“I would have expected MBIE’s officials to provide free and frank, clear and sound advice and recommendations on the fairest options that considered the impact it would have on people.
“This would have allowed decisions to be made, not just with reason, but with sympathy and honour.”
He said while MBIE was working in an “unprecedented” environment and needing to act quickly to keep Covid-19 out, there were several omissions in MBIE’s advice that were “unreasonable”.
For example, MBIE failed to convey in its advice the virtual lobby’s impact when it recommended it over other options whilst a change in the online application process for spaces was being considered, he said.
While some spaces were set aside for people with special circumstances under a voucher system, he said this did not cater for many New Zealanders who had a genuine or urgent need to travel nor those experiencing delays in returning to New Zealand.
“We ended up with a lottery - a system that did not fully allow for the consideration and prioritisation of individual circumstances of people trying to come home during the Covid-19 pandemic,” Boshier said.
MBIE also failed to fully ensure there was a way for disabled people to independently apply for vouchers, he said.
“I also believe MBIE acted unreasonably by failing to undertake an analysis under Te Tiriti o Waitangi when developing its online allocation, and by not consulting with Māori sooner.”
A spokeswoman for MBIE said they were declining interview requests on the review as MBIE was “still considering and reviewing the report and recommendations”.
In a statement, MIQ general manager Shayne Gray said they acknowledged the system was “not perfect and that some people were unable to secure a place in MIQ whilst in extremely challenging circumstances”.
He added the poor consultation with iwi as Treaty partners was “less than ideal” and MBIE had made efforts recently to better engage.
He said while MIQ had shut down for now all recommendations would be taken on board if New Zealand ever needed to implement a similar quarantine-type arrangement for border arrivals.
Gray said almost 230,000 people went through MIQ It was responsible for stopping more than 4600 cases of Covid-19 at the border, he said.
MBIE has until January 20 to respond to the Ombudsman about concerns raised.
Covid-19 Response Minister Ayesha Verrall has been approached for comment.
While Boshier acknowledged the challenges around the pandemic, he said that was not sufficient for officials to not have recommended or advised on a better system that could consider individual circumstances.
“It is obvious that managed isolation and quarantine [MIQ] and MIAS [Managed Isolation Allocation System] caused a huge amount of stress and frustration for New Zealanders trying to exercise their right to enter the country.”
On the other hand, Boshier found MBIE did not act unreasonably when it came to efforts to increase capacity, and use of available capacity.
He has recommended MBIE should address the issues raised in the design of any future national quarantine system.
Boshier also noted ministers made the final decisions on the shape of the system but he did not have the jurisdiction to recommend they apologise.
“However, I will be following up with the complainants in this investigation to see whether they have been affected by the individual decisions made by MBIE that may be flawed, and if a personal apology from MBIE is appropriate.”
In October, the Government announced it was scrapping lockdowns, managed isolation and quarantine, gathering limits and Covid-19 vaccine mandates.
Act Party leader David Seymour said the investigation showed how “cruel” the MIQ system was. His party had criticised the scheme since its inception, calling for a more “risk-proportionate approach”.
He said the Government had been too focused on the virus and instead missed looking after New Zealanders’ overall welfare.
“Faced with an enormous fear campaign put on the whole country, it’s no surprise that the public service followed suit and offered limited advice.
“The end result was a cruel, one-size-fits-all MIQ lottery that created misery.”
National’s Covid-19 response spokesman Dr Shane Reti said the Government needed to apologise to those affected for “the lottery of human misery that was MIQ”.
Reti said the Government was “heavy-handed and overbearing and there will be families who will never recover from what they missed out on”.
“It separated families and meant people were unable to return to New Zealand to see loved ones and couldn’t be there when family members were in the final stages of life.
“It was cruel and the Prime Minister needs to accept responsibility for her Government’s actions and apologise.”
Act and National said MIQ needed to be included in the Royal Commission of Inquiry.
The Ombudsman report follows a High Court ruling that found MIQ, with its virtual lobby and narrow emergency criteria, meant New Zealanders’ rights to enter the country were infringed.
“In some instances in a manner that was not demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society,” Justice Mallon said.
Justice Mallon found that the MIQ system, focusing over the period from September 1 last year to December 17, didn’t allow for individual circumstances to be considered and prioritised, and examples of extreme delays were not prioritised.
The MIQ booking system did not allow for the prioritisation of returning citizens due to the “virtual lobby” that operated as a lottery, and the criteria for emergency allocation was narrow and too tightly set.
- additional reporting RNZ
