November 16, 2021
Lockdown utility at end a Covid leaks border
Former New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says the Auckland border to Taitokerau needs to be opened up.
The position puts him at odds with former colleague Hone Harawira, who has been coordinating Taitokerau Border Control efforts.
He says the notion Covid can be eliminated has gone, and the focus has to be on managing the spread and ensuring people get vaccinated and follow common sense health measures.
“We’re likely to perish through red ink up here before we all fall victim to Covid and the trade off between vaccination scope and economic livelihood, it’s not an either or, it’s on a continuum and I really think this blunt tool of lockdowns and keeping everyone cooped up, it’s run its race now,” Mr Jones says.
Shane Jones says the dispute between Waipareira’s John Tamihere and Health Ministry boss Ashley Bloomfield over access to data shows the dangers of giving too much power and control to an unelected bureaucrat.