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August 26, 2021
Sidelined border guard boiling over hotspot map
Waatea Team
Posted On August 26, 2021
A leader of Taitokerau Border Control says the higher threat level for a Covid outbreak in Northland could have been avoided if police hadn’t spurned its help.
Rueben Taipari says they’re alarmed by the hot spot map showing potential contacts throughout the north.
His group wanted to throw up checkpoints last week to turn back Aucklanders flouting lockdown rules by escaping to their holiday homes, but they were warned off by police.
He says they’re proved their effectiveness in the past, when they worked in cooperation with police.
"I think one of the greatest roles we play as Taitokerau Border Control is our capacity to communicate not only with those coming in but with those who live here and just to alleviate unnecessary strain on them and they all felt safe when our presence was there, working with police, bolstering the numbers," Mr Taipari says.
Taitokerau Border Control has 100 volunteers trained and ready to operate checkpoints.
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