Vaccine passes were in effect through much of the pandemic, but some businesses ignored the rules.
Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
The agency charged with enforcing vaccine pass rules says it has no idea how many businesses have paid fines for not complying.
From December to about Easter, many businesses had to ask to see Covid-19 vaccine passes, and staff had to have them to work.
Sixty-six fines were issued to businesses that did not comply, but it’s unclear how many have paid up.
Caleb Kloeg owns Masterton restaurant Saint Sebastian and refused to do vaccine passes.
“We decided not to partake in the traffic light system.
“We didn’t say that we were doing it, we didn’t say that we weren’t doing it, we just said that as a business we weren’t partaking into the contract of the traffic light system.”
In January, WorkSafe issued his business with $16,000 of fines for not checking vaccine certificates and not displaying vaccine pass signs.
WorkSafe was in charge of educating businesses, and enforcing the rules, during the time the framework was in place.
But Kloeg said he hasn’t heard anything since learning the fines had been transferred to the Ministry of Justice for collection.
“If they essentially want their money they’ll have to try and get it through the court process. And that’s pretty much where we’re at now.”
Kloeg said he never intended to pay the fines, but expected that they would become null and void since the vaccine mandates are all but over.
In the four months the framework was in place, WorkSafe issued 66 infringement notices to 22 businesses.
Sixty-one of those notices were transferred to the Ministry of Justice, with fines totalling $373,000.
WorkSafe has no way of knowing how many of its fines will make their way back to the Crown coffers.
Rodrigo Nasa owns Tauranga tattoo parlour Hammerhead Tattoos, and said he has no intention of paying his $24,000 in fines.
“Whatever they send to me it’s going in the bin, simple as that, until they answer my questions or my email.
“Not just keep sending me, repeating the bill.”
Nasa said he has tried to talk to WorkSafe but hasn’t had much success.
“Everything’s almost like still happening in the clouds, hiding there somewhere.
“It’s hard for me to give you a solid answer because I don’t know where we’re at.”
The passes were eliminated in April.
Photo: 2021 Getty Images
The owner of Geraldine restaurant Q Foods, Carl Nicolson, is also adamant he won’t be paying.
In February, the business received $20,000 in fines for not checking vaccine passes, displaying signs or QR codes.
“I’m not paying for the fine regardless of what happens.
“They can do whatever they want to me, I will not pay that fine.”
Nicolson said communication with authorities since receiving the fines has been limited.
“I haven’t had anything personally. A good associate has taken care of all of that who’s very versed on common law.
“And the fine will disappear if it hasn’t already, I haven’t actually heard.”
Nicolson also came under fire for comparing the government’s Covid policies to the Holocaust in his store signage.
Engagement and education approach – WorkSafe
Head of the general inspectorate at WorkSafe Simon Humphries said most businesses complied with their responsibilities under the Covid-19 Protection Framework, with only a small number not following the rules.
“We very much took a high engagement and education role right throughout our Covid response.
“But when there was sustained non-compliance by that very small number, then the next escalation of our response was to issue infringement notices.”
After issuing fines to businesses and serving reminder notices, WorkSafe transfers the infringement notices to the Ministry of Justice.
But neither WorkSafe nor the Ministry of Justice know how much has been paid so far – if anything at all.
Humphries said it was the same story with any enforcement agency: police may not know how many speeding tickets they issue actually get paid.
“Once it gets handed to the Ministry of Justice then the role of the regulator or issuing authority ends at that point.
“And then the Ministry of Justice then follow through the process around collection and their own internal process to the ongoing non-payment.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said the ministry didn’t know how many have been paid because it cannot distinguish between Covid-19 fine infringements and other infringements imposed under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
It is now in the hands of individual district courts to enforce the payments.
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