Changes ahead for Covid inquiry

Hekia Parata last month resigned for personal reasons from the panel undertaking a Royal Commission Inquiry into Covid-19. She described her experience as “an honour” and “a privilege”. Herald file picture

With the Royal Commission Inquiry into Covid-19 due to be broadened, the new Government will also need to replace Tairāwhiti-based panel member Hekia Parata.

That responsiblity will fall to new Internal Affairs minister and ACT deputy leader Brooke van Velden,

Ms Parata resigned from the panel in November for personal reasons.

Since then she has completed all duties of the role in anticipation of a fresh appointment by the new Government.

“It has been an honour to serve our Royal Commission with its forward-looking focus on lessons and emphasis on strengthening our preparedness for the next pandemic,” Ms Parata said in a statement.

“It’s been a privilege to hear from many individuals and organisations who did so much to protect our communities and country.

“They deserve our thanks, even as we identify how we can do better in the future. This will be assisted by hearing from the wider public who will have the opportunity to share their experiences, too.”

Inquiry chairman Professor Tony Blakely, in a statement, said the new Government had signalled, as part of its coalition agreements, that it would like to review the inquiry’s terms of reference.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with the new Government on what an expanded and clarified remit for the inquiry might look like.

“We will provide updated information regarding any changes to our terms of reference as part of our regular communication.

“Related to this, it was our intention to seek public input and submissions on the inquiry from November this year.

“However, given the scope and terms of reference of the inquiry may change, we’ve made the decision to delay public submissions until early 2024.

“We believe this delay will avoid any confusion for those who want to share their Covid-19 experiences with us.

“We are very aware of the critical importance to our work of the people of Aotearoa New Zealand having the opportunity to share their experiences with the Royal Commission of Inquiry, Te Tira Ārai Urutā.

“I want to reiterate our commitment to actively encouraging and seeking public input.

“In the meantime, the wider work of the inquiry continues. We continue to undertake direct engagements with key individuals, communities and organisations.

“What we hear from these engagements is tremendously valuable and adds a real richness to our understanding of the impacts, and response to the pandemic.

“To date we have undertaken over 200 evidence-gathering engagements and met with around 800 people across New Zealand, and we look forward to further engagements in the coming months.

“Alongside these engagements we are making good progress in analysing all the information we have received to date and blending it with the large body of knowledge and insights from countries around the world to generate lessons for Aotearoa New Zealand on how best to prepare for, respond to and recover from the next pandemic whenever it occurs.”

The new coalition agreement between National and NZ First agrees “as a matter of urgency” to establish “a full-scale, wide-ranging independent inquiry conducted publicly with local and international experts into how the Covid pandemic was handled in New Zealand”.

This includes use of multiple lockdowns, vaccine procurement and efficacy, social and economic impacts on regional and national levels, and whether the decisions made and steps taken were justified.