Covid-19 inquiry executive director and assisting counsel resign

By RNZ

The executive director of the Covid-19 inquiry and two lawyers assisting the second phase of the inquiry have resigned.

Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden said in a statement she does not wish to speculate on why they chose to resign and she still expected the chairman to present a final report by next February.

Stuff has reported that executive director Helen Potiki and the assisting counsel – Kristy McDonald and Nick Whittington – are understood to have quit over concerns about the inquiry’s processes.

Potiki had been in the role since October 2024.

Van Velden said the work of the Royal Commission of Inquiry was independent of the Government, and she was not responsible for the counsel assist who had been appointed by Crown Law.

“I had concerns about the potential for the inquiry timeframes to not be met based on the quarterly report provided to me by the commissioners,” the minister said.

“I requested to meet with the chair of the commission to be given assurance that the final report will be delivered on time and within budget.

“As minister I am not responsible for individual employment matters within the department and Royal Commission and it would not be appropriate for me to comment on them.”

Helen Potiki had been in the role since October 2024. Photo / Ben Fraser

She said the daily fee rate for members of the Royal Commission was $1620, the same as those paid to the commissioners of phase one of the inquiry.

“I have no plans to change the phase two Royal Commission of Inquiry at this stage.”

Labour’s health spokeswoman Ayesha Verrall said she was concerned to hear about the resignations.

She said Labour had been uneasy about the political nature of phase two of the inquiry since it began.

The first phase had been led by Australian-based epidemiologist Tony Blakely, with former Cabinet minister Hekia Parata and former Treasury secretary John Whitehead. It aimed to look at the lessons learnt and help the country better prepare for future pandemics.

The second phase was committed to in the coalition agreements between National, Act and New Zealand First, promising to broaden the terms of reference and ensure it was a “full-scale, wide-ranging, independent inquiry conducted publicly with local and international experts”.

The Government allocated $14 million towards this second phase in last year’s Budget, and it was being led by litigation specialist Grant Illingworth, KC, as chairman, with Judy Kavanagh and Anthony Hill as the other commissioners.

Verrall noted the first phase had delivered its nearly 700-page report last year with 39 recommendations but the Government was “yet to act on them – particularly around preparedness of the health system – at a time when significant numbers of people are being laid off at Health NZ“.

“I worry about what a pandemic response might look like today, given the state of our health system under this Government.”

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