The Labour Government’s recent decision around Alert Levels speaks to it unpreparedness for a Delta outbreak.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!We’ve known about Delta since December. We’ve seen what outbreaks have looked like around the world. There are steps the Government should have taken to protect us, the main one being higher rates of vaccination.
The ACT Party has been consistent in calling this Government to be more open and transparent about the numbers of people who have been traced and tested, and what numbers it basis its decision to lockdown our country. When it makes these big decisions that affect our lives, we should know what they’re being based on.
New Zealander’s want a Government that is accountable to the people, that lays out the data it has and what it needs to see to make a decision.
The Government has started each 1pm pronouncement with self-congratulations about vaccination being on track and vaccines arriving in the country. These are things that we should just expect and should have been happening at greater rates before now.
New Zealand is the lowest in the OECD for vaccinations.
This Government knew that a community transmission of the Delta variant was an imminent threat, yet they have ignored ACT’s constructive inputs on vaccinations, testing and tracing.
The Government should transparently tell us, how many contacts have they traced, how many have they contacted, and how many have returned a negative test. Without these numbers, it is impossible to say whether they have made the right decision.
New Zealanders need is certainty. Parents want to know when their children will be back to school, business owners want to know when they can reopen, everyone wants to know when they’ll get back to living their lives.
This Government’s lack of accountability could also be seen during the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee.
Grant Robertson has today told the Select Committee that it doesn’t matter how much of the COVID-19 Recovery Fund he’s blown on unrelated spending because he can always borrow more. He’s so far spent it on things like school lunches, ballet and the orchestra.
Three months ago, there was only $5 billion left from the $50 billion fund. More money will either need to be borrowed or cuts will need to be made elsewhere. But Grant Robertson wasn’t keen to talk about that.
Robertson has no appreciation that this money comes from hardworking taxpayers and will need to be paid back by future generations.
ACT released our second version of a plan to prepare New Zealand in March and we have another version on the way. It revolves around five principles: Transparency, faster tech uptake, risk management, a culture of inviting criticism and continuous improvement.
We will continue to make constructive criticisms where necessary and helpful suggestions where possible, while asking the questions New Zealanders need answered. David Seymour, MP based in Epsom, Auckland and Leader of ACT party (Please note this column was written before the alert level 4 lockdown)