Auckland's Covid lockdown cut Northland off from rest of country, Royal Commission of Inquiry told
Photo:
RNZ / Luka Forman
Northland's business community says Auckland was one of the region's biggest obstacles during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The region's chamber of commerce was questioned as part of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into
New Zealand's pandemic response
.
When the country went into a two-month lockdown in March of 2020, businesses like those owned by NorthChamber president Tim Robinson
took it on the chin
.
Speaking to the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Monday, Robinson said Northland's business community accepted the lockdown was necessary.
"Because of the nature of our business, there was nothing we could do until we came out of lockdown. We just had to sort of just accept that and just kind of, you know, carry on," he said.
"All in all, I think all of us just sort of thought, yep, we're dealing with something brand new. The response was absolutely appropriate. It gave us a chance to sort of stop and then think, well, what's going to happen next and where are we going to head to next?"
But when a second nationwide lockdown started in August of 2021, NorthChamber chief executive Leah McKerrow said the sentiment shifted.
"A lot of fear existed. And fear is one of those core emotions that permeates through, and unless you can actually address that fear, then it is very difficult to help people shift," she said.
"In that second lockdown, some of that fear was starting to be replaced with anger."
That was compounded by a vaccine mandate that a number of New Zealanders found a step too far, she said.
"It comes back to human beings and emotion. The fear that is driven through people who didn't want to be vaccinated and it started to, I think, unravel some of that community cohesion."
Tim Robinson said the unrest made it difficult to do business.
"You just never knew who was going to pop their hand up and say, 'this is ridiculous, I'm not going to buy into that. I'm never going to get vaccinated'. And somebody walking in the shop thinking, oh, yep, they're a kind, rational person, and next thing they're ranting and raving," he said.
"And you've got to somehow deal with that and try and be polite and say, well, actually, those are the rules. I didn't make them."
Robinson said Northland also faced unexpected challenges during Auckland's own citywide lockdowns.
He said the supercity became a wall separating his region from the rest of the country.
"A lot of companies started to make decisions based around 'how easy is it to transact in and out of Northland?' The overwhelming perception became, well, it's bloody hard," he said.
"So many companies still see us as being very hard to do business with. You know, we had Covid, then we had the year of rain and the cyclones and the road closures, and people just going, 'you know what, it's just so hard'."
Leah McKerrow agreed.
"I think, for me, the biggest challenge for Northland was Auckland," she laughed.
"But, you know, quite seriously, the fact is we have to drive through this place. And so
finding a solution
to that so that if Auckland, you know, does have some sort of disease in the future that we can at least drive through."
She said maintaining road access to Northland should be a key lesson for the Royal Commission.
The hearing continues.
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