A recent NZ Herald article had both Judith Collins and David Seymour criticising Jacinda Ardern for creating two different classes of people but are they both on the same page?
Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Judith Collins accuses Government of creating two class system
National leader Judith Collins said today that New Zealanders don’t want to see a ‘two-class system.’
National leader Judith Collins says the Government is creating a “two class system” with its new traffic light scheme for managing the pandemic.
“Most Kiwis don’t want to see a two class system sowing disharmony,” Collins said […]
However, Collins demurred when asked to explicitly name the “two classes” in the system.
“I think it’s very clear,” Collins said, citing an interview with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in the Herald.
“She’s already said it.
“We don’t want to see that, we want to see as many people vaccinated as possible. We don’t want to see people vilified.”
[…] Collins said that the Government was sowing divisions.
“We can see it already with moves to blame Maori, for instance we can see that from at least one of the ministers,” Collins said, naming Peeni Henare as the minister who had allegedly blamed Maori for low vaccination rates.
“The Government is sitting back and saying that they didn’t do anything wrong, but those people down there who didn’t get vaccinated, they’re the bad people.
“That is not good enough – we need people encouraged and helped.”
It is the second time since the Government announced its traffic light plan that Collins has come to the defence of people and businesses who opt to not use vaccine passports.
On Friday, she would not back the Government’s ambition to cut businesses off from Government financial support, like the wage subsidy, if they refuse to implement vaccine certificates.
“We are the party of personal responsibility – I don’t think we need to have people be threatened,” she said.
“They’re already losing their livelihoods – to be threatened now by a Minister of Finance who feels like he can spend money everywhere with no accountability.”
[…] “We believe – the National Party – in private property rights and we also firmly believe that people need to have personal responsibility, but people need to know that this is not going to continue forever,” Collins said.
NZ Herald
Act leader David Seymour agreed the Government is creating a two class system.
“The Prime Minister’s ‘if you want to do x get vaccinated’ has riven division through the country in a way we haven’t seen in 30, 40 years,” Seymour said, referencing the 1981 Springbok tour protests.
“What the Government should have done is said business have the right to choose on their property – that way it’s freedom of choice.
“Mandating – Joe Biden style – is just creating enormous division, and all it’s done is create more sympathy for people who aren’t vaccinated from people who think vaccination is a good idea.”
NZ Herald
Are Judith and David on the same page or is there a significant difference in their perspectives?