New Zealand granted entry to billionaire co-founder of Google Larry Page, despite the border being closed, and New Zealand's opposition ACT Party is seeing it as an opportunity to criticize the prime minister.
Larry Page, the world's sixth-richest person with a net worth of $120 billion, was on an outlying Fijian island when his son required medical care not available on the island. Page and his son were allowed to enter New Zealand, despite a strict border closing.
From The Guardian:
New Zealand has extremely strict border controls in place, requiring returnees to spend two weeks in a government-run Managed Isolation and Quarantine Facility (MIQ), in order to sustain its Covid-19 elimination strategy.
Entry is so tough that desperate New Zealand citizens are complaining of extreme difficulty in securing a place in managed isolation.
"The Government has questions to answer about why billionaire Google co-founder Larry Page was allowed into New Zealand when desperate Kiwis and separated families can't get through the border," said David Seymore, leader of New Zealand's opposition ACT Party.
From NDTV:
Seymour said while he had sympathy for Page's situation, there were numerous people with similar issues who could not get in.
"I have had to tell them, 'sorry, but there is no way you can get through the border, government policy will not allow it'," he added.
"New Zealanders stranded overseas who are desperate to get home deserve answers."
No one can blame Page for doing everything he can to save his son's life. But if Seymour is correct in saying that less wealthy New Zealanders in the same situation are being denied entry, that's a problem.
[image: By Tavyland – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0]
