Deterring rule breakers a better answer
New Zealand’s approach to beating Covid19 has relied a lot on trust, encouragement and unity — with everyone encouraged to be team players to get the best result. It has mostly been successful, and we have gone 86 days without any cases of community transmission of the virus.
But since restrictions were introduced earlier this year, there has been at least some friction between those prepared to co-operate because they know it is for the common good, and those who prefer to act in their own interests.
With the coronavirus pushed outside, the border has become a line in the sand.
A simplistic ‘them and us’ theme has taken hold during debate about whether returnees should pay for quarantine costs — the Government is considering it — and over some people escaping their mandatory hotel stays.
Another quarantine breach on Friday night, involving a family from Australia wanting to attend a funeral, will have stirred sympathy for the grieving people’s circumstances.
More generally, though, it suggests once again we are still riding our luck with Covid-19 despite the recent border security overhaul.
Just one escapee from quarantine could spark an outbreak in the community. As we read about the struggle to control the outbreaks in Victoria and New South Wales, and follow rising case numbers in countries such as India, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico and the United States, it is hard not to fear a renewed spike here.
Those Kiwis who live here permanently may consider we have a greater stake in our welfare and future than those flapping home from offshore.
But there should not be a divide between those already here and those returning. The more important distinction is between those who act responsibly to keep us all safe and those who are prepared to take risks during a pandemic regardless of the consequences.
More than 30,000 people have returned without incident. Only a handful have become headlines for breakouts for shopping trips. Likewise, while millions of people in New Zealand obeyed lockdown rules, thousands here were fined in April for breaching restrictions.
In New South Wales the penalties for breaking quarantine rules are harsh: A maximum A$11,000 fine, six months in prison, or both with a further A$5500 fine for each day the offence continues. People also have to pay for their quarantine costs.
Here, people found to be breaching the rules can be fined up to $4000 or jailed for six months. Kiwis could be held for up to 28 days if they refuse a coronavirus test.
What other measures could be considered? Potentially other penalties could include offenders having to restart from zero and pay for an extra 14-day stay, a penalty for time spent on the run, and paying costs incurred in finding them.
Our quarantine border system is best focused on deterring people from breaking the rules, rather than penalising those who want to co-operate.
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