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Download AudioTechnology entrepreneur Sir Ian Taylor, of Ngāti Kahungunu, says he hopes the Royal Commission into the Covid-19 response doesn’t end up being a whitewash.
The commission is due to report back in mid-2024, including making recommendations for preparations for any future pandemic.
Sir Ian was critical of the Government’s lottery for managed isolation places, and tried to create an alternative for business travellers to self-quarantine.
He says while the first border closure in March 2020 was the right thing to do to keep the country safe, the Government dropped the ball when the second wave struck the following year.
“The first response was perfect. We then spent 16 months bathing in glory and did absolutely nothing about it… the Commission of enquiry needs to be looking at – what did the government do? Who did they take advice from? Who did they listen to in the 16 months – while we bathed in the glory and didn’t make any changes?” he says.
Sir Ian says kiwi technology could have built a system that prioritised urgent cases to get back in to the country, but the government ignored the offer of help.
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