It's a Question of Trust

Last year the government, on a basis of trust, introduced a wage subsidy programme that was an exemplar to the world of how politicians, and government agencies, could move quickly when the situation demanded it. It was a remarkable display of trust that saw normal bureaucratic processes put aside to do what needed to be done. Yes there were those who abused that trust but the vast majority of businesses played by the rules and the results for our economy were there for all to see. 

As a company that stood to lose all of our overseas contracts, 80% of our revenue, the wage subsidy was a godsend and it supplemented our use of reserves to ensure that no one lost their jobs so that we were ready to hit the ground running as those sports contracts came back on line again. 

It has been almost a year and a half since we went into that first Level 4 Lockdown and once again the government is moving at speed to re-introduce the wage subsidy. That is to be applauded because it is essential to so many businesses that have no option but to close their doors but, for the past 17 months, we have done little about the elephant in the room - MIQ. 

If we are to keep this economy moving, then a lottery system that makes it impossible for businesses working off shore to plan with any degree of certainty, is simply not fit for purpose. It hasn’t been for months. 

The announcement that a group has been set up to look into this is good news, but just how do those of us at the cliff face, looking up the rear end of that elephant, contribute to these discussions so that changes are made in days, not months. 

Ours is not a unique story but it’s the one I am best placed to share. Last year, while we were in lockdown, we moved our entire sports production operation to a remote system that meant that, when sports contracts came back on line, we could deliver on those from our offices in Dunedin. We now do more sports off shore than before Covid.

This week, when the Level 4 Lockdown threatened to put our golf contracts in three different countries at risk, our team turned our office into a flat and 3 staff members volunteered to isolate there, for as long as it takes. 

But that’s just one side of the story because, at each of those overseas venues, we have a staff member who has volunteered to be on site to ensure that, technically, this complex remote system works, every day. They have been doing this in some of the most covid ravaged countries in the world and without them our business would not have survived, let alone grown in the way it has. 

We couldn’t get them vaccinated here so, working with our clients, we have had them vaccinated off shore. They have worked for more than a year in isolated bubbles - Mitch, our operator in the UK went out this week for his first restaurant meal since going back on tour after Xmas. They have made enormous sacrifices but to even get them home for Xmas last year meant we had to have a team of our people back here rostered on line trying to capture a date that popped up, often for seconds, in order to get them an MIQ spot. 

More recently, our project manager who had remained in the US to work with Major League Baseball, was informed that his father was seriously ill with cancer and he needed to get back to see him. He could not get an exemption because he needed evidence that his father would die within 6 weeks!! Again his colleagues back home rostered themselves on to the MIQ Lottery and eventually got him a spot. It took this tech savvy group 48 hours to pull that off. How do people without that resource have a chance. It is simply not right! 

If there is someone out there who has access to the advisory group we would love to share our experiences in operating overseas at this time. We have kept our kiwi operators safe in some of the most Covid ravaged countries in the world, and we have a plan that would give them, and us, the luxury of being able to bring them home whenever we needed to. It would bypass the overstretched MIQ system and give us certainty around our planning, something businesses need to keep people employed, paying taxes and supporting the economy through overseas earnings.  

The following is by no means a locked in solution - it is an idea for discussion, so any feedback/solutions/suggestions are welcomed. 

The proposal starts with granting accreditation to approved companies that can demonstrate: 

a: that they have put in place solid Covid practices over the past 12 months 

b: that they have a plan for sending staff out and bringing them home that would be signed off by an approved body.  

c: that they have a way of verifying that plan and that there are financial consequences should they not be able to.

Here’s our first draft for discussion:

a: We provide medical evidence that any staff member we are bringing home is fully vaccinated 

b: We test that staff member one week before their flight home, during which time they are self isolating in the country they are leaving from. We pay for that and they work to the well established isolation protocols that have kept them safe for the past 16 months.

c: We test again 2 days before they fly and we then swab test them at the airport before they catch their flight. ( swab kits could be made available at the Air New Zealand lounges and we would pay Air New Zealand for delivering this service) 

d: On landing they are swab tested again before catching a flight to Dunedin where we meet them at the airport and transfer them safely to a property we have set aside for this purpose. 

e: They are tested again on day 2 and then on day 5 (or whatever period the medical advisers deem appropriate). If all tests are negative they could then cleared to rejoin the work force. 

The house has been set up so the staff member is able to work directly with his or her colleagues both in NZ and around the world. 

If, as is likely, we need to be planning for Covid being with us for some time into the future then we have to be thinking differently about how we handle that future. 

Last night I saw fields of daffodils dying - along with the fund raising hopes of the Cancer Society and the people who had spent the best part of a year caring for and growing these fields. 16 months ago I could understand why that might have had to happen but we should have, could have, been putting plans in place that meant there were ways to move people into bubbles quickly and safely to harvest these fields of hope.