Security guard accused of lying

WELLINGTON: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the border security guard who had not been tested since last November lied to his employer, First Security, about the tests he was supposed to have had.

Health officials also had to call in the police to help with contract tracing after the managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) guard tested positive last week.

The guard is Case B in the most recent cluster, and was last tested six months ago, despite a requirement to be tested fortnightly.

MBIE chief executive Carolyn Tremain made the revelation at a health select committee hearing at Parliament yesterday morning.

First Security said it had ‘‘current proof of uptodate Covid19 testing from all guards working at MIQ facilities and [is] keeping independent records to governmentprovided registers and tools’’.

Ms Tremain told MPs the 24yearold security guard worked regularly at the Grand Millennium MIQ facility as a relief night shift worker.

Under questioning from National MP Chris Bishop, she confirmed the guard should have been tested every two weeks but there were ‘‘inconsistencies’’ in the testing records and her officials were still checking the data.

Ms Ardern said later it was a ‘‘very particular circumstance’’ because testing information came from employees and in this case ‘‘the individual was lying to their employer’’.

‘‘Their employer is responsible for making sure that they are fulfilling the regulations that they are getting tested.

‘‘Ultimately, though, that employer needed to have checks and balances in place to make sure they were still doing what was required,’’ she said.

There are 513 frontline workers at MIQ facilities yet to get a vaccine — more than 10% of the total workforce — the Government said yesterday.

First Security said in a statement it had met ‘‘all governmentmandated Covid19 health and safety obligations and requirements’’ and that ‘‘all guards are required to sign declarations that they are uptodate with the Covid19 testing’’.

Furthermore, it said before each shift guards had to do a health screening check, carried out by the Ministry of Health.

Ms Tremain was unable to explain why the records were inconsistent and could not say how many MIQ workers had missed tests they were legally required to take.

Covid19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced at an afternoon briefing it would be mandatory to report testing data to the National Register from April 27.

National leader Judith Collins said she was ‘‘floored’’ to hear the news.

‘‘The public has been promised for months that all of the frontline border facing staff were being tested regularly,’’ Ms Collins said.

‘‘And now to find out [the guard] hasn’t been tested for months and he’s the staff member who’s got Covid? It’s just unfathomable.’’

Opposition MPs were left openly frustrated during the hearing chaired by Invercargill Labour list MP Liz Craig, in which there were attempts by Labour MPs to run interference on questions from National and Act New Zealand.

National was also scathing about the 20minute ‘‘lecture’’ at the start from the most senior officials running the border regime and health response, which ate into the time available for opposition questions.

Mr Bishop said he had ‘‘seven or eight’’ pages of questions and to be ‘‘curtailed’’ by Government MPs asking patsy questions was ‘‘pretty depressing’’.

Ms Collins wanted the Epidemic Response Committee to be recalled, an oppositionrun committee set up during last year’s lockdown.

The Government had a ‘‘transparency’’ problem after the ‘‘farcical nonsense’’ at the committee, she said. — RNZ