Jason Walls: Government criticised over wait to announce alert level change

The Government this week faced criticism for a nearly 24 hour delay between making the decision on Auckland's latest alert level move and announcing it.Auckland moved back to alert level one on Friday at midday - which was announced at a 11:30am press conference.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the time said Cabinet made an in-principle decision on Thursday, pending test results overnight. She said the meeting was about lining things up for Friday."The easiest way for us to then make a move very, very quickly is to pre-prepare," which includes drafting the orders.However, while the move was welcome, the short notice sparked complaints from the industry.Restaurant Association Chief Executive Officer Marisa Bidois said at the time the half hour's notice with have some Auckland businesses scrambling to make changes."The time-frame does make it challenging. This is one of the things we have raised with Government in the past, providing notice about these alert level changes."Business New Zealand CEO Kirk Hope said they understand the Government's caution - but the short turnaround isn't easy on hospitality venues."Businesses really need that runway to be able to do stuff. "I guess if they had a choice about being open or another day shut, they'd choose to be open, but it does make it hard."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.