‘Kiwis deserve more respect’: Government under fire for delay in announcement of alert level

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her top Cabinet members have already decided whether Auckland exits Tier 2 today.

Ministers made the call last night, but Ardern will not reveal the decision until 11:30 this morning. The wait before announcing the decision has been criticized by business leaders.

The result is likely to be a shift to alert level 1: Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said he was “optimistic” that Auckland would be at alert level 1 this weekend.

LISTEN LIVE NEWSTALK ZB
7.05 am: Michael Barnett

The timing of today’s decision will have significant implications this weekend, including for the America’s Cup.

Auckland residents have reason to be optimistic ahead of the decision, given that it has been two weeks since the last community case of Covid-19.

National leader Judith Collins said the delay in the announcement is “the height of arrogance from a government that has been devoid of understanding about the rigors of trying to run a business.”

“Kiwis deserve more respect.”

Ardern, Hipkins and Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson have defended the opportune moment.

Speaking to the media in Hawke’s Bay yesterday, Ardern said that the alert level period was based on the two-week transmission period of Covid-19.

“It’s not just about when we make the decision, it’s about taking those time frames into account.”

The last community case of Covid-19 was exactly 14 days ago and despite tens of thousands of tests in Auckland, not a single case has appeared in the community.

There was a slight problem last week: a crew member was likely exposed to the virus abroad and tested positive as part of routine tests.

That was not treated as a community case and the person was quickly quarantined.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson hints that last night’s alert level decision could go into effect today.

“The meeting is on Thursday to facilitate the announcement on Friday,” he told the media yesterday.

“We didn’t want there to be any delay on Friday, so let’s have the meeting [on Thursday night]. “

Hipkins said last night’s meeting was to ensure that the Cabinet has evaluated all the information “before the final button is pressed.”

Business leaders were not impressed with the Cabinet’s timing decision.

Auckland Chamber of Business Executive Director Michael Barnett said that if the Cabinet has already made the alert level decision, it should have informed businesses immediately.

“This would have given companies time to prepare to welcome customers and visitors and make the most of a full weekend of trading to offset some of the devastating losses from Level 3 and 2 restrictions.”

The executive director of the Restaurant Association, Marisa Bidois, agrees.

“Tier 2 is still a very restrictive business environment for hospitality companies, so the sooner we can get out of it, the better.

“With many hotel companies on their knees in Auckland, a faster step to level 1 will be of some relief.”

He said that if the decision was made yesterday to return to level 1, bars and restaurants would welcome an immediate move.

“Or at least, an immediate communication of the deadline [which was] decided to help our companies plan and prepare. “

The timing of today’s decision is important for a number of reasons, one of which is the America’s Cup.

Auckland Unlimited’s Steve Armitage said he expected the city to return to alert level 1 settings by the weekend, with races scheduled for tomorrow and Sunday.

A move to level 1 would reopen fan zones and live events to the public, he said.

“We have a great weekend of action planned, including the resumption of many of our Summernova events if we move to Alert Level 1,” he said.

The races have been held at level 2, but with restrictions on fan meetings.

That has meant that the races have been held on courses that were less likely to attract large groups of spectators on the ground.

It has also meant that the events at the America’s Cup Race Village have been canceled.

A level 1 announcement would also be good news for the Auckland Festival of the Arts.
It would mean that the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra’s rendition of the ET soundtrack could go ahead with its full schedule, as could concerts by artists like Che-Fu & The Kratez and Anna Coddington.

“The recent closure has presented its challenges,” said festival executive director David Inns.

“But the festival team is doing an incredible job responding to the situation, and we are still confident that we have an excellent presentation in store.”