Suspending rights for freedoms

New Zealanders can be grateful for the success they have had in combating Covid-19 and restoring many of the freedoms others around the world are unable to enjoy. But it is important to note that much of that success has been built on the withdrawing of some key pillars of those freedoms: our right to travel freely, congregate with others, even work.

We have spent more than a year now weighing those rights, balancing them against greater goals, considering how denying the rights of some, even temporarily, may help preserve the freedoms of the many.

The Government has again made that calculation in deciding on a two-week suspension for people travelling to this country through and from India.

On the face of it that appears discriminatory. But as Stuff political editor Luke Malpass has pointed out, the temporary ban can be justified, in part, by the numbers, with close to 120 people from India arriving in New Zealand with Covid since February, compared with just 19 from the US and 15 from the UK.

Covid-19 modeller Rodney Jones suggests it was the only responsible course of action, given the exponential rise in cases in India, and the prospect that Thursday’s 127,000 cases could soon become 300,000 a day.

Those are extraordinary numbers, and these are extraordinary times, says human rights lawyer Michael Bott. That means the Government is justified in encroaching on the rights of the few, especially those travelling here from another country, to protect the health and wellbeing of all its citizens.

In fact, our Bill of Rights allows for the temporary suspension of basic rights, as long as it’s demonstrably necessary, temporary, and proportional to the risk. We may not be at war, but it is clear this country has been placed on a war footing, the fight against Covid is long, and we are far from its end.

That’s why Kiwis have, on the whole, tolerated the temporary suspension of some basic rights, and the greater involvement of the Government in their lives. We accept this is necessary for us to enjoy what many cannot.

The much-anticipated transTasman travel bubble is predicated on the very real prospect that the privilege of travel between two countries, and the rights of its citizens to return home, could be halted by a Covid traffic light. Also, we know a cluster of Covid cases in our communities could mean more lockdowns and further undermining of our rights.

Lastly, the Government’s response is merely a measured, mature reflection of what a number of experts have been saying for some time: that just as travel bubbles with lowrisk countries make sense, so does the targeting of high-risk nations, and the development of specific tools and mechanisms to mitigate that risk and protect New Zealand.

The Government must be careful, however. Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has given assurances that those who had intended to travel here during the ban will not lose their MIQ spots when it is lifted, and he must hold to that.

The Government also needs to be mindful its citizens have established an unwritten accord in which we have allowed the state to impinge on some of our rights, as long as it keeps us safe and the economy ticking over. That accord could be likened to a length of rope, and the Government needs to be careful how much it takes and how tightly it holds on.

... our Bill of Rights allows for the temporary suspension of basic rights.