The proposed charges for returning New Zealanders would force one expat family to choose between visiting their ill relatives, and their son's future.
London-based expat Kate Walsh says charging Kiwis for their 14 days of mandatory managed isolation "is absolutely against the law and rights of New Zealand citizens" - if they have no other choice.
Walsh and her husband both have "incredibly ill" mothers in New Zealand, she told The AM Show on Tuesday, and their decision to return home is out of necessity.
The family-of-three, who initially planned to return to New Zealand in April, had a long-term plan of moving back to their home country within six to nine months. As that is no longer a possibility due to the ongoing pandemic, Walsh feels they have no other choice but to return for a brief period in order to visit their sick relatives.
However, talks to charge new arrivals - a proposal to cover the taxpayer-funded cost of keeping returnees in managed isolation or quarantine facilities for the mandatory 14-day period - has thrown a spanner in the works for Walsh.
"I think a lot of people [overseas] are struggling to fathom that we would have to pay to come home to see family," she told The AM Show. "We're making decisions because we absolutely have to, on top of insanely huge flight prices, stress and uncertainty. To then have the possibility of [the cost of] another flight - if not more - on top of what we already have to pay - the strain on people's finances is going to be huge.
"I've got a very ill mother, my husband's mother is not well as well - we're going to have to pay close to $15,000, with this fee as well. That's a huge thing to pay for anyone who is not coming out of choice, but because we need to."
She says the possibility of the managed isolation fee has forced her and her husband to consider whether returning home is even feasible long-term.
"To have to pay such a huge amount of money is basically taking money straight away from my son. We're having to make the choice between seeing family members who are incredibly ill, and our son's future," she said.
"We're expected to make the choice between a huge chunk of money that we've all earnt. Some people are in dire straits, they've lost jobs, they've had Visas ending... and they're suddenly going to be expected to pay even more money when they get to the border, just to get home to the country where they have a right to be."
If they come to power at the September election, National has proposed exemptions from the charges on compassionate grounds. It's not clear what circumstances would be considered, but Walsh says her family would not fit the criteria of financial hardship, a condition suggested by National, as both her and her husband work professional jobs.
However, Walsh agrees that if citizens and permanent residents are leaving for a holiday or recreational purposes, the charges are acceptable.
"If it's your choice to leave New Zealand and go on a holiday somewhere, you absolutely should have to pay when you come back - that just has to be factored into the cost of your holiday," she said.
"If you're coming back to New Zealand because you cannot make any other choice, then it's absolutely against every single intention of any kind of rights of New Zealand citizens."
On Sunday, National's COVID-19 border response spokesman Gerry Brownlee revealed the party plans to charge returning single adults $3000 for their stay in a managed isolation facility, if elected. Each additional adult in a room would be charged $1000, and children $500. Under-threes are exempt. The charges would become effective as of October 3.
"People coming back to New Zealand, having lived overseas for a time or for whatever reason been away for so long, have to pay their dues to the team of five million who have got the country into such a good shape," Brownlee told Magic Talk on Monday.
Later that day, Housing Minister Megan Woods expressed support for the user-pays proposal, saying in a statement: "We believe people returning to New Zealand should assist with the considerable expense of accommodating them in managed isolation facilities.
"As we have made clear on numerous occasions, we are working through policy options on a cost-recovery scheme.
"This requires detailed investigation to ensure that any cost recovery system is fair and equitable, and is balanced with the legal rights of New Zealand citizens and permanent residents to come back home."
Expats are up in arms over the proposal, with the community group 'Kiwis in London' lawyering up and preparing a complaint to the Human Rights Commission, arguing the policy is unlawful.
"It isn't fair, and actually it's not legal. And I know the Government is probably scratching the heads of many of their best lawyers trying to get around it," the group's founder Clint Heine told Newshub.
The proposal has also faced opposition from ACT leader David Seymour, who rubbished the idea in a statement on Sunday, as well as a human rights lawyer, who suggested the payment scheme should operate on a case-by-case basis.
