Prime Minister pushes back on description of Chris Hipkins as 'part-time' Health Minister

“We're all dealing with a virus,” Jacinda Ardern said.

The Prime Minister has pushed back on National leader Judith Collins' description of Chris Hipkins as an "essentially part-time" Health Minister. 

"I think it does a disservice to describe a minister who is working incredibly hard to describe him as anything but hard working and with New Zealand's best interest at heart," Jacinda Ardern told media today. 

Earlier today, Ms Collins said the public was "paying the price because the Government has not been able to secure that border".

So far, the Government is still investigating the source of the current community outbreak. 

Ms Collins said if National were in Government it would "not allow it to be in the country, and if it was it would be very quickly contained".

"The Government promised there was testing at the border of border staff, there wasn't. The Government has not undertaken what anybody would expect what was being undertaken, in other words, what they promised. We would not do that."

Ms Ardern said she thought it would be "hard pressed to find any country in the world that has not had an experience similar to New Zealand". 

"We're all dealing with a virus. It's simply not sufficient to say you're going to ban it or not allow it, you do need to have vigorous protocols, infection control, PPE use, surveillance testing and you need rigorous quarantine."

"At different points I've seen the Opposition take different positions on many of those things."

Ms Collins then said Chris Hipkins was "part-time in that role (of Health Minister) because he's got such big other jobs to deal with". 

Mr Hipkins is also Health Minister, State Services Minister, Leader of the House and Minister responsible for Ministerial Services. 

In response to that description, Ms Ardern said that "despite significant work, despite a huge sweep of testing at our borders and in our quarantine facilities, as yet we have not identified the source of this outbreak".

"We will continue that work."

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