Yesterday saw the royal progress of the ‘Queen of the Pestilence’ in Auckland, and her very first visit was to a business that has experienced zero impact from her draconian lockdowns:
Ardern was shown around JMP Engineering in Avondale with the Employers and Manufacturers Association chief executive Brett O’Riley.
JMP Engineering managing director Michael Thornton greeted her with an elbow bump and she was quickly ushered into the factory.
Once inside, he told her how the company, which makes automated packaging systems for clients including Fonterra, had continued to operate during lockdown, and the pair watched a robotic arm pick and pack a product called “Crispy Minis” on the factory floor.
Thornton told Ardern about the company’s struggles with getting workers through managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ).
Eighty-five per cent of JMP’s business was export-related and his workers frequently needed to travel overseas, he said. The company was able to send workers overseas but not get them back, he said.
“We just can’t get anybody in.”
He said the prime minister was receptive to his concerns about MIQ.
Stuff
Hmm, I bet Michael Thornton didn’t show Jacinda Ardern his cool hat, otherwise, she might not have been so receptive.
When she finds out that her staff let her walk into a company of a guy who wants to ‘Make Ardern Go Away’ she might just have an episode and chuck a few things around.
Of course, for his part, Michael Thornton might have given her a piece of his mind in front of the cameras rather than accede to a cosy little private chat with the Prime Minister.
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