COVID-19: What Business NZ chief executive Kirk Hope wants for Christmas – New Zealand to have ‘smartest borders in the world’ – Newshub

New Zealand has been too slow to use some of the technologies available, such as rapid antigen testing, Hope says.

Overseas, people are travelling more freely, with borders "very stop/start" due to variants.

"But for us it's been wholly stop," Hope says. "It hasn't started."

He's concerned the Omicron variant may push back plans to open the border to New Zealanders living in Australia in mid-January.

Many in the tourism sector have been "decimated" by the pandemic, and they desperately need the border to reopen, he says.

"So I do think, you know, as we kind of get further through the pandemic, we can both reduce risk, at the same time as enabling more cross border travel."

The self-isolation period should also be reduced to three days for low-risk countries, as we won't have an effective tourism sector with a week-long stand-down period, he says.

There are also massive people constraints. While businesses might have products and services and customers to buy them - they sometimes don't have the staff to operate.

"So part of my wish list is to get very clear about the skills that we need in New Zealand and for the government to be much, much more open about who we bring into New Zealand to help the economy grow.

"We must think about what our immigration policy looks like, in a way that enables businesses to meet what is very clear demand for goods and services, and that's been heavily constrained. It will impede us massively going forward."

While some businesses have gone "gangbusters" this year, the tourism sector and the hospitality and retail associated with it continue to suffer most - and that's why a smart border is so crucial, Hope says.

"So you know, there are many people who have lost their businesses. And that has been incredibly challenging over this two-year period, for people's livelihoods and mental health - and in a much more negative health way than perhaps if they'd caught Covid.

"Because it's so ongoing for many people and in some cases there's simply no way out. They just had to abandon their business and take another job."

While there was a lot of focus on wage subsidies and resurgence payments, there has been a lack of sector-specific support, Hope says.

"So my wish list is that the government wake up and actually understand and walk a few miles in those people's shoes. Because the ongoing health implications of losing your business are extremely severe. It will have long-term repercussions."

RNZ

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COVID-19: What Business NZ chief executive Kirk Hope wants for Christmas - New Zealand to have 'smartest borders in the world' - Newshub