The executive director and two lawyers are helping to investigate New Zealand’s handling of the pandemic, as the minister says deadlines could be overlooked.
New Zealand’s Royal Commission on Inquiry on Covid-19 handling has lost three key figures as it is embarking on a second phase.
Executive Director Helen Potiki and two lawyers supported by two lawyers – Christa MacDonald KC and Nick Whittington, along with Home Minister Brook van Belden.
She said the committee was independent of the government and she was not responsible for the support of lawyers appointed by the Crown Act.
“As a minister, I am not responsible for the issues of individual employment within the department and within the Royal Commission. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on them,” she said in a statement.
However, local media reported that all three were concerned about the investigation process, and that other staff shared those concerns.
Potiki has been in a role since October 2024.
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Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is aware of his resignation, but was passed in response to a request for comment from Van Belden while he was abroad and leads a business delegation in Vietnam.
The minister said she now has concerns that the time frame set for reporting may not be met based on the quarterly report provided by the commissioner.
“I have requested that we meet with the committee chair to ensure that the final report is delivered within the budget and within the deadline,” she said.
“There are no plans to change the Phase 2 Royal Committee on Inquiry at this stage.”
The first phase of the investigation was planned by the resignation of the Labour government to be the only investigation into the pandemic response, but Australia-based epidemiologist Tony Blakely, former Kuomintang minister Hechia Paratha, former finance It was led by Director John Whitehead.
He was tasked with deciding the lessons he had learned and adviseing New Zealand on how to better prepare for the future pandemic.
Conditions for Phase 2 Research Union Partners
When ACT and NZ first negotiated the coalition agreement with the nation, both demanded a second phase, expanding the terms of reference, which were “officially carried out with local and international experts (evidence). , confirmed that it is a full-scale, broad, independent study.
A $14 million budget will be allocated and the commissioner will be paid a $1,620 a day. This is the same as the first phase.
Litigation specialist Grant Illingworth KC has been appointed chairman along with Judy Cabana and Anthony Hill, who have experience in economics and public health, respectively.
Van Belden, which began investigating phase 2 last August, said its purpose was to “in 2021 and 2022, which are related to vaccine use and lockdown use, particularly the use of extended lockdowns in Auckland and Northland. It stated that it is to consider important decisions.
“The study states that key decisions are rational with public health goals and social and economic disruptions such as health and education outcomes (and) such as the impact of decisions based on inflation, debt, and business activities. We will assess whether the balance is in place.”
Labour health spokesman Dr Aesha Veral said he was worried about hearing about his resignation and that the opposition parties are concerned about the political nature of Phase 2.
She noted that the first phase of the investigation submitted a report last year with 39 recommendations.
However, the government said, “We have not yet acted mainly on preparing the health system, but mainly on preparing the health system – a considerable number of people have been fired in Health NZ.
“Given the state of our health system under this government, I am worried about what the pandemic response will look like today,” Verrall said.
