Urgent Debates Declined — COVID-19—Crown Law Advice on Alert Level 4

I’ve received a letter from David Seymour seeking to debate under Standing Order 389 the New Zealand Herald article purportedly based on Crown Law advice on the Government’s decision to move New Zealand to alert level 4 in the COVID-19 alert system. A newspaper article is not a matter for which there is ministerial responsibility. If the subject of the application is the Government’s decision to move to alert level 4 on 25 March, then the application or an urgent debate on that matter should have occurred before the House sat on 28 April. The application is therefore declined.