“The private sector needs clear guidance from the Government now about what life will look like at lower alert levels”, says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Jacinda Ardern said this afternoon that Cabinet would make a decision about lowering the alert level on 20 April, two days before the four-week lockdown is due to finish.

“The PM then told businesses to prepare for alert levels three and two.

“Businesses can’t prepare if they don’t know which businesses are allowed to open, or what the rules are, at each alert level. The Government must give clear guidance now, not with two days’ notice.

“The private sector is desperate for clarity. It needs a set of principles about who can and can’t work and clear operating codes for different sectors.

“COVID-19 has presented the Government with significant challenges, but decisions about essential businesses have at times been confusing, arbitrary and unfair. This cannot continue.

“We need businesses and the economy to bounce back as quickly as possible. One way to achieve this is with clear guidance to each sector of the economy on who is able to open and what the rules will be.”

© Scoop Media