Meet our new border expert

The safety of New Zealand’s border during the Covid-19 pandemic is under new management.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced yesterday that the New Zealand Defence Force’s Air Commodore Darryn ‘‘Digby’’ Webb will be leading the charge when it comes to the protocols of new arrivals.

Webb is the assistant chief of defence, a position he has held since 2018. According to his LinkedIn profile has been in the Air Force since 1991 where he started as a transport pilot. Over the years he held several roles – Hercules flight commander, commanding officer, and deputy director of strategic commitments to name a few – later became senior commander of Ohakea Airbase in 2014. In 2016, he was appointed the deputy chief of Air Force and RNZAF representative on the trust board at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand.

Since the pandemic began, Webb has been on secondment to the Covid-19 Operational Command Centre originally under the leadership of former Police Commissioner Mike Bush, a NZDF spokesperson said. He has been involved in Government repatriation planning efforts since the beginning of April.

Webb’s new role, which reports to government ministers, will have him oversee all managed isolation and quarantine facilities used during the pandemic. Ardern tasked Webb with a ‘‘start-to-finish audit’’ of the existing systems and written protocols at the border. If required, he can bring in military personnel to help run the facilities, and make any changes to further strengthen border defences.