Acting Prime Minister David Seymour says Dame Jacinda Ardern should “absolutely” be in the country when she is required and requested to be at the Covid-19 inquiry.
The comments came as he fielded many other questions on the Regulatory Standards Bill, supermarket duopoly and the new minimum sentences.
Seymour told Herald NOW’s Ryan Bridge that although the Royal Commission is an independent body and they cannot direct it, if it were up to him, he would absolutely make sure Ardern fronted at the inquiry.
“Now, we need to get to the bottom of what happened, who it affected, not just because of history, but because there will be more epidemics in my and your lifetime.
“She was the key decision-maker through that period. But whether she does is up to her, whether she’s requisitioned by the commission is up to them. I just make the observation that this stuff’s important and all voices should be at the table.”
Covid Commission of Inquiry chairman Grant Illingworth KC confirmed they were considering calling Dame Jacinda Ardern and Sir Ashley Bloomfield, but would not confirm if they will.
Illingworth told Herald NOW’s Ryan Bridge that even if she is called, they can not force her to be there.
He said the issues with their lack of power to be able to force people to attend the inquiries, even from overseas, are being worked through at the moment.
Meanwhile, last week, a group of prominent New Zealanders – including Dame Anne Salmond, Sir Geoffrey Palmer and Professor Jane Kelsey – were vocal in their opposition to the legislation and released a letter publicly ahead of select committee hearings on Seymour’s Regulatory Standards Bill.
This morning, he argued that it would create meaningful change by keeping an eye on the different ministries, much like the Fiscal Responsibility Act did.
“Does the [Fiscal Responsibility Act] stop politicians from doing stupid spending? No, we’ve seen that recently, as recently as a few years ago, but the transparency changes behaviour.”
On possibly breaking up the supermarket duopoly, Seymour said as leader of the Act Party, he does not believe in forcibly separating anything, but as a coalition, if it becomes government policy, he would have to support it.
“I just make the point that for a long time, we had a Labour government, and when there was a problem, like rents were too high, they bashed up the landlords and it didn’t solve the problem.
“If anything, it made it worse because people say, I don’t want to be a landlord anymore. There was less choice for tenants, and rents rose.
“I’m warning against making the same mistake as a government. And if we do that, if we break up the duopoly, we will be making that same mistake.”
On whether the Act Party would submit a candidate in the Tāmaki Makaurau byelection, he said they do not stand in Māori ward elections, but said, regardless, he believed Te Pāti Māori had a stronghold over the seat.
Seymour also discussed the minimum sentences, where he disputed claims they were “tying the judge’s hands” and said instead they were giving them guidelines on behalf of the community.
“You want the judiciary to be reflecting community norms and expectations, but giving them the discretion to work out the individual case.”
Seymour told Newstalk ZB’s Heather du Plessis-Allan he did not want to appear to criticise the judiciary, but he doubted the judges thought the same as a victim of crime.
“On average, if you become a judge, you’re someone who’s had a very successful law career. Chances are, you live in quite a nice suburb. And chances are, you’re actually a very intelligent person who’s very good at thinking and reasoning and ‘Oh, well, they did this because they had a bad time.’
“If you’re someone who has just been bashed up or had your kid or your partner attacked or, you know, had your car nicked and you don’t have any money and you need to get to work, then you’re not thinking like that. You’re thinking, ‘I want that person dealt to and I want this crime to stop’.”