The Hermit Kingdom has spoken: we'll still do anything it takes to beat COVID-19 - lockdowns included.
The latest Newshub-Reid Research poll found Kiwis would be comfortable with keeping the border closed and even resorting to lockdowns to keep Omicron under control.
A whittled-down Parliament was welcomed back on Tuesday with a not so welcoming committee of protesters rallying against the Government's COVID-19 response.
The Prime Minister acknowledged in her first speech to the House that it'll be another year combatting the coronavirus.
"This year represents the third year of the COVID pandemic," Jacinda Ardern said.
Yes, it's 2022 and we still have a lot of COVID-19 to get through.
"No country is immune from Omicron's disruption. But we are working hard to avoid the worst of it and we are better prepared than most," Ardern said.
But Kiwis are split on that.
The latest Newshub-Reid Research poll asked: "Do you think the Government has prepared well enough for an Omicron outbreak?"
The results: 44.5 percent said yes, while 44.3 percent said no.
"We're doing everything we can," Ardern said at her post-Cabinet press conference. "Boosters are the most important determinant of how we will weather the Omicron storm."
While a loud minority congregated outside Parliament and cried foul, and the Opposition cried foul inside with National leader Christopher Luxon declaring the "House has no confidence in this Government", Kiwis on the whole are backing the Government's plan and are willing to make their own sacrifices - even lockdowns.
The Newshub-Reid Research poll asked: "Would you support a lockdown if there is an Omicron outbreak?"
While it's not quite a majority, 47.9 percent said yes, while more than 45.8 percent said no.
"With the tools we have now, that lessens the need to use things like lockdowns," Ardern said.
There won't be more lockdowns. Instead, the Government is opening up to the world. But 'Fortress New Zealand' still has a lot of fans.
The poll results show 57.8 percent of Kiwis support keeping the international border closed longer to keep Omicron out while just over a third - 36.3 percent - wouldn't tolerate being cut off from the world any longer.
"It's an opening that is very deliberate, planned and staged to make sure we look after the wellbeing of New Zealanders as we reopen," Ardern said.
The Hermit Kingdom is open for business.
