HDPA on RATs

HDPA writes:

The story starts last year. Private businesses wanted to import RATs into New Zealand. Much of the rest of the world was already using them. In the UK, school children were testing themselves with RATs twice a week. They were being handed out in packs of seven for free.

But our Government refused to bring them in. Ashley Bloomfield slapped a ban on the importation of RATs to make sure it couldn’t happen.

First they banned them.

In late November, Omicron was in Australia. By December, private businesses here could see the disruption it was causing or going to cause over the Tasman. They could also see it wouldn’t be long before it arrived in New Zealand.

And so they started ordering RATs. They knew they needed RATs to screen their workers regularly to keep Omicron out of their worksites as much as possible. Too many sick workers would shut the shop. The RATs were clearly going to be critical to keeping business going.

They got themselves prepared.

So private businesses two months ago were ordering in RATs because they could see the future and plan ahead.

Then around two weeks ago the bad news started coming in. Orders were being cancelled. In some cases the orders had already been paid for. Businesses were told they wouldn’t be receiving the RATs. The Ministry of Health had overridden their orders and taken their stocks.

The reason the ministry did that was because they hadn’t placed their own orders in sufficient quantities.

Truly appalling behaviour.