In this episode I talk about the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act which passed into law in the New Zealand parliament under urgency last month. I outline some context for the introduction of the Act, in terms of political trends of the past few decades, and attempt to answer the $64 million dollar question: is it consistent with the NZ Bill of Rights?

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer or legal scholar, this is my perspective as a citizen, no more, no less.

Check out the links below if you want to follow up on documents mentioned in the podcast, and let me know your thoughts in the comments.


00:16:53 Pseudo-science in modern politics

00:23:12 Politicians use name of Science to evade responsibility

00:31:43 Act passed under urgency

00:32:40 Human Rights Commission statement

00:33:44 Act gives central government 'sweeping police powers'

00:34:48 Did central government overstep its authority during the March-May lockdown?

00:43:56 Act may allow for regional discrimination in electoral process

00:46:12 Act may allow for discrimination against particular groups of people in electoral process

00:48:46 MoJ compliance report admits Act puts serious limitations on rights and freedoms of kiwis, greenlights it anyway

00:49:37 Act restricts kiwis' right to refuse to undergo medical treatment, freedom of peaceable assembly, freedom of association, freedom of movement, freedom from discrimination, right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, liberty of the person and rights to justice in civil proceedings with the Crown.

00:50:32 Compliance report relies on sections 4 and 5 of Bill of Rights Act

00:51:00 Under current NZ law, Bill of Rights can be overridden by central government at any time with a simple majority in the parliament

00:51:55 Upper house abolished in New Zealand in 1951

00:57:24 Should we amend the Bill of Rights to make it more like America's?

1:02:20 Restrictions under the Act on freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of association and freedom of movement

1:03:49 Language of the Act

1:04:11 Compliance report claims severity of COVID warrants the restrictions

1:05:46 Theme of asymptomatic transmission

1:06:52 Theme of ICU-level treatment

1:08:09 Trigger provision

1:09:07 Enforcement officers given immunity from prosecution

1:09:46 Ardern's stated goal of 'eradicating' COVID from New Zealand

1:14:02 Compliance report conclusion


Recorded on 16/06/20

Music: “Picture Perfect" by Yung Kartz, used under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0


Links:

"COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 - legislation", URL: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2020/0012/latest/LMS344134.html

"Consistency with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990: COVID-19 Public Health Response Bill", May 11 2020, URL: https://www.justice.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Publications/COVID-19-Public-Health-Response-Bill.pdf

"Coronavirus: Ministers say no need to copy US travel bans to Europe amid outbreak", Mar 12 2020, URL: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/120233968/coronavirus-ministers-say-no-need-to-copy-us-travel-bans-to-europe-amid-outbreak

"Coronavirus: Government set to urgently pass new law for Alert Level 2", May 11, 2020, URL: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/121478877/coronavirus-government-set-to-urgently-pass-new-law-for-alert-level-2

"Human Rights Commission Deeply Concerned about COVID-19 Public Health Response Bill", May 13, 2020, URL: https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2005/S00158/human-rights-commission-deeply-concerned-about-covid-19-public-health-response-bill.htm

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Yung_Kartz/August_2019/Picture_Perfect_1382