Woods MeganCOVID-19 PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSE AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Housing): I move That the COVID-19 Public Health Response Amendment Bill be now read a first time. New Zealand's fight against COVID-19 continues. We have successfully eliminated the disease from our community but we can never be complacent. Our border is our first line of defence against COVID-19. Managed isolation and quarantine has proven to be a highly effective way of preventing COVID-19 from entering the community. There is no known domestic transmission of COVID-19 at present and there have been no locally acquired cases for over 90 days. All confirmed cases in June and July were linked to international travel and stayed in managed isolation and quarantine.Since 26 March over 34000 people have entered the country and completed their stay in Government-managed isolation or quarantine facilities. We expect many more people to return home as the global situation worsens. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of those working in our managed isolation and quarantine facilities—the New Zealand Defence Force staff the police the Aviation Security Service security staff the health workers hotel workers the cleaners the cooks and all of those that are making this isolation and quarantine facility that we never expected to have to stand up in our country. It is the largest quarantine operation we have ever run in our history—the people that are working tirelessly to make this work.New Zealanders have strong international connections. People will also want to resume overseas travel for work or personal reasons. We also know that COVID-19 is growing not slowing. Because of this the managed isolation and quarantine system must be sustainable. Although financial sustainability is part of this it is also critical that the system is sustainable in terms of capacity to allow New Zealanders to return home safely. I want to make it clear that this legislation is about the sustainability of the managed isolation and quarantine system in the broader sense managing the flow of incoming people over the border so that we can manage capacity as well as recouping part of the cost of running the system.This legislation recognises the important public health function that managed isolation and quarantine facilities play in our collective fight against COVID. The Government has been very clear that people should avoid wherever possible leaving New Zealand or coming to New Zealand for short-term visits. There are ongoing travel advisories that warn against travelling and leaving New Zealand. Returning raises the risk of bringing COVID-19.In the past weeks we have increased capacity in our managed isolation and quarantine system to ensure that more New Zealanders can enter the country but we are now close to exhausting our nationwide available safe capacity. Even if there were large numbers of fit for purpose facilities there is a limit to how many facilities we can safely and responsibly manage at any one time. We need to ensure that our managed isolation and quarantine facilities are just that—managed. We also want to ensure that spaces in the managed isolation and quarantine system are available for New Zealanders and their partners and dependants to return home.Currently taxpayers bear all the costs of managed isolation and quarantine. These costs are substantial and growing. This is not sustainable. Managed isolation and quarantine facilities will be needed for a sustained period as part of our longer-term public health response to COVID-19. In recent weeks there has been a lot of discussion about when the Government would start charging for managed isolation and quarantine. It is important that this legislation is passed before the House rises in order to provide certainty to people planning to come to New Zealand and for New Zealanders who have to travel out of the country. The bill currently before the House provides the Government with the legal authority to charge people entering managed isolation and quarantine facilities. If this bill is passed I intend to seek approval of the regulations soon. I intend for the charging system to come into force at 12.01 a.m. on the day the regulations come into force.The COVID-19 Public Health Response Amendment Bill does two things. It's main change is to introduce the legal framework to allow charging for managed isolation and quarantine. It also makes minor improvements to the existing provisions about orders that can be made under section 11 of the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020. The bill allows the Government to charge people entering managed isolation and quarantine. It allows for certain people to be required to pay charges for managed isolation and quarantine unless they are exempt or the charges are waived. Under the bill certain classes of people will be exempted from the requirement to pay charges. The bill allows regulations to set the level of charges and the manner and timing of payment. It also allows for regulations to provide for exemptions waivers and refunds.Much of the details of the charging system will be in the regulations. This provides flexibility to respond to a rapidly changing environment and ensure our settings are properly balanced and calibrated based on what is happening here and overseas. I'd like to thank the stakeholders who provided me with feedback on the content proposed in the regulations. I have considered this feedback carefully when making recommendations to Cabinet on those regulations.The Government has carefully weighed up the impact of charging on New Zealanders wanting to return home. I intend for the regulations to provide that New Zealand citizens and residents currently overseas will not be liable for charges if they are returning home permanently. Temporary visa holders who were ordinarily resident in New Zealand before our border closed on 19 March will not be liable for a charge on their return if they were out of the country on 19 March unless they are returning as a critical worker in which case I expect their employers or sponsoring agency will meet their managed isolation costs. I am proposing that New Zealanders who are currently overseas and come home temporarily and those New Zealanders who go overseas after regulations come into force will be charged for managed isolation and quarantine on their return unless they are exempt or qualify for a waiver.Under the bill charges must relate to the cost of managed isolation and quarantine facilities and they must not be more than the estimated actual and reasonable costs for that class of person. I intend to seek Cabinet agreement to a charging structure in regulations that is less than half of the average total costs. For a single person in a room the proposed charge is $3100. Additional adults or children over three years old sharing that room will be charged $950 and $475 respectively.The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act affirms every New Zealander's right to leave New Zealand and to come home. The introduction of charges for managed isolation and quarantine may impact people's ability to exercise that right as it makes coming home more expensive. I also recognise that Māori may be disproportionately affected by charges for managed isolation and quarantine. It is important that Māori can travel to and from New Zealand for whānau reasons such as tangihanga and to be able to exercise tino rangatiratanga and kaitiakitanga rights and responsibilities. The charge for managed isolation and quarantine may make this more difficult for some individuals and whānau. This is an important consideration of part of the Crown's Treaty of Waitangi obligations.Any limitations on people's rights need to be proportionate to the risks posed by COVID-19. Therefore the Government will put in place mechanisms to lessen the impact of charging on these rights. Charges will not have to be paid before someone comes to New Zealand. There will be adequate time for people to pay the charges and the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment may agree to accept payments in instalments. People could apply for a full or partial waiver if they are experiencing undue financial hardship or in other special circumstances.As mentioned earlier the bill is also amending section 11 of the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020. Under the principal Act the Minister of Health and the Director-General of Health can issue orders to give effect to measures to manage the spread of COVID-19. The bill will clarify that orders made under section 11 can require a person to undergo as well as report for medical examination or testing. It will also allow for orders to impose conditions on people before they enter the country to support and coordinate an orderly public health response to COVID-19. This could include requiring people to be registered to enter a managed isolation facility before they come here. COVID-19 will be with us for a while. All aspects of the managed isolation and quarantine system will be kept under regular review to ensure it is proportionate and necessary. We need a managed isolation and quarantine system that fairly represents the benefits to both the New Zealand public and those that enter the country.