The Covid-19 Inquiry found the government’s response during the pandemic was effective, but slow to adapt to changing circumstances. File photo.
Photo: 123rf.com
Politicians on both sides of the House have found what they wanted from the mammoth final report into New Zealand’s Covid-19 response.
ACT blasted the previous Labour government for being power-hungry, New Zealand First maintained its reservations about the inquiry, but Labour defended the response as world-leading, and the Greens said it saved lives.
The second phase of the Covid-19 Inquiry found the government’s response during the pandemic was effective, but slow to adapt to changing circumstances, and not communicated well enough to people.
The 530-plus-page report, released today, found many of the decisions at the time were balanced, reasonable and evidence-based, but that the public was not always brought on board.
Among its 24 recommendations, commissioners called for more open decision-making in the future over the impacts to people’s isolation, health and outcomes.
In a joint statement, Jacinda Ardern and Grant Robertson said the findings of the second phase of the report were similar to the first.
“We got a lot right. More than most. But there are areas that could have been better.”
Ardern and Robertson said the focus now must be for better pandemic preparedness, and they urged the government to implement recommendations quickly.
Health Minister Simeon Brown said the Auckland lockdown went on too long despite Cabinet having options to end it earlier in late 2021.
Economic warnings from Treasury “were not heeded”, he said, with the commission finding about half the $60 billion Covid response and recovery fund stimulus was not related to the pandemic.
“Options were available to end restrictions earlier, options were available to not have as stimulus an economic response, and ultimately New Zealanders are paying the price of that still today.”
Act leader David Seymour said the previous government was “drunk on power”, and “smashed Auckland” for no reason.
“We had a sloppy response that lost its way, didn’t use technology, doubled our debt and divided our society, we can do much better than that and if they followed Act’s advice at the time, we would’ve.”
The second phase of Inquiry was created by the current government, with both Act and New Zealand First including it as a commitment in their coalition agreements.
It was tasked with scrutinising the previous government’s decisions over lockdowns, vaccine mandates and vaccine safety, and Covid-19 testing.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said he still had reservations about the scope of the second inquiry.
“We said at the time of this inquiry that it was totally deficient, in terms of reference, in terms of personnel, and in terms of having any integrity to find the truth because of who established it.
“We still have those reservations.”
Peters said the inquiry was “not of great value for money”, but still has provided “some serious lessons for us”.
He referenced concerns around vaccine mandates for under-18-year olds.
In its report, the Royal Commission found that a piece of advice from the Covid-19 Technical Advisory Group to the Ministry of Health – advising against applying a two-dose vaccine mandate to 12-17 year olds due to myocarditis risks – was never passed on to ministers.
Brown claimed ministers were informed of officials’ advice on the matter, but Labour leader Chris Hipkins said this was “categorically wrong”.
“I was somewhat surprised to learn during the Royal Commission process that the Technical Advisory Group had come back with recommendations around it being one dose for those under the age of 18, rather than two doses.
“That advice was never presented to ministers, the Royal Commission themselves have found that that advice was never presented to ministers, and that was a major oversight by the officials who prepared that advice.”
Labour defended its response during the pandemic as “world-leading” and guided by the best evidence at the time.
Hipkins rejected Act and National’s criticism, saying it was “politically motivated”, and he described the reflections put forward by the Commission as “very considered”.
He conceded the Auckland lockdown went on for too long, though he disagreed with the report’s finding that that decision went against public health advice.
Greens party co-leader Marama Davidson said it was important the government took a “safety-first”, “wellbeing-first” approach, during the pandemic.
“[That was] the right thing to do.
“We’ve seen that data, information sharing, that making sure people had access to tests and vaccines, were an important part of saving lives and saving wellbeing.”
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said Covid-19 mandates has been “cruel and harsh” on Māori.
She said the inquiry saw the whole role of iwi as an extra, instead of a critical part of the response.
She noted iwi played a huge part in the response from taking care of checkpoints, delivering kai and medicines and carrying out testing.
“We reject the framing that everything needed to be attributed to the government at the time.”
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