“Labour still won’t properly move on from Covid, as it continues to make people fill out the pointless Traveller Declaration Form to travel to New Zealand,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall.

“The form doesn’t serve a purpose other than to put off potential travellers and irritate people who just want to come home. It can take up to 40 minutes to fill out and exists to get travellers to disclose Covid-related information that serves no purpose and is no longer used by the Government.

“ACT is calling on the Government to use common sense and scrap it.

“For Kiwis this is an issue of rights, even New Zealanders are required to fill out a form or they will not be allowed on the plane. Kiwis should not need government permission based on an outdated form to be able to return to their home.

“This is a Government that is drowning in bureaucracy, the declaration form is another bureaucratic function that has passed its use-by date, but the Government can’t bear to part with it.

“ACT says Immigration New Zealand needs to start thinking like a recruitment agency rather than a security guard.

“We want New Zealand to be a welcoming place with easy to navigate and common-sense protocols. That way we can get people flowing the right way through our borders again and grow our economy.”

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