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The National Party adheres to its policy of allowing international students to enter the country and allowing them to isolate themselves in university accommodation, but has postponed the time frame of that policy indefinitely.
Under former leader Todd Muller, the party announced a policy that would have allowed international students to return to the country during the second half of the academic year.
Students would isolate themselves not in state hotels, but in student accommodation or other hotels, which would be vetted by the Ministry of Health and run by universities.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins dismissed the policy at the time, saying the university accommodation was not built in a way that would allow for distance between arrivals.
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
Judith Collins says the policy would only be implemented if it was safe to do so.
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The policy preceded several controversies at the border, including the revelation that testing was not being carried out as ordered, several escapes, and a couple of women with Covid-19 leaving isolation on compassionate leave.
After reaching the party leadership, Judith Collins distanced herself from politics by refusing to endorse it and saying that New Zealand would not get “softer” on Covid-19 if National won the election.
“We have said very clearly since I was the leader that there is no tolerance for Covid-19 in New Zealand. I’ve heard a lot of reports from some people that we should be much softer on this; I’m not ready to go easy on this, ”Collins said.
He subsequently announced a hard-line border policy that would see a new border protection agency established and would require travelers to return negative tests before departure, saying a strong border was the best way to prevent the country from needing closures.
But the original policy regarding international students remains on National’s website in its policy section.
When asked about the policy Tuesday, Collins said it was still “something to look at” once the situation was secure.
“We wouldn’t be putting anything in without it being secure,” Collins said.
“We need to make sure that we have the Covid testing, the Covid apps, the Covid Bluetooth system in place for people in and around those areas, but also that we have the confidence that we can really stop it. We can see that the government has not been very good at this.
“We don’t have a system that we can trust right now … With a single border agency we could make sure it’s safe.”
Collins said it would eventually be possible. “I have no reason why we can’t do it. If Taiwan can do it, why can’t we do what we have to do? “
He refused to set a time frame by which National could be assured of being elected.
Schools, universities and other institutions that rely on for-profit international students have come under great pressure from the closure of the border.
The sector is worth around $ 5 billion a year to the economy, according to a report by Education New Zealand.
