Lisa Wilkinson has speculated Australia's 'bin fire' handling of the Omicron crisis is what prompted Jacinda Ardern to postpone her own wedding and plunge all of New Zealand into Covid 'red alert'.
Thousands of Kiwis are living under the most serious level of restrictions, including vaccine passports and mandatory masks, after just 24 new cases were announced on Sunday.
An outspoken critic of Australian governments' response to the pandemic, TV host Lisa Wilkinson speculated whether Ms Ardern's tough decisions were sparked by a fear of replicating what was happening across the Tasman.
The New Zealand Prime Minister revealed on Sunday she would postpone her upcoming nuptials to television host Clarke Gayford because she 'was no different to other New Zealanders'.
Among the new rules is that household contacts of Covid cases now must isolate for 24 days - despite most countries worldwide implementing a 14 day, and more recently, seven day isolation period.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (left) has been forced to postpone wedding pans several times since Clarke Gayford (right) got down on one knee during 2019 Easter break - with Lisa Wilkinson speculating she took decisive action after seeing the 'bin fire' across the ditch
'Wowee - 24 days!' The Project co-host said on Sunday night's program.
'If that doesn't give you an indication that Jacinda Ardern has looked across the "ditch" at our bin fire and gone, "Not doing that!" Wow.'
Co-host Georgia Tunny added: 'It's just a reminder to keep up with or try - it's impossible to keep up with what the actual advice is.
'There's 24 days there, seven days here - what's the intubation period for Omicrons and what is it Delta?
'We work in the news cycle and it's still so convoluted and confusing.'
Tommy Little pondered what the rules may mean for large families living under the same roof.
'If you've got a big family - say 10 in your family and you keep catching it 10 days after each other. Come to four years later and you're just getting out of iso!' he quipped.
Lisa Wilkinson (right with co-host Georgia Tunny) expressed shock at New Zealand's new isolation rules, where household contacts of cases must self-isolate for 24 days
Anyone infected with Covid is now required to isolate for 14 days, up from 10 days under the new interim rules.
Household contacts must then stay in quarantine for a further 10 days, stretching the time alone out to three and a half weeks.
Ms Ardern to wed her television host fiancé this summer in Gisborne on the North Island before a spate of Covid-19 threw plans into chaos, almost three years after he popped the question.
She originally planned to walk down the aisle earlier but has been set back by a series of tragedies including the Christchurch terror attack, the White Island volcano eruption in 2019 and the coronavirus pandemic for the last 21 months.
'Such is life,' Ms Ardern said when asked about the delay on Sunday.
'I am no different to – dare I say it – thousands of other New Zealanders who have had much more devastating impacts felt by the pandemic.
'The most gutting of which is the inability to be with a loved one sometimes when they're gravely ill. That will far, far outstrip any sadness I experience.
'My wedding will not be going ahead, but I just join many other
