Grant Illingworth KC spoke to Herald NOW's Ryan Bridge about the second phase of the Covid-19 inquiry.
Northland businesses are still dealing with a “giant hangover” from the Covid lockdowns and restrictions, business organisation NorthChamber has told the Covid-19 inquiry.
Northland Chamber of Commerce chairman Tim Robinson and chief executive Leah McKerrow spoke to the inquiry on Monday on behalf of Te Tai Tokerau businesses, as partof the public hearings.
The second phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic focuses on the 2021 lockdowns, the approval of vaccines and their safety, and the vaccine mandates in 2021 and 2022.
In 2021, Northland and Auckland remained in Alert Level 4 lockdown for longer than the rest of the country due to positive cases in the area.
The north was also further impacted by restrictions in Auckland - monitored by checkpoints with large queues - which meant the region was cut-off from the rest of the country.
Robinson told the inquiry couriers and freight companies had a perception about what they could or couldn’t do, and many decided Northland was too difficult to do business in.
This was further exacerbated by a series of storms in 2023, including Cyclone Gabrielle, which closed Northland roads, including a long closure of State Highway 1 at the Brynderwyns.
Northland businesses are still suffering, he said.
“With Covid and then the year of rain, we’re still suffering a fairly significant hangover from that.”
NorthChamber chair Tim Robinson says small Northland businesses like his felt they had no voice about the Covid lockdowns. Photo / NZME
Robinson told the inquiry Northland businesses felt like they had no voice and no ability to share with decision-makers how they could operate safely without going into lockdown.
He gave the example of his own retail business, Bernina Northland, which he said could have run e-commerce sales and done contactless deliveries, but this was not allowed under Level 4 lockdown.
The government support given to businesses only covered a fraction of costs, he said.
Robinson said retailers were further hurt by Reserve Bank decisions which led to long periods of high inflation and high interest rates.
“Businesses were slammed and they haven’t recovered yet,” he said.
“For Northland, we’re in a lot of pain and I don’t really see a shining light in the next few months - we’re 12 months away from anything.”
NorthChamber chief executive Leah McKerrow says Northland should be empowered to come up with local solutions should a pandemic happen again. Photo / Denise Piper
Robinson also said the vaccine mandates became emotionally charged and drove further division in society. He did not support the use of a vaccine mandate in any circumstance again.
McKerrow told the inquiry about her personal experiences during Covid, which led to the end of her global consultancy business.
Covid meant the business lost momentum, was unable to get overseas opportunities and led to change worldwide, she said.
The business took on debt which is still a big issue, McKerrow explained.
She told the inquiry she would like to see Northlanders empowered to create local solutions, including using NorthChamber, local government politicians, and kaumātua and kuia.
The second phase of the inquiry was initiated in an agreement by the coalition parties in Government after the 2023 election.
The first phase of the Covid-19 inquiry wrapped up last year, concluding the vaccine mandates caused huge pain to a “substantial minority”.
They also said lockdowns were an effective tool for managing elimination, but the Government should have considered a broader range of factors in their decision-making in relation to the late-2021 lockdown, which ended up being the longest.
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
