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ANALYSIS: Todd Muller was burned at the border.
Before the Hamish Walker mess, and long before the new community group in Auckland, Muller publicly reflected on the idea of the border remaining closed forever, noting that this was unrealistic.
“A strategy that says we remain completely closed to everyone for the next 12 to 18 months is simply unsustainable. We will not recognize this country in terms of economic impact,” Muller said in late June.
It didn’t exactly match the mood of the nation at the time, and Labor swooped in, with Jacinda Ardern saying it would be “unsustainable” to allow Covid-19 in New Zealand. She toyed with a narrative that Labor is always willing to paint about National: that it cares more about the economy than the health of the Kiwis.
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When Judith Collins became a leader, she immediately marked the language of the open border, saying that any opening would only be done “when it was safe.”
Stuff
National’s border policy spokesman, Gerry Brownlee.
In the face of a series of border gaffes and public disdain for various fugitives, the political opportunity definitely seemed to be to go more restrictive, not less.
Which is exactly what National did. He beat the government to announce a charge for returning the Kiwis, had that charge applied to many more Kiwis, and then proposed a new border management force to oversee the entire regime.
But as Muller said in June, keeping things locked up just for kiwis forever is tricky for a nation that relies on tourism, foreign students, and cheap farm labor. And just as the government has begun to signal a little more room for essential workers to enter, National has updated its border policy to allow more people to enter the country.
It would do so by partially privatizing the existing system, which already uses private hotels, and allowing travelers from low-risk countries to go through a shorter quarantine.
Partial privatization would allow companies to establish their own managed isolation facilities to expand current capacity, which is approximately 7,300 at any one time. These facilities would continue to be run by the government and would have to meet certain security standards, but would be allowed to charge their own fee and allow entry to non-residents, whether essential workers or long-term tourists.
The details on this are not yet set in stone. National Border spokesman Gerry Brownlee said Stuff a legislative structure would be needed to determine exactly how accountable these private providers would be if, for example, someone escaped.
He also rejected the government’s requirement that all managed isolation facilities be near a large hospital, which has prevented them from using large hotels in places like Queenstown, arguing that the new requirement that National would establish for travelers to return a negative test before boarding. an airplane would eliminate the risk of the situation.
Labor responded with an attack similar to the one he had used on Muller. Housing Minister Megan Woods, who deals with managed isolation, told the media that “New Zealand cannot afford a Melbourne-style managed isolation regime” and said that “our priority is keeping New Zealanders safe. ”.
Borders have been a powerful source of political tension for many years before Covid-19. NZ First has been reaping dividends for decades. An infectious disease that can be averted through border controls that would be called fascist in any other context has allowed the entire political spectrum to delve into border politics, particularly Labor, who dove into a bit of nativism on the housing crisis. when it suited him. they.
The problem for National is that it essentially has to argue two sides of the same argument. Borders will be more secure under the direction of a National Government, but also more flexible. It is possible to thread this needle, but it is not easy at all.
