OPINION: Bring back David Clark to sort out the border and quarantine nightmare, said no one ever.
But the mess he left to Minister Chris Hipkins is still screaming out to be fixed.
The gigantic holes in the system haven't been plugged. Instead, recent arrivals have simply stepped through the holes to Countdown freedom and the men's grooming aisle.
The five-star hotel in Auckland's CBD became too much - so this guy decided to waltz past unsuspecting shoppers during his 70 minutes of freedom.
This is the new tougher quarantine regime in New Zealand? It's harder to break free from a paper bag.
What an arrogant little twat this rule breaker is - make an example of him. He is COVID positive. This is not some 'fake scare' media beat-up.
This says to me we can't safely quarantine this number of people, because one - the systems have holes in them and two - humans will be, um, humans.
There are always one or two idiots in the class and a system where those guarding it can't be at every weak point.
It's about trust. If I was in hotel quarantine, I'd like to think I'd stick to the rules, but knowing myself like I do - I do find it hard to trust myself in certain situations and that would be one of them.
We must temporarily close our borders to new arrivals from today to avoid what's happened in Melbourne. I said this two weeks ago and I'm now repeating myself.
When I raised it, I was poo-pooed from here to London where Newshub's Lloyd Burr piled into me for having an opinion, saying it wasn't fair, wasn't legal and was a crap viewpoint.
I thought Burr had bitten off more than he could chew. For a start, take me on the facts, not emotion, and don't misquote me.
Burr had glossed over the fact I called for a temporary closure, so we could get on top of the mess and the 400 people a day who still come through our airports.
Add in the fact that a woman did a runner last weekend and Air New Zealand is now not even selling tickets to come here, it's clear not even those running the show have any confidence.
Close the border, ditch the Auckland CBD hotels and use the recently refurbished Mangere refugee resettlement centre - it's not like that is being used.
And to Lloyd Burr - my old mate who got a haircut, a pair of shoes and a real job - this is what you call doubling down on an opinion you mocked so much.
Duncan Garner is the host of The AM Show.
