to a ruling on the Level 4 lockdown suggests that it believes it’s above the law,” says ACT Leader David Seymour. The High Court has ruled that the first nine days of the Level 4 lockdown wasn’t mandated by law
Press Release: ACT Party “Either the Government didn’t know what was in its national testing strategy, or it lied to New Zealanders about the extent of border testing,” according to ACT Leader David Seymour. “The Prime Minister and the Health Minister have insisted that the Government expected the Ministry
Press Release: NZ Government The 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War will be acknowledged on 15 August, with a commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington, Manatu Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage Chief Executive Bernadette Cavanagh said today. “New Zealand will join
Press Release: Say Nope to Dope The Say Nope To Dope campaign says that the supporters of cannabis legalisation are willfully misleading the public when they pretend to be concerned about patients and the use and availability of medicinal cannabis. “There has been a deafening silence on the drawing out
Press Release: covidplanb.co.nz Several World Health Organisation officials have this week crystallised New Zealand’s border dilemma – saying that keeping national borders closed because of COVID-19 is now unfeasible. Head of WHO’s emergencies program lead Mike Ryan said “it is going to be almost impossible for individual
