But we'll also be pragmatic. A good indication is if we hit 90 per cent first doses in a region that is a good sign of where we are heading.
Here in Hawke's Bay, we are at 90 per cent first doses, and are 80 per cent fully vaccinated.
To our friends and neighbours in Gisborne, you are oh-so-close. The Tairawhiti DHB has 85 per cent of its eligible population vaccinated with one dose, with just 1900 more people needing to get to 90 per cent.
If you're fully vaccinated you can go to a hospitality venue, get your hair cut, go to a gym, or large gatherings. What varies is just how large those gatherings are at different levels, and that's exactly the same as what we've had through our alert level system.
Vaccine passes are optional, with the onus on the business itself. But a warning - there are different rules for hospitality venues where vaccination certificates aren't used.
If vaccine passes are used by a venue such as a café, bar or restaurant, then that business will face fewer restrictions. Those that don't use the passes will face limits on the number of patrons.
If hospitality venues decide to use vaccine passes, then their staff members will be required to be vaccinated too.
The number one thing New Zealanders can do is get vaccinated, because the key difference between the two systems is that vaccine passes will shortly be required at places like bars, gyms and restaurants. So download your Vaccine Pass now.
Anyone travelling by Air NZ or the Interislander ferries will also need to be doubly vaccinated.
The hard truth is that Delta is here and it is not going away. No country to date has been able to eliminate Delta completely once it's arrived. We are better positioned than most to tackle it, because of our high vaccinate rate, and the in-built safety measures in the traffic light system, like the use of vaccine passes.
The Covid protection framework doesn't say, "Here's a date where all bets are off and we go back to some kind of normal." It accepts that Covid is around, and is still very problematic in some parts of the world.
We want a framework that actually can see us through that, so that people will know if we do have outbreaks that are difficult, they'll know what will happen.
While life will feel relatively normal under the new system, which is simpler and safer than the alert levels, it's time to get prepared to move.
Stuart Nash is Napier MP