Some of the points made in the video are:
- The government should have extended the wage subsidy for the four extra days that the restrictions will be ongoing.
- National’s health spokesperson Dr Shane Reti has written – for the second time – to the health committee chair asking for it to be reconvened.
- Dr Reti had not received a reply to that request, and his initial request was turned down because Labour MPs would not agree to it.
- Dr Reti said the party believed parts of the Auckland boundary should have been adjusted to allow places like New Zealand Steel in Waiuku to go back to work.
- The National party would support an extension of the scheme for the four extra days that the restrictions will be ongoing if the government would agree to it
- Judith Collins said that extending it would have been the “kindest and most pragmatic” thing to do.
- Judith Collins said that the wage subsidy is not sustainable in its current form, which was why the border was key to the country economically and for the public to have confidence.
“The main thing businesses are wanting from us is to be able to have the borders safe so they can actually have some confidence in their own businesses.”
8.On masks, Collins said The party fully supports the move to make masks mandatory on public transport.
“We thought that should’ve been done ages ago, it’s a no-brainer in our opinion.”
9. Dr Shane Reti said they would be taking the advice of health officials on masks and closely following any changes or recommendations.
10. He said transport operators between isolation facilities and the border should be wearing PPE.
11. Discussing border security, Collins said the public was paying the price because the government had not been able to secure the border and undertake the testing they called for.
“It’s very important to understand if we have the border secure and we have it very safe and we have in place the tracking mechanisms around the Covid app and we also have something like a CovidCard or some sort of Bluetooth technology as well and we have the testing, that any incursion through there will be much more quickly found.
12. Judith Collins said if they were in power, the virus would not be in the community and would be contained quicker.
“The government has not undertaken what anybody would expect would be undertaken, in other words what they promised, we would not do that.
13. Judith Collins said Health Minister Chris Hipkins was essentially a part timer in that role because he had so many other portfolios on hand. She said that he had not given Dr Reti a briefing in over a week.
“Clearly, they have dropped the ball,” Collins said on the Heather Simpson review that was being done.
“I’ve made it very plain that without better advice – the advice that the prime minister has – we have to actually accept that decision she’s made because we do not have the advice that she’s made that on.”
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/424364/judith-collins-covid-19-wage-subsidy-should-have-been-extended
