New law for Covid-19 alert level 2 required

A new law is required for alert level 2 and the Government is set to pass it urgently in Parliament today.

The Covid-19 Public Health Response Bill needs to be in place for when the country moves into level 2 at 11.59pm tomorrow.

Attorney-General David Parker said the Government had assessed there was no time for the usual select committee process but had released a disclosure draft of the bill to the Opposition and experts, and had invited comment on it by 10am today.

The new law will provide the legal framework to allow for enforcement of social distancing, and the restrictions on gatherings under alert level 2.

It follows speculation that the Government lacked the power to enforce the strict four-week lockdown, in which New Zealanders were ordered to stay at home and not associate with people outside their household.

Shadow Leader of the House Gerry Brownlee said he was only given a copy of the bill late yesterday and said the lack of time to read it was ‘‘disgraceful’’.

He said the first line of the bill stated that it gave enforcement powers to authorities at all Covid levels – not just level 2.

‘‘Now that pretty much confirms the view that the provisions of level 3 and 4 were not enforceable. If they were, there would be no need to include all levels. I think David Parker has a very serious question to answer there.’’

Parker said the new law would allow officials to address behaviour at level 2 that was particularly harmful to the public health objective, and to demonstrate to those who were complying voluntarily that non-compliance will not be tolerated. ‘‘I reiterate there has been no gap in the legal underpinning or in the enforcement powers under the notices that have been issued under level 3 and level 4. This bill does not retrospectively change them.’’

Stuff revealed last month that guidance issued to police early in the lockdown showed they were unable to enforce the restrictions without reason to suspect a person had the virus. A subsequent health order modified police’s enforcement powers a week later.

Last week, media reports appeared to show that leaked Crown Law advice confirming that Cabinet ministers were aware police could not enforce the restrictions as it was widely presumed during the initial days of the lockdown.