But port managers say the 11-week lead-in time for workers to get a jab is necessary to limit workplace disruption, and even then exceptions may be needed to keep operations afloat if key workers, such as maritime pilots, still refuse to get vaccinated.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced yesterday a change to the Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order so it would apply to more border workers.
As of July 9, there were still 1766 border workers who had not had a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine, the majority of them port workers.
They will not need to get their first jab until September 30.
Government workers newly captured by the order will need their first jab by August 26.
The order now covered the airside area of affected airports and some other higher-risk work at airports, affected ports, and accommodation services where aircrew members were self-isolating.
It also included work that involved handling affected items removed from ships, aircraft, or managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facilities, and workers who have contact with people who are subject to the public health order.
It came as the Government reopened quarantine-free flights to New Zealand from Queensland from 11.59pm yesterday, though anyone arriving without a negative pre-departure test would face a 14-day stay in MIQ — and a hefty bill.
The pause on the transtasman bubble remained for New South Wales, which had 112 new cases yesterday.
New Zealand citizens and residents are able to return home on green flights with a 14-day stay in MIQ, though flights for the next two weeks sold out within minutes.
Ms Ardern said the Government was still considering enforcement and privacy issues around making QR code scanning mandatory for bars and restaurants, and more widespread mask use at Alert Levels 2 and up.
She said it was an "extraordinary" step to make vaccinations mandatory for privately-employed border workers, even though she said in April all border workers would need to be vaccinated or they would be redeployed.
University of Otago epidemiologist Prof Michael Baker said the unvaccinated worker gaps at the ports and airports should be plugged as quickly as possible.
"I’m sure there are logistical and other barriers to getting vaccinated, but we’ve got all of the infrastructure in place to administer the vaccine and track who needs it," Prof Baker said.
"The supplies are there. The staff to administer it are there."
The unvaccinated workforce at the border was the weakest part of New Zealand’s Covid defences, he said.
Ms Ardern said the long lead-in time would limit disruption at the ports.
"We have to allow the time for those workforces to readjust, if that is what is required."
Those key roles included maritime pilots, specialised stevedore roles and crane operators, said Charles Finny, chairman of the Port Company CEO Group, which represents 13 ports.
"It is very near impossible to recruit replacement staff in New Zealand in a hurry," Mr Finny said.
"We don’t want the whole sector to shut down.
"We’ll have to work through what mitigation needs to be employed for those people."
That could include allowing certain workers to work on the frontline while unvaccinated, or granting border exceptions to allow specialised foreign workers into the country who are willing to be vaccinated.
