Making hay while the sun shines
It is easy as we watch images of America in flames, or read about countries where the death toll from coronavirus is still mounting, to feel like we are truly the lucky country. And in many ways we are.
Touch wood, we are now into our second week without any new cases of coronavirus, and as of yesterday there was just one active case left.
Our reward came this weekend: life might not be quite back to normal but for many the Queen’s Birthday break was a chance to shake off the cobwebs and head off on a family road trip after weeks confined at home.
One of the most heartwarming stories I saw this week was about the many Kiwis hiring campervans for a family trip. It reminded me of my childhood, tearing off to the beach with a caravan.
Over the years, New Zealand’s tourism boom meant it was often more affordable for Kiwis to fly to the Gold Coast than holiday closer to home.
New Zealand’s growing attractiveness as an international destination has meant that for many years we have been increasingly priced out of our own backyard. Yet what the pandemic has shown is that there is a huge appetite among Kiwis to see their own country.
That’s good news for hospitality and tourism – and even better news for Kiwis enjoying a renewed love affair with New Zealand. But the golden glow of having seemingly achieved the holy grail of eliminating coronavirus won’t last forever. Domestic spending alone won’t keep the economy ticking over forever.
Wage subsidies have helped many struggling businesses keep their doors open for now, but from next week the subsidies will be wound back, affecting about 1 million jobs.
Saving those jobs will require New Zealand to open its borders sooner rather than later, and the likelihood is that it will be doing so in a world that is still not free of coronavirus.
Just quietly, our borders are already more porous than they were a few weeks ago. The Government has been granting exceptions – international film crews, and other essential workers have been exempted from New Zealand’s strict entry ban. The number of exemptions will only accelerate as pressure builds to get the economy moving again.
But that’s why keeping our borders closed until coronavirus is eliminated around the world is not sustainable in the long term.
Granting exemptions on a case-by-case basis is no solution, either; better to have a managed process to open up again or it will become a fairness issue. Why one group, and not another?
We may pay a price for that, of course. Once we open our borders, the risks of new cases slipping through the cracks will increase, even with stringent border checks and quarantines.
But we have had months to prepare for that: experience overseas suggests the risks can be managed with the appropriate systems in place.
And once we achieve both – protecting the health of our citizens, while also protecting the economic future of younger generations – we truly will be the lucky country.
Keeping our borders closed until coronavirus is eliminated around the world is not sustainable in the long term