Collins JudithHon JUDITH COLLINS (National—Papakura): Oh thank you so much. Look it is time for New Zealand to stop being afraid. We have to unmask and not be afraid. And I take account of the comments from Dr Kerekere because if someone is immunocompromised there is nothing to stop them or anyone else from wearing a mask.But I didn't realise until I was in Europe in late May just how far behind and out of kilter New Zealand was compared to other developed countries—when we went into Europe and people were not masked. And why were they not masked? Because they said only people who are sick or concerned about their immune system were masked. In fact in Poland they said that they cancelled COVID on February 24. And when I asked What do you mean you cancelled COVID?" they said that was the date that Putin invaded Ukraine. So they felt they had a greater threat and they were going to get on with their lives. And actually it's time for us having all made enormous sacrifices—and some a lot more sacrifice than others—to be able to celebrate that it's time for these orders to be able to be revoked. And the National Party stands in support of removing these. The time has well and truly come if not late.I take up the point that Dr Shane Reti so eloquently made around the situation with the workforce in the health sector. We know that there are nurses and doctors and other health staff who have not been allowed to return to work because Health New Zealand—this great Government agency that was going to get rid of postcode lottery which it doesn't seem to have done—has decided they are going to prevent unvaccinated staff coming into work. This has to stop. We have staff who want to work people whose lives have been destroyed by their concern about the vaccination—even though I didn't share that concern and I think most of this Parliament did not but we are concerned for them that they have been left out on a limb. There are rapid antigen tests (RATs) available these RATs that we use now; there are now anti-viral medicines available to people should they get COVID. We know that COVID itself like other viruses has mutated many times and will continue to do so just like the Spanish flu and other diseases like that which then mutate and become far more easily transmittable and less harmful.The fact is people need to be able to live and we need to be able to allow people to live their lives. We in the National Party understand why health professionals were mandated around vaccination. We understand that—at the time. But it's time for that to stop. We understand that the Government has said that that mandate has been removed. But when the Government's big super health board Health New Zealand decides that it's going to stop staff coming in to work at a time when we are losing nurses and doctors and other health professionals to Australia and other countries it is madness. It is absolute madness. And they need to stop being so pathetic about this and let these people back. I don't see anybody requiring staff to be vaccinated for the winter flu which as we know was a particularly nasty flu this year. We don't see that happening. We don't see all sorts of other restrictions. And yet this particular one has continued under Health New Zealand and we need to have that corrected.I also take up the call from Dr Shane Reti that our pharmacists should not have to go through this whole masking nonsense. I popped in to the pharmacy the other day to get something and realised I wasn't masked. I had to race and get one. You know this is nuts people. It's nuts. Let's just stop this. Let people come back.I was on one of the first flights I think from Wellington to Auckland just after the masks mandate on public transport and airlines was lifted. It could have been a party flight. People were so happy. The staff on Air New Zealand were so happy. I went on board—and I am something of a frequent flyer I have to tell you over the years—and they said "Oh hi Judith it's going to be a great night tonight." I thought I must have walked into the wrong plane—apparently not. They were just happy to be able to see people's faces. People were happy to be able to see other people's smiles.It's time we moved on and it's time we gave people back the right to make their own decisions. And if people want to put a mask on if people have something that they are concerned about fine. Let's celebrate them having that right. Let's stop doing this to other people and making them feel bad because they might have forgotten their mask or something else. I think it's time we brought the country together and this would be one of the smartest things that Health New Zealand could do right now because they are so woefully behind in all of their elective surgeries they are so woefully behind in the public confidence that they can actually deliver anything that they've been set up for. And it's time we gave New Zealanders back their freedom and their self-respect and let them get on with it and make adult decisions."