National leader Judith Collins has mocked her Labour counterpart over the source of NZ's second Covid-19 outbreak as she criticised the lack of testing among border workers.
The clash came during tonight's Leaders Debate in Christchurch, hosted by Stuff's The Press.
While discussing the second Covid-19 lockdown, Collins criticised border protocols, including the lack of testing of border workers.
"And then to let people come in on planes with Covid-19, that is disgraceful. It's still happening today," she said.
Labour leader Jacinda Ardern fired back, pointing out the people currently allowed into the country are New Zealand citizens or permanent residents.
"The idea that somehow returning New Zealanders would come back into this country completely free of Covid-19 is a dreamland," she said.
"That is why we have a quarantine system and one of the most robust in the world. It is completely incorrect to say there was a failure that led to this outbreak."
In response, Collins retorted: "Then where did it come from, under a rock in your garden? Come on."
"It came on a plane."
The index case - as far as it has been successfully traced - was a worker at Americold, a coolstore facility in Auckland.
As it hasn't been linked to an existing border case, including through genomic sequencing, Ardern has maintained it's incorrect to link the case to a failure at the borders.
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield ruled out the possibility the virus was contracted from a surface brought into the facility.
"We have never been able to identify the source," Ardern reiterated in tonight's debate.
As one of its campaign policies, National says any arrivals into the country - including returning Kiwis - would need to return a negative Covid-19 test before returning to New Zealand.
They would then still need to undergo the 14-day managed isolation period to ensure they don't later test positive for the virus during the incubation period.
Currently, returnees aren't required to test negative before leaving for NZ. Instead, they're tested if they develop symptoms, or on days three and 12 of the quarantine period, before being released.
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