Contemplating MIQ

I think we can all agree that the last year has been pretty crazy. International travel as we know it has changed for the foreseeable future. It feels like a very distant memory where you could take a trip across the Tasman for a long weekend. Now any such trip requires a minimum of 14 days' quarantine in a facility of the respective government's choosing.

I am due to return to New Zealand at some point this year for home assignment. This is a time to catch up with existing supporters and make contact with new ones, as well as taking some hard-earned annual leave.

When I joined MAF and moved overseas, it was to follow the call that God had impressed upon me. I took a significant pay cut (almost 50%) from my previous job, took the risk of renting out my house, and said goodbye to friends and family. More recently I spent time in Timor-Leste - again, taking up an opportunity to help disadvantaged people living in remote communities, at the expense of my personal comfort and stress levels. After home assignment I'll be moving to Papua New Guinea, where more of the same will await me (along with a disturbingly high crime rate).

So it pains me deeply to read comments online like the following:

“Have enough returnees back in the country..They knew the consequences before they left to go Abroad..”

“Seeing your travel is not to actually return to live in Nz it’s best if the MIQ spot goes to someone who actually needs it.”

“But why are they so desperate to come back all of a sudden? They left for "greener pastures" however many years ago... why can't people just ride it out where they are? Why should those of us that have been here all along fork out millions of dollars for others who now want to run home to mummy?”

“Yes, it is time to reduce MIQ. Spaces.  A year is plenty of time for ‘kindness’ to those domiciled overseas.  How about some kindness for the team of 5 million.  None of us want to go through lockdowns again just because someone misses the family.”

“most will just be a burden on the tax payer until they find another job overseas then they are gone without paying a cent”

“If you haven't LIVED here for 3 years, you don't get in. Easy.”

These are actual comments on NZ news items about people having difficulty getting into NZ through the managed quarantine system (which is now booked solid for the next four months - until the end of May).

MIQ (un)availability today...

If I could respond to these it would be to say:

When I departed NZ in April 2019, there was no such thing as Covid. No-one could have predicted that we would be in this situation now.

Where I've been, and where I'm going in the future, are hardly 'greener pastures'. Returning to NZ for a couple of months every two years is (a) part of my role as a missionary and (b) necessary to restore my stress levels to something approaching normal. Just living in a developing country is hard work... in ways that someone who has never done this can't fully comprehend.

I am still paying tax in NZ (not just on the rental income from my house, but also for part of my MAF salary, since the tax rate in Australia is lower than NZ) but not receiving any benefit from that. In addition, I'm having to shell out even more money on improvements to my house, thanks to the government's new regulations concerning rental properties - which again, I'm not getting any personal benefit from.

It hurts to be made to feel like a second-class citizen, an outsider, a pariah... when my reason for going overseas was to follow God's call and serve other people less fortunate than me, at significant personal sacrifice and little tangible benefit. (Eternal rewards are a different story.)

To be frank, the thought of going through MIQ in its current form scares me. The possible lack of segregation of people from different countries of origin - most of whom are much higher risk than Australia, along with recent news reports of multiple people contracting Covid while in MIQ... Give me Howard Springs any day!

I guess all I can do is keep watching this space. And trusting God to bring things to pass in His timing. And praying that this includes two-way 'green zone' flights across the Tasman later in the year...

I have been monitoring Covid case numbers in NZ and each of the Australian states since March last year. Since October the sources I've been using (NZ Ministry of Health and covidlive.com.au) have distinguished community vs. imported cases. Here are some facts:

- In mid-December, Australia actually had lower active case numbers than NZ (Aus 48, NZ 56 on 14 Dec). All of these, in both countries, were in managed isolation facilities.

- Queensland has had significantly lower totals than NZ: 1309 cases (NZ: 2305), 6 deaths (NZ: 25). The total populations are similar (5 million people).

- The last positive Covid case recorded in MIQ in NZ for someone travelling from Australia was 14 November 2020, i.e. 76 days ago.