8. Question No. 8—COVID-19 ResponseCHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Minister for COVID-19 ResponseQuestion No. 8—COVID-19 Response8. CHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Does he stand by all of the Government's statements and actions responding to COVID-19?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister for COVID-19 Response): Yes. The Government's pragmatic response to a one-in-100-year shock has ultimately been focused on protecting the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders. Going hard and early has given New Zealand valuable options that other countries have missed out on and it's meant that New Zealanders have lived some of the least restrictive lives anywhere on the planet over the last year and a half. Our response has also given us the space to look ahead allowing us to do the necessary work behind our planned phased approach to reopening our borders safely early next year. We've already announced some of the details of that back in August and we'll continue to share more details with New Zealanders soon.Chris Bishop: Does he agree with the Prime Minister that the managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) system is not a lottery?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Some elements of the MIQ system do have a degree of chance associated with them but for those with an urgent and pressing need to travel they can access emergency allocations; for those who have very significant national interest reasons to travel there is an allocation of space for that as well. There are allocations of space for for example critical workforces that we need to get into the country like our Recognised Seasonal Employer workers and so on. So the latest system I think is fairer—the lobby system is fairer—than the system that existed before where there was an even greater degree of luck associated with it. [Interruption]SPEAKER: Order! The pair of you.Chris Bishop: Will he allow fully vaccinated Kiwis in Queensland to return to New Zealand before Christmas without going into MIQ and if not why not?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: What we have indicated—I think it was about two weeks ago we indicated that we have Australia on about an eight-week cycle so yes there will be further reviews of trans-Tasman travel this side of Christmas.Chris Bishop: When if ever will the Government allow businesses operating under level 3 conditions in Auckland to use rapid COVID tests to help protect their staff and the wider community?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The Ministry of Health are doing quite a lot of testing around rapid antigen testing at the moment. We haven't made further decisions on where or when or how they may be deployed in the future.Chris Bishop: Will he rule out reopening New Zealand to the world along the lines of the reconnection strategy given by the Prime Minister in August at a level below 90 percent vaccination coverage which seems to be the Government's aim?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: As I've always indicated to the member—and the fact is every Minister has said this including the Prime Minister—we haven't set hard and fast vaccination targets. Our goal is to make sure as many New Zealanders as possible get vaccinated. Ninety percent is a good thing to aim for it is a good thing to strive for but we've not set hard and fast targets.