The Government doesn't have a concrete plan to move Auckland on from COVID-19 lockdowns and is "providing no hope for Aucklanders", the Opposition claims.
On Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Auckland would remain in COVID-19 alert level 3 for at least another two weeks. She told the 4pm press conference the Government would reveal a vaccination target for when restrictions could ease, but not until Friday.
National leader Judith Collins says people watching that press conference expected a plan forward.
"Instead, they got more of the same: announcements about announcements to come later in the week and self-congratulation about Super Saturday," she said in a statement.
"Across the Tasman, state and territory leaders are outlining clear and easily digestible plans about loosening restrictions on people at various vaccination levels. Why is the Prime Minister waiting until Friday to do this for New Zealanders?
"Why should Aucklanders spend the week wondering about the vaccination target and what it might mean for their freedoms, for their businesses and for their kids?"
ACT leader David Seymour said it's clear the Government "doesn't know or won't tell us what the plan is and at this point, it's not clear which would be worse".
"Ardern is now saying she will announce a long-term plan on Friday, 67 days into an outbreak. She is making it up as she goes and Aucklanders are paying the price of uncertainty," Seymour said.
"Either that or Jacinda Ardern has the answer but won't tell. It's patronising command and control at its worst.
"A much better approach would be to set a Freedom Day when we'll be opening up. The Government should simply say, 'You don't have to get vaccinated by December 1 but it's highly recommended.'"
National has said it would ditch lockdowns once between 70 and 75 percent of eligible New Zealanders are vaccinated.
"The Government's belated recognition of the necessity of setting a vaccination target is overdue. National has been pushing for formal targets for months now," Collins said.
"It makes no sense to keep the hundreds of thousands of Aucklanders who are now fully vaccinated at home.
"Finally, I urge the Government to publish the health advice which so far it has refused to do, despite repeated calls for it to do so. Independent public health experts are confused by the Government's approach, and who can blame them."
At Monday's COVID-19 press conference, Ardern was asked why the Government was waiting until Friday to share the vaccination target.
"We are continuing to work, refining some of the details of both the framework and the way the target will work and so that is why we’ll be releasing that on Friday," she told reporters.
"We know what Auckland needs is a long-term plan and that is what we’ll be setting out on Friday.
"We'll not be giving the target today and, look, I think it was only fair to tell Auckland that there will be one so that that we know the way that we will be working with the new framework."
