After the first lockdown, 212,000 Kiwis were receiving unemployment benefits and 1.6 million jobs were kept alive by wage subsidies. This is why my Government will establish a new Border Protection Agency - Te Korowai Whakamaru, which can be translated as the ‘cloak of protection’. We see the border protection agency in the same way as a korowai – many threads woven together to make one cloak of protection. But tough times call for tough measures, and more will be needed to keep this virus at bay. If our border is strong then locking down 1.7 million New Zealanders can be our last resort, not our go-to option.

Source: Stuff August 22, 2020 16:52 UTC