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Dear John, It is wonderful to have support from across New Zealand for my petition to get the Epidemic Response Committee reinstated. It is also great to have heard from the people who have phoned and emailed in support of the House sitting from 31 August. There have been some who think that should not have happened but the Prime Minister and the Speaker permitted it and agreed that as essential workers Members of Parliament should be at their workplace. My team of MP’s and I were happy to be there with strict protocols for preventing the spread of Covid-19 in place. Believe me I am the first to follow the safety rules – all of them. This is trifling compared to the awful news coming from Kabul and Afghanistan at the present time. I offer my sincere condolences to all who have paid the price of the terrorist attacks on the Kabul airport in recent days and to all who continue to suffer in Afghanistan. I offer my thanks to the hundreds of New Zealand Services personnel who worked there over the last 20 years. You saved lives, built infrastructure, provided education and medical help and much more. I am appalled that we have now left New Zealand citizens behind and now evacuation flights are no longer possible. The question is did the government make our evacuation attempt too late – was New Zealand too slow to act when the withdrawal of American troops was signalled back in May this year? Vaccinations are going too slowly Unfortunately I had to say it - the Government’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout is “as slow as a slow waltz”. The Government has to get the vaccines to where the greatest risk is and quickly. We need to ensure that the supply exceeds the demand as people have suddenly realised getting vaccinated is very necessary to stop us from having major lockdowns in Auckland and across New Zealand, every few months. The Covid-19 Delta outbreak seems to have slowed after the two weeks we have all experienced in lockdown, but the next two weeks at level 4 for Auckland will tell us whether it is under control. In the meantime my Covid-19 response spokesperson and I will be continuing to advocate for vaccinations to be a priority for the Government. They appear to have a lot of work to do to keep up with the current demand from the public who are queuing up for the jabs in record numbers. This is what we in the Opposition want to see – the vaccination numbers going up as we know the virus is evolving and booster shots are likely to be needed soon too. The Health Ministry has now agreed that Aucklanders should get as many doses of the vaccine as they need to keep up the momentum of vaccination. There are new vaccination centres opening in Auckland including one in the Roselands Shopping Centre on Great South Road, Papakura and also a drive-in at Papakura Marae, 29 Hunua Road, Papakura. The National Opposition is going to keep asking the government about the vaccine supplies being enough to meet the current encouraging demand from people all over New Zealand. We need our government to organise faster deliveries of the Pfizer vaccine right now. As a result of this current outbreak our MIQ and quarantine facilities are filling up with people who have tested positive for Covid-19 or have become sick with it in the community. So it is not surprising that booking for managed isolation and quarantine for people hoping to return to New Zealand from overseas is on hold for a while. Why have we not built special quarantine and isolation facilities for community cases that are separate from those for people travelling into New Zealand? And why do we still have the existing facilities located in the middle of busy city centres if that is where the Delta variant that we are battling with now, has come from? I know that the lockdowns that we are currently in are really hurting families, children, businesses, the elderly, those who live alone, those whose operations have been cancelled or delayed and the bereaved and it is with you in mind that I will continue with the questions and the suggestions in Parliament. As some of you will have seen that I obtained a podium and a press conference in Parliament this week. I am going to be speaking and answering questions from 1.40pm every weekday including before the House sits at 2 pm Tuesday to Thursday. My best wishes to you and your families as we cope with the continuing lockdown restrictions, stay safe,
Judith
Hon Judith
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