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MIQ might be a thing of the past but that doesn't undermine the fact that Grounded Kiwis - an incorporated society advocating for Kiwis abroad - won its Judicial Review case against the MIQ system last week.
In Justice Jillian Mallon's mammoth 140-page decision, she said while MIQ was a critical component of the Government's elimination strategy against Covid-19, the virtual lobby system and narrow emergency criteria in some cases infringed on New Zealanders' rights to enter the country.
Under the Bill of Rights Act, every New Zealand citizen has the right to enter New Zealand.
This fundamental freedom can only be limited by the state if it's prescribed by law and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.
From April 10, 2020, until February 29, 2022, restrictions, were placed on overseas New Zealanders' right to enter the country in response to the pandemic. Travellers were required to enter Government-managed isolation facilities and to submit to medical testing, but demand for MIQ outstripped capacity.
In February Grounded Kiwis - represented by Paul Radich QC and Lucila van Dam - challenged aspects of the MIQ system, saying it put unjustified limits on the right to enter. It also challenged the way decisions were made for groups entering MIQ and the approach taken to applications for places in MIQ.
In the lead up to the case, Grounded Kiwis was supported by numerous volunteer lawyers.
Radich and van Dam prepared the statement of claim on a pro-bono basis, and $100,000 was sought via crowdfunding to bring the case to trial.
The proceeding was focused on the restrictions placed on New Zealand citizens over the period from September 1 last year to December 17.
Throughout the February hearing Crown lawyer Aedeen Boadita-Cormican - acting on behalf of the Government - defended the MIQ system saying it was something that was fair to all Kiwis abroad and at home under the circumstances.
Meanwhile, Grounded Kiwis alleged the Minister of Health, Minister for Covid-19 Response, and chief executive of the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment acted unlawfully and unreasonably in respect of the design and operation of the MIQ system
It said in the context of a chronic lack of MIQ capacity, decisions were made through the single lens of public health risks whereas there should have been a bifocal lens that included the fundamental right of citizens to enter the country.
Failure to do so resulted in New Zealanders enduring substantial delays in returning and considerable suffering.
In Justice Mallon's decision, she found the MIQ system didn't allow for individual circumstances to be considered and prioritised.
While some allocation procedure had to be put in place as the number of people wanting to come home outnumbered the number of MIQ spots available, the government could have essentially done better - my words, not Justice Mallon's.
At the time of the hearing, Grounded Kiwi said it wanted an acceptance that MIQ failed New Zealanders abroad, leaving them traumatised and stripping them of their rights.
The next step in the process is seeking relief in the form of a declaration.
This could be a formal statement by the court that aspects of the MIQ system were unlawful.
Yes, MIQ facilities and the booking system may be no more, but this decision would serve as a precedent as to how a future MIQ must look like.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins issued a statement in response to the case saying: "MIQ was always the least worst option to help keep Covid-19 from entering and spreading in New Zealand. We have long acknowledged the difficult trade-offs we've had to make in our Covid-19 response to save lives and the effects of those decisions on all New Zealanders, particularly those living abroad. This was particularly challenging for those applying for MIQ places between September and December 2021."
The case is one of a number of judicial reviews relating to Covid-19. The Government is appealing a High Court decision that found vaccine mandates imposed on the police and New Zealand Defence Force were unjustified in relation to the Bill of Rights Act.
Then there was the High Court ruling that the first nine days of the 2020 lockdown were found to be unlawful, albeit the action was justified.
As the dust continues to settle and people unearth from more than two years of Covid-hysteria, I suspect we will be seeing increasingly more criticism of how the Labour Government performed through the crisis.