July 29, 2020
Maori Party rejects border tax on tangata whenua
Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says tangata whenua should be exempt from paying for managed isolation.
The Government will introduce legislation setting a change requiring the payment from people who leave the country after the law passes and then come back, or people who are visiting New Zealand for less than 90 days.
They will have to pay 3100 per room for their managed isolation hotel stay plus $950 for each extra adult and $475 per child.
Ms Ngarewa-Packer says there should be no barriers to tangata whenua coming home.
"If you’re not tangata whenua you get charged. That's how my world view is. Our tangata whenua are returning to their whenua whether it's for 91 days, or whether it's for 90 days. They're bringing their whanau back and our tupuna used to come back and forth. This is where they are from. They should be able to come back unimpeded. Those who are not tangata whenua, he aha, kei te pai." she says.
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer
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