The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has apologised to a managed isolation guest over its handling of an early release request.
Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Craig Robinson arrived from Queensland in August 2020, hoping to visit his terminally-ill mother with his two other brothers who flew from Germany and the US.
Upon entering quarantine, he applied for an early release request. It was rejected one week later, but he was not given a reason why.
He told RNZ there was a lack of transparency and a lot of angst could have been avoided.
He said if he had known how slim the chances were, "I wouldn't have bothered".
"I wouldn't have wasted my money and wasted the anticipation for my brothers."
The family went to extraordinary lengths, engaging lawyers and correspondence, he said.
Fortunately for Robinson and his brothers, their mother stayed alive long enough for them to spend time with her after completing the 14 days in managed isolation.
Following an investigation by the Ombudsmen, MBIE has written a letter of apology to Robinson.
The Ombudsman said MBIE's omission to process the application in a timely manner was unreasonable.
"Everyone was sort of in the dark as to what was actually required," Robinson recalled.
"They asked us how we plan to travel if we get exempted."
He said it felt like a loaded question and would give them a reason to say "no". The application made no suggestions as to what would be useful or helpful.
The Ombudsman acknowledged the lack of "up-front information about the risk assessment process [and] assessment score".
The Ombudsman also noted MBIE's actions in asking for a travel plan were unreasonable, but that the "decision to decline the application was not unreasonable or clearly wrong".
MBIE said it takes the findings seriously, and the actions and omissions reflected the system and processes it had in place at the time.
The ministry said the website has been updated numerous time since last year, giving more information about how applications are assessed.
In regards to travel plans, the MIQ website currently says: "Travel time to destination (must be under 3 hours) and mode of transport (must be private vehicle)".
Robinson said while it is nice to receive an apology, he does not think it will change anything.
"Do I think it was genuine? Absolutely not. It was completely disingenuous. For me, it was just a duck-shoving exercise.
"We didn't know there was an assessment process, that there's a matrix of things they check off.
"I certainly will not engage in managed isolation again."
The Ombudsman has recommended MBIE conduct a review of the exemption process with the aim of beginning substantive work on "high priority" applications and contacting applicants within 48 hours.
