Prebble on Covid unaccountability

Richard Prebble writes:

A Royal Commission is our nation’s highest form of inquiry, reserved for the most important issues. 

To ensure confidence in its findings, commissioners have the power to summon witnesses and take their evidence in public under oath.

In my research, apart from health reasons, the only person to have ever refused to give public evidence is Gerald Shirtcliff. 

He misrepresented his engineering qualifications, moved to Australia and refused to appear at the CTV Building Collapse Inquiry, held after the Canterbury earthquakes – although he eventually gave evidence via video link from Australia.

Now there are four more refusals.

Former Labour ministers – Dame Jacinda Ardern, Grant Robertson, Ayesha Verrall — and Leader of the Opposition Chris Hipkins are refusing to give public evidence to the Covid Royal Commission.

Great company they are in.

Only ministers can explain three damaging decisions that have scarred our society.

Before the election, Hipkins, the Covid Minister, announced we were “at the front of the queue” for vaccines. In fact, New Zealand’s rollout started later than many OECD countries.

Despite Australia’s Prime Minister warning that the Delta variant could not be stopped by a lockdown, our ministers ordered the disastrous Auckland lockdown.

During that lockdown, my daughter died of cancer. I could not visit her. We could not hold a funeral. That wound will never heal.

Ardern assured vaccination would never be compulsory. At the same, vaccination was made mandatory for workers in a number of sectors. To me, there is little difference between those things.

It;s voluntary, but if you decide the wrong way you will lose you job, be banned from restaurants and cafes, not be able to shop at most retail outlets and possibly lose your entire ability to work in your occupation. Not very voluntary was it.