Rotorua's Ibis Hotel is being used as a quarantine facility for inbound travellers after suitable Auckland facilities reached capacity. Photo / Andrew Warner
We are told 4300 people are in hotels right now.
Say, approximately $600 per day (that underestimates it as it includes bed, breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, activities, secured walks, security and Covid-19 testing). That is $2,580,000 per day or $941,000,000 per year of taxpayers' money.
This
proves our politicians have no business acumen.
Put me in charge, I will do it for nothing as my contribution to our country in these difficult times. Each returning person with a New Zealand passport will pay $600 per day x 14 days $8400 + administration charge $1400 plus GST. Total $11,500.
Money upfront before landing, my hard-nosed letter back to whingers would be worth a read.
That's the business way of doing it.
Tom Reynolds, St Heliers.
Of course people are queuing up to get into New Zealand as it is one of the safest places in the world from coronavirus and we have a great welfare system that seems to be available to all and sundry.
These people clamoring to get into New Zealand have probably lost their jobs overseas and now want to get back to New Zealand and our great welfare system. Remember, many of these people left New Zealand for greener pastures and now that things aren't so rosy they want to return.
Instead of increasing the amount of quarantine facilities, the Government should establish a weekly limit on returnees and priority given to "legitimate" New Zealand passport-holders. They should also have to pay for their quarantine costs.
It should also make it clear to visa holders clamoring to enter New Zealand that a visa is what it says, a temporary admission to stay in New Zealand and doesn't entitle people to stay indefinitely and with our projected high unemployment most of their low-skilled services are no longer required.
Jock Mac Vicar, Hauraki.
With the continuing coverage of the shortcomings in the border protection against Covid-19, I continue to wonder about the individuals' responsibilities to practise social distancing and avoid any spread of the virus.
Are they being forced to mingle where they cannot social distance? Were they forced to attend the child's birthday party? Were they forced to mingle in the smoking room?
I accept that this may have happened on the flight and that delays in testing and failures in following protocols need to be examined but, surely, the returning passengers are responsible for their part in protecting those of us who have been through levels 1,2,3 and 4.
If they have socially distanced and made every effort to follow best practices and protocols, then they deserve our thanks.
If they have not, then I am afraid that I feel that they are part of the problem and need to be examined as well.
Dunstan Sheldon, Hamilton.
I agree with Vince West (NZ Herald, June 22), Kiwis returning to New Zealand should be tested before they come here and be responsible for their hotel isolation costs.
So far, $81 million has been spent on returning Kiwis and another 900 arriving in the next two days.
So many slip-ups and errors in the testing, etc and, in the case of the two women who had permission to go to Wellington to attend a funeral and were not tested properly, causing more people to be tested, as well as six others at another funeral.
These people should be held responsible for the extra work, costs and time involved in sorting out their mess.
P. Salvador, Hobsonville.
There are really only two steps that have to be taken to ensure that there is no spread of the virus from arrivals into the country.
Limit the number allowed in to a number that can reasonably be managed at any one time.
And, send arrivals to one or more of our military establishments where they can be monitored and controlled effectively primarily by military personnel, perhaps with the assistance of additional health professionals.
We may now have a senior military person in charge of logistics but he will not have any direct control over medical staff or new arrivals, whereas at a military establishment full, effective control can be maintained.
Too much has already been sacrificed by too many to let this virus take a hold in New Zealand, just because of slack implementation of the rules for its exclusion.
Denis Healey, Paparangi.
It is obvious that our Covid-19 quarantine capacity is close to, if not already, being overwhelmed.
With cases only accelerating worldwide, why do we not set a date (say June 30) after which nobody enters the country, at least until the worldwide curve has started to flatten?
Given that this pandemic has been around for six months, anyone who wishes to return home to New Zealand has had ample opportunity to do so.
Failing that, I would have thought that a very obvious measure is to actively restrict the number of people getting on aircraft bound for our shores, to ensure that those numbers do not exceed our capacity to deal with them when they arrive.
Craig Panther, Birkenhead.
I take issue with your correspondent Mark Lewis Wilson (NZ Herald June 22) re Arming of Police, stating thousands of arms have been turned over to police during the amnesty. I didn't notice the criminals and gang members lining up to do the same! He is wrong to quote America as an example of armed police. If you look at other countries around the world (with the exception of some Pacific Islands) most have an armed police force, even the most law-abiding countries such as Switzerland, Japan, Singapore and the Scandinavian countries.
The reality is that more and more criminals are willing to use firearms and we are asking a lot of our frontline police to lay their lives on the line every day when attending incidents. Give the police the right to carry the firearms they need to protect themselves and the general public.
B O'Connor, Birkenhead.
Mayor Phil Goff is asking the Government to support Auckland's claim to take more water from the Waikato River. That such a plea is even necessary is evidence of the failure of Watercare to make provision for an ongoing adequate supply of potable water.
It also glosses over the fact that, apparently, even if the additional supply was available tomorrow, the necessary treatment plant is not in place either. Watercare, staffed by highly paid executives, has been allowed by the council to get us into this untenable position. Forward planning should have made provision not only for an ever-increasing demand but also for the inevitable dry season with less than usual rainfall. This contingency could have been covered by increasing storage facilities. I would have expected all of this to have been a normal part of an efficient operation.
Regrettably, however, it is another glaring example of the council not having or exercising any effective oversight and control of its so-called CCOs.
Peter Clapshaw, Remuera.
As your correspondents state, it's high time Auckland Council encouraged the domestic collection of rainwater.
But the council must go much much further and mandate the use of third pipe plumbing, at least for new developments, thus providing non-drinking water as an additional water supply network to the mains and sewerage schemes.
Indeed, this is an Australian Green Party policy, together with the use of grey water systems in individual dwellings, which Auckland Council should also permit.
It's tragic that Auckland's vision to be a "most liveable city" fails at one of the first hurdles: water supply.
C. Johnstone, Grey Lynn.
One of the recommendations of the recently released Health and Disability system review was the creation of a new Crown health entity called Health NZ.
This proposed new name is rather lacklustre and doesn't create the image of a strong unified comprehensive nationwide health service like Britain's well respected NHS (National Health Service).
For the public to have real confidence in this latest change to the health system, a more fitting name would be the "New Zealand National Health Service", which would better reflect what its primary focus should be - a service for the people of New Zealand.
Isaac Broome, Pukekohe.
Don't be fooled. Recent window-dressing of the Auckland Council in making salary cuts are risible.
The facts are, that their well-publicised voluntary remuneration and payroll reductions amount to just 0.3 per cent of payroll costs and recent staff hirings and wage scale adjustments see their wages and salary bill continuing to escalate.
Only a complete revision of council budgets that recognise the reality of Covid-19 realities will prove the council's sincerity in moving to more affordable public service provision.
Larry Mitchell, Rothesay Bay.
On isolation
Reduce the numbers entering so that they all can be accommodated securely, tested and monitored. It's just common sense. Brian Alderson, Glen Eden.
This Government isn't proving any more competent at "Quarantinebuild" than it has at Kiwibuild. Mike Wagg, Freemans Bay.
Either Todd McClay thinks his constituents don't want to be part of the team of five million, or cared more about scoring a cheap political point than creating a negative perception of Rotorua as a holiday destination. Michael Smythe, Northcote Pt.
On BLM
Although sparked by the death of one black man, the Black Lives Matter marches are about injustice stretching back over 400 years. Gary Ferguson, Epsom.
On prostate
Like Matt Heath (NZ Herald, June 22) I enquire about the health of male acquaintances but, having lost my husband recently to prostate cancer, I ask: "Have you had your prostate checked?" Some look a bit startled but I make no apology.
Anne Martin, Helensville.
On water
Perhaps when we ask Government to fast-track our water application, we should say we are happy to drop the Sky Path. Without water, no one will out walking/riding as we'll be queuing up to fill water containers. Mark Berry, Drury.
The long queue for water consent due to drought in Auckland is ridiculous. With unemployment rife, surely there are people qualified to do this job. Marie Kaire, Whāngārei.
Two extremely well-paid executives sat on their hands while Auckland dried up. We deserve better. Bob Wichman, Botany.