Exporters’ trying to sustain essential trade and supply chains are in no man’s land, able to travel offshore but not return, blocked by the MIQ booking system which randomly throws up spots, gobbled up within seconds by gamers or people paid to sit hitting refresh round the clock despite assurances that 10 per cent of the 4,000 available rooms are allocated for critical business.

“We know Government can release MIQ rooms, deliberately kept vacant as they have for the repatriation of NZ residents stuck in NSW’s lockdown. So what has happened to MIQ’s booking priority for business travellers who contribute to GDP, employment and livelihoods? And why should these export leaders, who have proof of vaccination and have tested negative for Covid in pre departure tests have to even go through managed isolation?” asks Auckland Business Chamber CEO, Michael Barnett.

“It’s not realistic for Government to think business can stand still any longer at the end of an email or video call trying to shore up customer, supplier and staff relationships,” he said. “It’s crunch time. The world is open for business deploying safe cross border procedures, Covid-free passports, rapid testing and accelerated vaccination programmes. Exporters need to be able to travel back and forth safely and efficiently.

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