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National

Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua calls for greater power to approve or decline travel exception

Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua chief executive Anthony Thompson is calling for the Ministry of Health to grant an iwi delegation to approve the travel exception process in and out of Auckland.

"Provide a representative to process on-road applications or delegate Iwi to approve or decline."

This comes after a number of miscommunications with some people travelling into Auckland under Alert Level 3 having to be turned away.

In a media statement, a Ministry of Health spokesperson said, "Travel in and out of Tāmaki is generally prohibited at the moment. The most important thing Aucklanders can do to stop the spread of Covid-19 is to stay home. We understand the impact restrictions on travel will have on New Zealanders and empathise with them. While it is regrettable, these restrictions are put in place for the greater good."

"However, limited travel is possible into and out of Auckland. Some travel is already ‘permitted’ or allowed, for example, if people who live in Auckland were away when the lockdown started they are allowed to return home.

Not at boundary

"If their travel is not already permitted, people can apply for an ‘exemption’. Applying for an exemption cannot be done at the boundary. People should apply before they travel and allow time for the application to be considered, usually a day or two".

"The most common reason for wanting to travel across the Auckland ‘boundary’ is for work. This is run by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Information about ‘permitted’ work travel can be found here. It also has information on how to apply for an exemption if your work travel reason is not already permitted.

"The Ministry of Health process is a simple online form. Applications cannot be made by telephone. A team of approximately 30 people are involved and at present there is no notable backlog of applications. Again, we sympathise with those impacted by travel restrictions and thank them for their cooperation."

Thompson said a dedicated person via phone approving or declining entry did not work. He adds, "This process prolonged the process and has requested numerous times for the Ministry of Health to reconsider its process".

Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua has been working around the clock with Police to give further support at the northern end checkpoint  - Te Hana, since travel restrictions under Alert Level 3 came into effect 6am Sunday for the next seven days.

“The problem is the wait times and traffic congestion are longer as Police are tied up with questioning. This is a risk with extra vehicles and people on the road," he said.