Coronavirus Covid-19: Kiwis will get free access to the vaccine, confirms the governor general in a speech from the throne

New Zealanders will have free access to a Covid-19 vaccine, the Government confirmed today.

The detail was included in the Speech to the Throne presented to Parliament by Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy.

The speech was written by the Government, but presented by the Governor General as part of the reopening of the new Parliament.

Reddy began the speech by congratulating the Labor-led government on its clear mandate to govern New Zealand.

“New Zealanders voted for stability and certainty in the elections,” he said.

They have placed enormous trust and responsibility in the Labor government by giving it a majority mandate to implement the policies it established during the campaign, responding to the issues that will inevitably arise, and applying the same values ​​and strong leadership established in its first term. “

Today is the official Opening of Parliament by the State; the formalities began with Reddy’s speech.

It was drawn up by the Prime Minister and it broadly announces the Government’s policy, legislative proposals and electoral promises.

Parliamentarians were officially sworn in yesterday, but it was mostly ceremonial.

From the throne inside Parliament, Reddy said the Labor-led government is taking office at a time of “unprecedented international crisis,” the biggest public health emergency since the global flu pandemic a century ago.

Reddy added that the resulting economic shock represents the largest global recession since the Great Depression.

“The health risk posed by the pandemic is greater now than when we closed our borders for the first time. The global economic outlook continues to worsen.”

New Zealanders, he said, will not be immune to these deteriorating conditions.

“In this year of crisis, protecting New Zealand and the lives and livelihoods of New Zealanders has been an urgent and ongoing consideration. It remains so.”

But he said that does not mark the full scope of what a government can do nor does it mark the full scope of what this government intends to do.

Reddy also cited a number of other issues the government has vowed to address, including affordable housing and homelessness, child poverty and the global climate crisis.

“In each of these areas it is necessary to do more and go further,” he said.

“The problems that have been brewing for decades are not solved easily or quickly, but this government is committed to relentlessly pursuing progress.”

The government’s first goal, Reddy said, is to keep New Zealanders safe from Covid-19.

He confirmed that the Government is working to deliver free and effective vaccines to New Zealanders as soon as they are available and safe to administer.

“The government remains committed to an elimination strategy, but will always be open to new ways to achieve it.”

No system is perfect, he said, so the government is always looking for ways to improve.

He said that when it comes to countries where Covid-19 is successfully managed, the Government will look for opportunities to travel more freely.

For example, the creation of quarantine-free travel zones with the Cook Islands, Niue and Australia is currently being planned.

“We will seek to continue advancing in these opportunities, but with safety as our priority.”
The remainder of the speech consisted of promises that Labor made in the campaign and now intend to become law.

These include:
• Revocation and replacement of the RMA
• Reform of the vocational education system
• Reestablish incentive allocation to training
• Raise reduction thresholds
• Raise the minimum wage to $ 20 an hour next year.
• Pursue high-quality and comprehensive trade agreements
• Phasing out hard-to-recycle single-use plastic items
• Require that only zero-emission buses be purchased by 2025
• Expand the free and healthy lunch program
• Review and improve the Lease Court

In closing, Reddy said that New Zealand has entrusted the government with the responsibility of pulling the country through a crisis.

“Nothing in today’s schedule will be easy. But our opportunities and potential far outweigh our problems.”

He said New Zealand can and will rebound.

“But that is not enough. We can be better than we were. The mission of this government is to do so.”

Following Reddy’s speech, there is a Parliamentarians Lunch where the Prime Minister will address MPs before they enter the House at 2pm.

Before the speeches of the deputies begin, there are a number of procedural issues, such as the appointment of the presidents (assistant speakers) and other parliamentary matters.

After that is settled, there will be keynote speeches by new Labor MPs Arena Williams and Ibrahim Omer.

The pair will move and second the address in response: the formal response made in the House to the Speech from the Throne.

Then national leader Judith Collins will give a 30-minute speech, which will likely lay out her party’s priorities for the coming year.

Collins will be followed by Ardern, who will deliver a speech on behalf of the Government.
Like Collins’ speech, Ardern’s will outline his administration’s priorities for the next three years.

After Ardern, the Green Party leaders will speak for 30 minutes, most likely 15 minutes each.

After the Greens, the leader of the Law, David Seymour, will finish the speeches of the leaders of the day.
The rest of the session, until 5 in the afternoon, will be several deputies making spaces of 10 minutes.

Summary of the day:
• 10.40 am – Governor General Patsy Reddy delivers the speech from the throne
• 2 pm – Order of business in the Chamber; appoint the presidents
• Starting at 2:00 pm – Inaugural speeches by the promoter and the one who seconded the speech in response: Arena Williams and Ibrahim Omer
• Speech by opposition leader Judith Collins – 30 minutes
• Speech by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – 30 minutes
• Green leader (s) James Shaw and Marama Davidson – 30 minute combined total
• Act Leader David Seymour – 30 minutes
• Thereafter, 10-minute speeches by other deputies until the suspension at 5:00 p.m.