NZ First denies lacking swaying power in Cabinet after apparent delays in increased NZDF deployment

August 19, 2020

When asked why it wasn’t in place earlier, Winston Peters says it’s a question for the rest of Cabinet.

New Zealand First Ministers are denying they lack swaying power at the Cabinet table after today’s announcement of further Defence Force deployments at managed isolation facilities, months after they said they first raised the idea of using the military.

Deputy Prime Minister and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said this afternoon he was “pleased, after five months, they [Cabinet] agreed” to increase the military’s presence at managed isolation facilities. 

“That’s an idea we had even before we went into lockdown to put the military in,” Mr Peters said.

When asked whether the delay in the deployment was indicative of the level of his influence at the Cabinet table, and whether it was a sign his colleagues weren’t listening, he said he was just stating facts and that reporters were asking the “wrong questions”. 

Mr Peters also said the Government had the idea of bringing in Heather Simpson and Sir Brian Roche to help with border procedures “a long time ago, months and months ago”.

Today, the pair were announced co-chairs of a new group supporting the Ministry of Health implement Cabinet’s testing strategy. The appointments were made after it was found only about 60 per cent of managed isolation and quarantine staff had been tested before the Government put in place mandatory testing for them. 

When asked why the announcement was only made today, Mr Peters said he didn’t know the reason behind it.

Defence Minister and New Zealand First MP Ron Mark said he’d also been telling Cabinet the military could be used to a “far higher degree early on”. 

Mr Peters had also made this clear to other ministers, Mr Mark said.

He said it was pleasing Cabinet could see the value the NZDF could bring to “considerably” enhance security at managed isolation. 

Mr Mark said the military would bring “some rigour and some discipline and dedication to systemised approaches”.

“The simple presence of military people on site does tend to increase public confidence. It does tend to increase the level of public compliance,” he said.

“It has a generally positive effect for the rest of the nation having the comfort of knowing that our military personnel are there doing the job.”

However, he also recognised the challenges of using the NZDF. As they aren’t police, they have less legal powers and cannot detain or restrain people.

When asked whether he, as Defence Minister, would’ve had powers to compel the deployment of the military, Mr Mark said that was an “interesting constitutional question”.

Opposition leader Judith Collins said the boosting of NZDF personnel announced today was “an admission of failure” from the Government.

Ms Collins said it was clear there was “no confidence in the system as it had been working” as a number of agencies, including police and private security firms, were initially tasked with providing security at managed isolation facilities. 

“I don’t think the Defence Force could do any worse than what’s been done,” she said.

However, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the extra 500 NZDF personnel assigned to isolation and quarantine facilities and at the maritime border would bolster Covid-19 security measures.

Ms Ardern said the boost aims to reduce the Government’s reliance on private security contractors.

“Our intention is to stop using private security contractors particularly in the riskiest places - such as entry and exit points and public areas and replace them with Defence Force staff.”

She said it will “raise accountability and give more central control over procedures”.

She said increasing the numbers of NZDF personnel at the border was a plan the Minister in charge of managed isolation, Megan Woods, had been working on for “some time”.

The deployment of around 500 extra New Zealand Defence Force personnel will bring the total to about 990 such staff at New Zealand’s managed isolation facilities.

It also takes the overall number of defence force staff supporting the Covid-19 response to around 1200.

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