New Zealand’s MIQ system has been found ‘unreasonable’ yet still broadly justified. And just like the decisions that drove the COVID response, any apology will be more about politics than the law.
Before the pandemic, New Zealand’s emissions from domestic flights were 4.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, up by 43% since 2014 and the sixth highest in the world per capita.
Taking MIQ to court was meant to be something of a reckoning for New Zealand’s contentious border control policy. In the end it may be only a footnote to the bigger story.
The challenges of containing inevitable outbreaks once borders reopen should not be underestimated. That’s why elimination remains the guiding principle and mass vaccination the imperative.
To guard against coronavirus, NZ should consider a short “pulse” (a few weeks) of intense social distancing, including bringing forward school holidays and temporary closures of most businesses.
Tourism is vital to NZ and small economies in the Pacific. But as the Samoa Tourism Authority’s CEO says, “we can always get money back, but once there’s a loss of life you’ll never have that back”.