Former Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has hit out at officials for creating what he calls a "soft" and "weak" Northland border, after recent breaches.
Peters told Te Karere the Government needed to "stiffen up law and order enforcement".
"Otherwise, society gets seriously damaged," adding that it would cause lives to get "severely disrupted".
It comes as a woman has tested positive for Covid-19 after travelling from Auckland to Northland with a previously reported case.
The woman was taken into police custody on Monday evening after being found at a West Auckland address. Health authorities has previously contacted the woman, but she had refused to cooperate.
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield told Breakfast on Tuesday morning she was symptomatic for the virus, and has now tested positive.
Covid-19 Alert Level 3 restrictions have been extended for Northland and will be in place for another five days, until at least 11.59pm Monday, October 18.
Speaking to Te Karere on Tuesday, Peters hit out at authorities for creating a border that he called "weak" on security.
"That only means trouble for Northland and for other parts of the country as well," he said.
He says the Government needed to prove it was on top of the problem.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that the low Covid-19 testing rates in the Northland region, as well as vaccination rates, would need to rise significantly before changes to restrictions could be made.
Over the weekend, just 1.1 per cent of Northlanders turned out for a Covid-19 test, she said.
Ardern said the Northland Covid case was someone who "falsely acquired the ability to travel, but they have been picked up through the fact that they were required to be tested".
"We’re constantly looking at what more we can do to ensure protections are in place, but testing is a really important part of that."
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins encouraged people to come forward on Wednesday, after announcing an extension to Level 3 in Northland.
He said there was a worry people who could have been infected and may be symptomatic may be reluctant to come forward to get tested in Northland and stressed any information gathered during the Covid testing process would only be used to stamp out Covid.
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