Border exemptions, Avatar and the maritime industry
With the arrival of Level 1 in New Zealand and the move to recover from the effects of Covid-19 to the economy, the country seems to be returning to a relative state of normality, save that the borders remain closed except for very limited exceptions. These exceptions include New Zealand citizens and permanent residents returning and those who are ‘deemed essential’.
Those making the decisions are coming under increasing scrutiny in relation to who or indeed what is essential, in particular the use of the until recently unknown “other essential workers” exemption which has, as of 11 June 2020, allowed just over 200 individuals in, including the Avatar film crew, but as of yet not allowing the vessels involved in the America’s Cup or the crew of vessels coming in for refits and other work at New Zealand yards into the country.
The exemptions to the closure of the borders are set out in the Immigration (Covid-19 Response) Amendment Act 2020. Section 61A provides a very wide discretion in that the Minister may at ‘any time’ grant a visa of ‘any type’ to a person. The method of applying is set out on Immigration New Zealand’s website. In the event that your email application to Immigration New Zealand and MBIE is successful in clearing the first hurdle, a final decision is made by both the Minister of Economic Development and the Minister for the relevant sector in relation to individuals. However, in order to allow classes of people in (crew for the America’s cup crew or of vessels coming for a refit), the decision needs to be made by the Cabinet. The complexity of the process clearly leads to fact that exceptions are very limited.
We are told that the justification for the film crew’s exemption is that the money spent by them will span many industries in New Zealand, from stationary to hospitality. The same however is true for those competing in the America’s Cup and those bringing in vessels to undertake work in New Zealand boat yards. Indeed, a key difference in the maritime categories is that they bring either no risk, or at least a far lower risk of Covid-19, to New Zealand. Those arriving on vessels can have already undertaken a quarantine of at least 14 days from their last port and could be tested for before having even set foot in New Zealand. It therefore is unclear why there is a reluctance to open the border to these exceptions and as a ‘team’ of 5 million, the team needs to know the rules it is playing by.
The Americas Cup, according to MBIE’s previous estimate in 2017, would bring in $1bn, every $1 invested would be repaid seven times over and between 4,700 to 8,300 jobs would be created. An additional 40 superyachts are due to be in New Zealand for the Cup, above the 60 which usually arrive. New Zealand Marine, the trade body for the industry has previously forecast that the spend per superyacht is $2.7million. The America’s Cup is due to take place in March 2021, however decisions need to be made very soon as to whether the event can proceed and, if so, in what form, in order to allow those vessels planning to attend to arrive. At the moment the US entry to the America’s Cup is currently being shipped without knowing if the crew will be allowed in, whilst other vessels will decide whether to change their schedules and abandon their plans in the coming days and weeks.
New Zealand Marine has recently written to the Hon Phil Twyford, the Minister of Economic Development and Minister for Transport, pleading for the blanket refusal of vessels being allowed in to be reconsidered, stating there are currently 33 superyachts booked into New Zealand yards between May to December 2020 with a value of $40 million.
As a country uniting to recover, we are losing valuable work already and if exemptions are not made then we will lose more work and risk more job losses as work is instead awarded to other countries such as Australia, who remain open to refit work, and indeed prior to the pandemic were seeking to attract work away from New Zealand during the America’s Cup.