“Jacinda Ardern needs to say what level of vaccination is required to move in two weeks, otherwise she is just making it up as she goes,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“The Prime Minister either doesn’t know or won’t tell us what the plan is, and at this point it’s not clear which would be worse.

“Ardern said that Auckland needs two more weeks at Alert Level 3, with current restriction levels, so the vaccine has time to ‘take hold,’ whatever that means. A simple question for Ardern is what number does that mean?

“Eighty nine per cent single dose doesn’t cut it, so what does? Ardern is now saying she will announce a long-term plan on Friday, 67 days into an outbreak. She is making it up as she goes, and Aucklanders are paying the price of uncertainty.

“Either that, or Jacinda Ardern has the answer but won’t tell. It’s patronising command and control at its worst. Ashley Bloomfield, when asked for modelling of when Auckland would reach 90 per cent, was arrogant in the extreme, telling reporters that it would reach 90 when it reached 90, before back-pedalling and still not answering the question.

“A much better approach would be to set a Freedom Day when we’ll be opening up. The Government should simply say, you don’t have to get vaccinated by December 1st, but it’s highly recommended. That’s the day we lift restrictions."

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