Hospitality to Luxon: We’ve had a basinful

‘‘By the prime minister’s own admission, she’s saying the healthcare system is fine, and we have some of the highest vaccination rates of any city on planet Earth.’’ Christopher Luxon Leader of the Opposition

Bring on the green – the message was clear from bar owners in Auckland’s Viaduct, and National’s new leader, Christopher Luxon, was obliging.

Luxon said Auckland’s hospitality sector was ready for the green traffic light setting, after 107 days of lockdown.

‘‘Why is Auckland in a red light system?’’ he asked yesterday, while meeting owners of hospitality businesses in the Viaduct Basin.

‘‘That is designed for when the country has an overwhelmed healthcare system. And by the prime minister’s own admission, she’s saying the healthcare system is fine, and we have some of the highest vaccination rates of any city on planet Earth.’’

When asked whether Auckland should go to orange, he said, ‘‘yeah absolutely – this sector here is ready for Auckland to go straight to green’’.

The Government put Auckland at red as it entered the traffic-light system, thanks to the ongoing Covid-19 community outbreak and a desire to observe how the new system works. Northland, and other parts of the North Island, were also at red due to lower vaccination rates.

Luxon was meeting cafe, restaurant and bar owners to see how business was faring during the city’s first day in the new traffic light system.

Asked if he would move the entire country to green, he said: ‘‘We have to open up the country, with good precautions.’’

Vaccine passports, and other IT solutions, were named as precautions to allow an earlier entry to green.

It was Luxon’s second trip as Opposition leader, after visiting Tauranga on Thursday – and gaining the leadership on Tuesday.

Auckland’s most eager bars and restaurants opened at midnight.

The hospitality industry has been calling for targeted Government assistance during the pandemic.

Luxon said the Government should also extend its $37 million

Auckland recovery fund to provide vouchers for people to spend at bars and restaurants.

The current fund would provide 100,000 vouchers for attractions such as the zoo.

His vouchers pitch, and criticism of Auckland’s move to red rather than orange and green, were welcomed by the Viaduct’s bar owners and midday revellers.

Other business owners spoke about their ongoing struggle, even at red.

Jason Rosen, the owner of Parasol & Swing, said the past few months had sent his company into six-figure debt.

His bar would be operating at 50 per cent of normal, at best, he said. The struggle to stay afloat had taken a toll on mental health, he said, and the move to red light was far from the end of this challenge.

As Luxon walked past Soul, one of Auckland’s most exclusive restaurants, tables of bubblydrinking Aucklanders shouted out to thank the former Air NZ boss for taking the National Party leadership.

Hospitality NZ chief executive Julie White said businesses opening at the red setting would be unlikely to make a profit, only breaking even at best.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson announced on Monday that a payment of up to $24,000 would be available to businesses as they moved into the new traffic light system for managing Covid-19.