News that the Government is considering restricting travel into some regions over the summer holiday period is just the latest of many signs Jacinda Ardern’s Government failed to plan for Delta and is working out its response as it goes along.
Aucklanders who have now spent 90 days in lockdown are suffering. They need to see a clear plan and a clear end in sight. Instead, over the last 2 months, Jacinda Ardern’s Government has announced a new plan almost every week.
It was only just over a month ago the Prime Minister announced the confusing step system. The step system was surpassed by the traffic light system in less than three weeks.
We then had the spectacle of the Prime Minister telling the ZM radio show Aucklanders might need to have testing or vaccination to travel for summer, followed by the Ministers for Covid-19 Response and Finance disagreeing on if Kiwis would need to book a time slot to travel for Christmas.
The Prime Minister announced Auckland was expected to move to the new system following the November 29th check-in, we then had the Minister of Health disagreeing.
We were told we would all wait an age as every DHB needed to reach a 90 per cent target, now today it is revealed Cabinet is considering softening that target.
On announcing the Traffic Light System the Prime Minister said the remainder of the North Island would move together to the new system once the target was hit, now we hear regional borders are being considered for areas with low vaccination.
Of course, if a border is put up around a region, any conditions on vaccination status or testing would apply to all travellers, as Kiwis can’t prove if they have come from Auckland or not, so this latest Government musing adds new uncertainty for people with family or holiday plans in places like Northland or Tairawhiti.
I know many people in Auckland who are trying to finalise Christmas and summer plans right now but are frustrated by the continual changing plans of the Government. They can’t promise loved ones they will see them as they don’t know what the rules will be.
Ardern said this morning that the decision will be made on the 29th of November and Auckland will move to the new system very soon after that, well if she knows what the decision is, why not make it now? Why not tell Aucklanders the date today?
The Prime Minister seems to enjoy keeping Kiwis waiting for the theatre of week-by-week announcements. Last week she said that she would announce today when the Auckland border will open. This morning she moved that to Wednesday. Enough of the suspense.
Jacinda Ardern had 18 months to think about how a regional border would work. Labour failed to plan for Delta and now we have a summer of shifting sands.
By December 1st Aucklanders will have suffered over 100 days of lockdown. Kiwis who want to get vaccinated will have had a huge amount of time to do so.
The Prime Minister needs to urgently clarify what the rules will be for summer.
Summer starts on December 1st. The Prime Minister needs to announce that from December 1st the Auckland-lockdown and Auckland-lockup will end.
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