New law for level 2 to be pushed through

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 select committee process but had released a disclosure draft of the bill to the Opposition and experts, and 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.

Shadow Leader of the House Gerry Brownlee said he was given a copy of the bill late on Monday 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.’’

Parker said the new law would allow officials to address behaviour at alert level 2 that was particularly harmful to the public health objective.

‘‘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.’’