Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: ASB said in its report, "there are still many challenges ahead given [New Zealand's] borders are likely to be heavily restricted for some time and [that] the rest of the world is having a tougher time than [New Zealand] in dealing with the pandemic." The problems other countries are having in keeping COVID-19 under control and the associated economic costs of reinstating restrictions there underscore the importance of the Government's decision to go hard and early against the virus. They also inevitably will have an impact on the New Zealand economy as an open trading nation.