The head of the Police Association says officers are "not very pleased" they're going to spend Christmas and the New Year in Northland, checking people coming from Auckland are vaccinated against COVID-19 or have tested negative.
When the border lifts on December 15, it's expected there will be an influx into the region - which has the lowest vaccination rate in the country, with just 79 percent of those eligible fully vaccinated. For Māori, it's even worse - with barely two-thirds aged 12-plus having had both jabs.
Hone Harawira's Te Tai Tokerau Border Control group originally wanted the region open only to the vaccinated. The Government has said however unvaccinated will be able to leave Auckland - the epicentre of the Delta variant outbreak - as long as they have a negative test within the 72 hours prior, which the group has reluctantly agreed to.
Te Tai Tokerau Border Control also wanted all cars pulled over, but agreed to spot checks to avoid congestion.
Police Association president Chris Cahill says while police aren't legally required to operate the checkpoints, they couldn't just leave it to local iwi and Te Tai Tokerau Border Control.
"This isn't the commissioner's choice, really. The Government passed a law giving iwi an expectation they'd be involved in checkpoints. Iwi wanted to set them up. If police hadn't got involved and they'd done it by themselves, that could have caused a lot more frustration," he told The AM Show on Wednesday.
"It's better police are involved to try and get things to run smoothly. I just hope at the end the common sense that we're not finding unvaccinated persons... at these stops will see them disbanded quickly.
"At the moment they're set to go for a month, which is an absolute waste of those resources."
Seventy-four officers will be on the ground operating 24/7 rosters, with nearly 300 used over the course of a month.
Cahill doesn't think they're going to find anyone trying to sneak into Northland.
"I'm certainly hoping that after a few days that the reality you're not stopping unvaccinated people leaving Auckland will be proven and they'll be able to shut down.
"I understand the concerns of the iwi around the risks to their whanau in Northland - but when 92 percent of people in Auckland are vaccinated, that's who you're going to be stopping…
"Officers should be back in their districts doing that busy work that happens at this time of year - that Christmas/New Year policing, the family harm, the mental health. Not stopping the vehicles of people who are already vaccinated.
"It's just not going to achieve what the aim is."
Experts and Harawira have urged Aucklanders to think twice before booking summer holidays in regions with low vaccination rates and widespread poverty, with poor housing and lack of access to timely medical care both risk factors in COVID-19 infection.
But after three-and-a-half months in some form of lockdown, Aucklanders aren't listening. And they're being welcomed by at least one Northland leader.
"We've got bookings galore," Whangārei Mayor Sheryl Mai told Newshub. "I think people are so keen to get away and start their holidays - and what better place to come than to Northland?"
She too thinks police shouldn't be spending a month checking visitors' vaccine passes.
"I'm sure there are other priorities for our police force to be working on, but they are required to implement the public health orders and they are responding appropriately. I noted that there are officers who will be coming from other parts of New Zealand - I do hope it doesn't impact the work they're able to provide for those communities.
"It puts added pressure onto them at a busy time of year."
