National leader Judith Collins has slammed the testing of border workers as a "complete failure" and says the public has been misled.

Collins said National's focus today would be on the recent testing failures, and getting to the bottom of what actually happened.

"In particular, why the former Minister of Health, David Clark, was telling the New Zealand public on June 23 that all border facing staff were being tested, including those who did not have symptoms of Covid-19."

That line, she said, had been reiterated by current Health Minister Chris Hipkins and even by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern herself.

She said it was an "absolute failure" and the New Zealand public "have not been told the truth".

"I think when the Prime Minister has categorised it as a miscommunication, I would say that it's a complete failure."

Her plan of attack is to go after the Prime Minister in question time this afternoon.

And Collins will be armed with what she said is evidence of the extent of the testing regime's failure.

She said staff from managed isolation facilities – including the Jet Park hotel, where Covid-19 positive people are in quarantine – have been speaking to National about the lack of testing.

Collins said National has been told the staff were not refusing to have tests, as stated by Hipkins over the weekend.

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On Saturday, Hipkins said some staff were reluctant to have tests and that's why the testing numbers were so low.

But Collins said she has talked to staff who say they were not, in fact, refusing to have tests.

"They were, in fact, not offered tests. Even some people have contacted us to say that they asked for tests and were refused them because they were asymptomatic.

"That is entirely different from what the Government have told us."

Of the staff she talked to, one was from the Jet Park hotel, and another was from a Hamilton isolation facility.

But she said the staff at Jet Park was "someone relatively senior" in the organisation.
Neither of them wanted to be identified, Collins said.

The Prime Minister this morning had said that the testing was low at the facilities because staff were refusing to be tested.

Collins said Ardern was "entirely wrong – that's very clear".

"I have had a couple of people personally come to me," she said, adding that she had spoken to them on the phone.

She said these staff members asked to have tests but were refused them.

"They made it very plain that staff have said that they were not offered tests and they did not refuse them."

She said other MPs had been told this as well, but did not say which MPs she was talking about.

Asked where the chain of accountability ended, Collins said it was up to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to answer that question.

"The Government can't even fulfill their own policy, can they?

"What is really clear is the Government weren't checking it was being done.

"The public has been extremely upset that they have been let down," she said.

When asked if she thought Hipkins had misled the public, she said: "I think that's what will come out."

When asked if someone should be sacked, she said: "Let's find out the facts... It's up to the Prime Minister. About now she'll be wondering about what she's been told by Chris Hipkins. It's her choice not mine."

National would be releasing its own border policy this week.

She wouldn't be drawn on US President Donald Trump's comments New Zealand had suffered "a big surge" in Covid-19.

"I'm not an expert on Donald Trump... I'm not even discussing that. I haven't heard it myself."

When asked if it was helpful for her deputy Gerry Brownlee to be "undermining the media?", she said: "I'm not sure that he is."

"I haven't noticed anyone in the public worrying about what I think about what the President of the United States has said."

The comments follow the Prime Minister moving election dates.

National's read on the new date was hard to gauge.

"We acknowledge the new date," Collins said in a statement yesterday.

In the days leading up to the decision, Collins had pushed for the election date to be changed.

It was, she said, unfair on the Opposition and smaller parties if the September 19 date stayed in place.

With lockdown restrictions in place, it would be difficult for parties to properly campaign.
But National had been pushing for the election date to be pushed back until November, or next year.

In fact, Collins said a 2021 election was her party's preference.

Ardern's announcement means that Parliament – which had adjourned for the election campaign – had to be recalled.

That means MPs were forced to cut their campaigns short and return to the capital.

That is, all MPs that are not in Auckland – which is in level 3 lockdown.

Although seemingly lukewarm on the new election date, Collins said recalling Parliament was the right move.

"The country is in a difficult situation and the political decisions we make to get us through this should be scrutinised by elected representatives. All voices must be heard if we are to move forward as a united team."