[ad_1]
Jacinda Ardern has issued a “strong warning” to promoters of the event after it emerged. The Wiggles may not be able to embark on their planned New Zealand tour due to failure to secure MIQ spots.
“It’s common sense to me: don’t go out there and put up a sign and sell tickets before you’ve reserved your spot at MIQ,” the prime minister said.
Speaking at the retreat of the Labor caucus in Nelson, Ardern said he would leave it to New Zealand Immigration officials to decide whether to grant the border exemption to child performers, who are due to begin a 20-show tour on March 19.
He was concerned that if the tour did not continue, there would have to be a satisfactory outcome for ticket holders.
READ MORE:
* The Wiggles contacted several MPs in a desperate attempt to enter New Zealand.
* ‘Desperately Disappointed’: MIQ’s squeeze leads to calls for change
* Kiwis who booked Qantas flights home for Christmas say quarantine places have been lost.
”Several families … through no fault of their own have bought tickets [and] now we need to find a practical solution, ”Ardern said.
“A strong warning for promoters here: Don’t promote an event until you have everything in place, and that includes reserving your quarantine spots.”
He acknowledged that the government may need to be clearer in its message, saying: “The entrance is not the same as an MIQ location, and that could also be something we need to clarify on our side.”
Live Nation, the promoters of The Wiggles in New Zealand, have reached out to a number of MPs in hopes that they will help the group obtain the border waiver to enter New Zealand. Stuff understands.
Among them was Simon Bridges, a deputy from Tauranga, who tweeted that he had “drafted a letter to the powers that be asking them to do what they can” to allow the group, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this week, to touch the programs scheduled for March and April of this year, even though they have not reserved places at MIQ.
Composite: Things
Jacinda Ardern said a “practical solution” would need to be found for ticket holders if the shows were not held.
Bridges said the problem was due to “visa approval delays,” which meant that “the MIQ slots that were available are no longer.”
All travelers to New Zealand are required to spend 14 days in managed isolation upon arrival, which means that the group and their crew should enter an MIQ facility no later than March 4, but there are currently no MIQ locations available there. window.
MBIE said it could not disclose information about individual applications to the Managed Isolation Allocation System, but noted: “Just because someone gets a visa does not mean we give them a voucher in Managed Isolation. They have to book like everyone else.” .
Live Nation said it was “working closely with the relevant authorities on the logistics of The Wiggles tour” and was “looking forward to welcoming them to New Zealand.”
The prime minister said that only about 65 artists had been granted approval to enter New Zealand outside of screen and television, and that there was an “entertainment stream in effect” in the country when acts like The Wiggles.
“We want parts of New Zealand to benefit from events like that.”
But he stressed that the visa application process was different from the quarantine process, so “make sure you have booked your quarantine before you have reserved your dates.”
