David Seymour is calling out the Government after a pregnant Kiwi journalist was denied an emergency MIQ spot, leaving her with nowhere to legally go but Afghanistan.
"Normally I joke about the New Zealand Government being less humane than the Taliban, but sadly in this case it's true," Seymour told the NZ Herald.
Charlotte Bellis, who had been reporting on Afghanistan for Al Jazeera, discovered she was pregnant while living in Qatar.
It is illegal for unmarried women to be pregnant in Qatar, so Bellis went to stay in her partner's home country, Belgium, while she repeatedly tried to get a MIQ spot before her visa ran out.
Unsuccessful, she had nowhere else she could legally go except Afghanistan. She spoke of her plight on Saturday in an open letter posted to the NZ Herald.
"It's tragic, but as a local MP it's also completely unsurprising," Seymour told the NZ Herald.
"There's no rhyme nor reason. Often people mysteriously get a spot if enough drama is made, and I've noticed the profile of a person can have an effect, too."
Despite letters from medical experts saying it is unsafe to give birth in Afghanistan, Bellis received a rejection letter for an emergency MIQ spot on January 24.
After she contacted her lawyer, a public relations practitioner and a National MP, Bellis was told her MIQ application would be reviewed, raising questions over the sudden change of heart.
Seymour has spoken out on MIQ before, saying the ACT Party would allow fully vaccinated people who have tested negative to self-isolate.
"We can't go on like this, families have been torn apart and businesses can't get workers. It's time for some certainty," he said.
"Let's allow Kiwis to come back to their own country and be a team of six million."
