Retail NZ sees 'weird consequence' for online shopping from alert level split
Friday, 27 August 2021
People in Auckland and Northland will be able to order goods from many shops outside the region online from Wednesday.
But they won’t be able to make the same online purchases from businesses that are located nearby in their own regions, while they remain at level 4, Retail NZ chief executive Greg Harford says.
Harford said he expected that most retailers would be selling online from Wednesday if they were able and allowed.
But the situation of Aucklanders only being able to order items from further afield was one of the “slightly weird consequences” of having regions at different alert levels, he said.
“A business in Wellington or Christchurch, or indeed Sydney, will be able to sell make-up to a customer in Auckland, but not a business in Auckland, which I think is a bit odd.
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“Businesses with a national footprint will be able to fulfil from stores outside Auckland, but if you are a smaller business with a single store or distribution centre in Auckland it is not good news.”
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Friday that Auckland was likely to remain at alert level 4 for another two weeks, while the country south of Auckland – but not Northland – would move to alert level 3 on Tuesday at midnight.
BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope said that situation regarding online sales might be workable for a short time, but if Auckland spent any longer than two weeks at level 4, it might require a policy response.
Hope said BusinessNZ was also concerned about the situation of manufacturing exporters who were contractually obligated to supply overseas customers, for example because they were supplying components, but who were unable to do that because of Covid restrictions.
“We have heard from exporters that is problematic. The sooner we can get to alert level 3 for the whole country, the better it will be for those businesses.”
The Road Transport Forum is forecasting chaos for a day or two at the southern border between Auckland and the rest of the country from Wednesday.
Chief executive Nick Leggett said the trucking body would have liked to have had input into the way the border controls were being managed, but said it had been knocked back.
“The concern for us is the border south of Auckland,” he said.
“Workers will have to be registered for cross-border work through a Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment system that only opens on Sunday afternoon,” he said.
“We need to be convinced that is going to be an effective and efficient way for businesses to be able to operate.”
Leggett said livestock, food and “all the things that keep the country running” would still need to be transported.
“Freight movement doesn’t neatly fit into the artificial borders that are put up.”
Hope said BusinessNZ shared concerns about the impact of Auckland businesses being unable to supply companies outside of the region as their customers moved back closer to normality.
“Operating regional borders is going to be quite challenging.
“I know the Government and officials and businesses we work with are trying to figure out some solutions but it is difficult because of the alert level conditions around Delta.”
Leggett was particularly concerned about hold-ups of livestock at the border impacting animal welfare and making it difficult for drivers to stick to legal limits on their working hours.
“We don’t want to see trucks caught up with cars that are stuck at the border.
“I know our industry and other industries would like to have input in to the way borders are set up. We have asked for that and we have had that knocked back, but there is still time to get that right,” he said.
Leggett said people should be prepared for a day or two of chaos.
Last year, workers were held up at the border getting to and from work and trucks were stuck for a significant time with long queues and congestion, he said.
“That is enough for us to have significant concerns this time. I can’t tell you hand on heart that those lessons have been learned.”