“Jacinda Ardern used her regular music radio station appearance this morning to threaten teens and listeners of Fletch,
Vaughan and Megan with summer imprisonment. She’s either bluffing or lost the plot but neither is a good look,” says ACT
Leader David Seymour.
“Most of us would like to go back to when the Government worked with law abiding New Zealanders and stopped the gangs.
Now it's proposing the opposite.
“Jacinda said nobody will be allowed to leave Auckland this summer unless fully vaccinated. It’s divisive, impractical,
and at odds with other promises she’s made.
“Even the proudly vaccinated are not sure about the Government dividing people over vaccination. The overwhelming
majority support vaccination, but there’s growing discomfort about the Government setting people against each other.
“The promise is impractical. If Jacinda has ever been in or out of Auckland during summer she’ll know the traffic is bad
enough without police checking every single car. There will be delays lasting hours, and ironically, vaccinated people
who can travel will be the ones waiting in these queues.
“Internal borders will also be a massive drain on police time. Police have been stretched to the limit managing internal
borders when Auckland is locked down. Under traffic light conditions with far more travellers, their task will be
impossible.
“Threatening internal borders over summer suggests the Government doesn’t expect the Traffic Light System to be in place
anytime soon. If we were making progress, internal borders would not be necessary.
“If she was confident we are moving on, all regions would be on the traffic light system and below red, so regional
boundary restrictions would not apply.
“The bottom line is Kiwis won’t accept internal borders where you have to show a police officer you vaccine certificate
to drive out of Auckland."