New Zealand Covid-19 committee summons government over lockdown

The legality of New Zealand’s strict coronavirus lockdown continues to be questioned, with some of the government’s top officials summoned by parliament.

The Epidemic Response Committee, chaired by opposition leader Simon Bridges, has asked the attorney general, solicitor general, and the police commissioner to hand over all the legal advice provided to them about the lockdown, Bridges said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The people of New Zealand have given up their freedoms for this lockdown. We all deserve to know what the legal basis was for the lockdown,” he said.

However, the “legal underpinnings” for the lockdown and enforcement were already in the public domain, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern responded in a press conference on Wednesday.

“What the leader of the opposition is seeking is legal advice, which he himself strongly defended in the past the practice of not releasing advice that is provided to the Crown,” Ardern said.

Bridges said Attorney General David Parker, Solicitor General Una Jagose and Police Commissioner Andrew Coster have five days to comply with the order.

“New Zealanders should be proud of the efforts they’ve made during this lockdown, but they also deserve to know whether the lockdown was legal,” Bridges said.

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The Epidemic Response Committee was set up in March to consider and report on the government’s management of the Covid-19 crisis.

On Wednesday, New Zealand reported 1,488 total cases of Covid-19, with 21 deaths. (dpa)