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Chris Hipkins, the former minister for Covid-19, says putting Northland into lockdown after three Covid-positive women travelled there was “the right decision at the time”.
The former minister for Covid-19 has said the Government made the right decision to plunge Northland into lockdown following a “clerical” error that saw three women enter Northland and later test positive for the virus.
The women, who triggered a lockdown in Northland in late 2021, were rejected entry to Northland by one government department then approved by another, police evidence showed.
All three women later tested Covid positive, but community transmission was not detected in Northland after their recorded trip, which was between October 2 and 8.
On Wednesday, Chris Hipkins said the decision to place Northland in lockdown is “not one we could change now”.
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“It was to do with protecting Northland in an environment and where we knew Covid-19 and Delta, in particular, was making its way up there,” he said.
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“It was the right decision at the time given the context of relatively low vaccination rates.”
At the time, former deputy prime minister Winston Peters alleged members of the group were connected to the Mongrel Mob and former member Harry Tam or involved in sex work.
However, the police investigation found no evidence to support those allegations.
Hipkins on Wednesday didn’t answer a question about whether the government should apologise to the women over the allegations.
Glenn Taylor/Stuff
Harry Tam was wrongly linked to the group of women.
“I think when you go back and look at everything we said at the time there were some unsubstantiated allegations being made against them at the time and asking people not to make judgments,” he said.
“Judgments and some of the commentary was not particularly helpful.”
He said the government pushed back on the rumour that the women were prostitutes linked to the Mongrel Mob.
When asked whether putting Northland into a lockdown was a mistake, Hipkins said there was Covid in the community and that was the reason Northland was put into lockdown, not the border breach.
Radio New Zealand revealed earlier this year the women – who the Prime Minister described as “irresponsible”, “dangerous” and “extraordinarily frustrating” – would not be charged due to insufficient evidence for successful prosecution.
