New Zealand's response to COVID-19 has saved lives and livelihoods. With the benefit of hindsight, there are many views of what we could or should have done differently. Not everything was perfect. We had to make decisions swiftly and without much of the information we now have. It was also expensive. But then there were no costless decisions in COVID-19. I stand by our approach. We've done well, and we've given ourselves a head start that we are determined to capitalise on.