National leader Judith Collins says the Government is in a "blind panic", after the Prime Minister did not rule out the possibility of moving the country to the traffic light system before it collectively hits a 90 per cent vaccination rate.
Collins said it "begs the question as to why the 90 per cent target for every DHB was launched only two weeks ago".
"Was it just a play for time to get something as simple as vaccine certificates ready?" she asked.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was asked on Monday by Newsroom if she would move the rest of New Zealand to the traffic light system if Auckland transitioned, as an incentive for people outside the city to get vaccinated.
The traffic light system sees freedoms and access largely dependent on vaccine status, with a high reliance on vaccine certificates.
Ardern said use of vaccine certificates "may give a further nudge to people who have not yet been vaccinated", however, experts wanted a high vaccination rate before moving into the new traffic light system.
"I think we will keep at the back of our minds whether or not the framework itself could actually help us continue with vaccines."
Collins accused the Government of a lack of planning for the Delta variant in New Zealand.
"The Government apparently wants the traffic light system and vaccine certificates to be operational from the end of November, so it appears Parliament will either be legislating urgently with no select committee process, or the legislation will be retrospective.
"This all smacks of a Government in a blind panic, just getting through each week, making it up as it goes."
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