Labour leader Chris Hipkins on Covid inquiry, Tāmaki Makaurau, banks and tax. Video / Herald NOW
Former Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern has not been formally asked to appear before stage 2 of the Royal Commission Inquiry into Covid-19.
A statement from the inquiry confirmed no decision had been made about who would appear at August hearings, expected to feature “key decision makers and senior publicservants”.
“In August, a planned public hearing will be held to hear from key decision makers and senior public servants.
“No decisions have yet been made by Commissioners about who will appear at this hearing. The witness list is still under consideration, and it is not appropriate to make further comment about it at this stage,” a statement from the Commission said.
This means that while Ardern might be asked to appear, a decision to formally ask her to appear has not been made.
A Royal Commission does have the power to summons people to appear. As Ardern lives in the United States, this power would have limited effect and could only be used if she were in New Zealand.
The statement from the inquiry suggested it would be unlikely to force Ardern to appear, noting its terms of reference “require the inquiry to take a non-adversarial approach to its work”.
The statement said the inquiry will share the witness list and more information about the planned August public hearing “in due course”.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announcing the Government will put the country into lockdown to try to stop the spread of Covid-19 coronavirus, Parliament, Wellington. 23 March, 2020. New Zealand Herald photograph by Mark Mitchelll
RGP 25Mar20 - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces the Government will put the country into lockdown to try to stop the spread of Covid-19. Photos / Mark Mitchell
The statement held the door open to allowing Ardern, or other submitters, not to appear in public.
“Public hearings are just one way the inquiry can gather evidence, in addition to private interviews, written correspondence, stakeholder engagements, public submissions and document analysis,” it said.
The confusion appears to have arisen after Grant Illingworth KC, the chairman of the inquiry’s second phase, spoke to Herald NOW’s Ryan Bridge on Monday.
Illingworth said issues relating to Ardern’s appearance were a “work in progress”.
“We’ll be explaining the situation and who is appearing in due course,” Illingworth said.
Illingworth said early approaches had been made to some people to appear, but whether or not they had responded was “confidential”.
It is possible some kind of approach was made to Ardern.
Unlike phase one of the Royal Commission, phase two includes public hearings, where evidence is heard in a public forum.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins, appearing on Herald NOWon Tuesday, said he had issues with the way the second phase of the Royal Commission had been set up, particularly the decision to exclude from consideration, the years that NZ First was governing with Labour.
“The fact that the [Royal Commission] terms of reference specifically exclude decisions made when NZ First were part of the [Labour-led coalition] Government … I think the terms of reference have been deliberately constructed to achieve a particular outcome, particularly around providing a platform for those who have conspiracy theorist views.
