Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the Government will keep its Covid-19 isolation requirements amid several weeks of rising case numbers.
On Saturday, she told Q+A that the Government believed Covid-19 isolation requirements were "fundamental" and that "we're holding onto it."
Last month, Australian states ditched requirements for people to stay at home when they had Covid-19.
"As a country, unlike some others who have removed the requirement to isolate when you have Covid - we have not taken that step," she said. "It is one of the most fundamental things you can do to reduce transmission, and we're holding on to it."
The PM said the recent rise in Covid-19 case numbers was "predicted" and that fewer people were getting sick now, with numbers potentially peaking.
"This is what we predicted and remember - at the time that we removed many of our restrictions - we did say we are expecting just that extra wave before Christmas.
"Right on, as predicted, it has arrived. Looking at the case numbers, they are starting to look like they're peaking and coming away.
"I don't want to speak too soon, but that's starting to look like the way it may turn."
Public media
Ardern said editorial independence "must be preserved" in the upcoming merger of TVNZ and RNZ as the Government would keep "looking" for structural ways to build public trust.
"A fundamental principle of editorial independence will and must be preserved through these reforms - no question," she said.
"One of the things that's in the back of my mind right now… globally, we're seeing increasing concern around the issue of misinformation and disinformation," she said.
"Having the ability to access information that people trust is so important, so what we need to do to give people that assurance - we'll keep looking around at how we do that.
WATCH: TVNZ and RNZ submit on proposed merger
"But it's not just editorial independence when we look at how we structure an entity; there's a whole lot of other things at play that determines what an entity looks like."
When asked what the merger was set to achieve, the PM said it was designed to "future-proof" public broadcasters in a "changing" digital environment: "We have to give the possibility for our public service broadcasters to not just survive, but thrive in that world."
Climate change
The Prime Minister said a scheduling conflict between APEC and the COP climate summit meant Climate Change Minister James Shaw would have to go in lieu
"We are having to sprint because we weren't even walking before," she said.
"In six months, we are now one of the world-leading countries for the number of EVs - relative to our population and size - that are being imported into this country."
Ardern said the Government was "throwing everything at this" regarding climate action. She said buying carbon credits would never become a long-term measure.
"Unfortunately, given the lag time of implementing these changes and seeing the effects. We are having to do more offshore," she said. "Now, should it always be that way? No. That's why we are recycling everything out of the ETS back into technology, innovation and transition to speed it up."
Inflation and cost of living
Ardern said she predicted that cost of living and the economy would remain a "focus" into next year, but said it was a "international phenomenon".
"I would say to households - even if the large portion of what we're experiencing are beyond our control - it doesn't mean that we cannot play a role in assisting you," she said.
She said the Government had taken "targeted and time-limited" steps in its response and that if it did "something too broad-based, it makes inflation worse."
"A blanket tax cut, for example, is a policy that would make it worse, and that is not what we want for our families right now."
Labour's five years in power
Reflecting on Labour's five years in power, Ardern said foundational change would take time.
"I stand firmly and proudly on what we have done," she said. "But do I feel like we've completed it? No."
She said housing, child poverty, and climate change were examples where Labour had made some progress: "We've put in the foundations for reform there, but of course, there's a lot more to do. For me, it's about; yes, we've made progress, but we chose such big issues that they do take time."
Asked about her free school lunches policy, the PM reflected that her Government had taken a pragmatic approach towards food poverty.
"For a long time, I actually resisted the idea of food in schools… because I want families to have the dignity to provide for themselves."
"You've seen - even since 2019 - a 17% increase in wages because we want people to have the dignity of well-paid work. And we are making a difference there."
"But am I willing to see kids in the meantime struggling if there's something we can make a difference on and the end? No."
The Prime Minister is expected to announce additional cost of living relief during her keynote address to Labour Party conference attendees at 1.30pm today.
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