Liam Dann: We're getting better at this - Why this lockdown should cost less 15 Feb, 2021 03:00 AM 4 minutes to read Finance Minister Grant Robertson during his Crown Accounts announcement at the Treasury in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell Finance Minister Grant Robertson during his Crown Accounts announcement at the Treasury in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell Aucklanders are getting better at lockdowns and that will make this one less costly, economists say. Last August – as Auckland went into Level three lockdown – ASB economists estimated that it would cost the economy about $440 million per week - or 0.15 per cent of annual GDP. But ASB has revised that view down on the basis of the strong rebound through the last quarter of 2020.