COVID-19 Orders — Approval

I move, That this House approve the following orders made under the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020: COVID19 Public Health Response (Maritime Border) Order (No 2) Amendment Order 2021 and COVID-19 Public Health Response (Alert Level Requirements) Order (No 6) 2021.

These are legal requirements to implement our elimination strategy. They confirm orders that I have made under the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act. These orders are revoked unless the House votes to confirm them, which is what I’m asking the House to do today.

There are two orders that I’m asking the House to confirm. The first, the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Alert Level Requirements) Order (No 6) 2021 sets out the nationwide alert level 1 requirements. So it sets out what we are asking of all New Zealanders while New Zealand as a whole stays at alert level 1. Just to put this into context for those who haven’t been following this debate from the beginning, when we move to an alert level escalation for whatever reason, a new order is put in place, whether it’s moving to alert level 2, alert level 3, alert level 4, and so on. That new alert level will specify who the new alert level applies to, bearing in mind that our recent escalations have not applied to the whole country in some instances; they’ve applied to a geographical area. So the new orders that would be issued if we were to do that would apply to a particular area, and it would specify who that was and it would specify what the restrictions were. People largely know what to expect from those orders now, given that our alert level framework—1, 2, 3, and 4—are now reasonably well understood.

The default position at the moment is for New Zealand to be at alert level 1, and the order that we’re talking about here specifies what the requirements at alert level 1 that apply to everybody are. So that’s including things like wearing a face mask on public transport, and the requirement for businesses to display QR codes. Those sorts of requirements come under our alert level one settings, and therefore this order simply confirms those requirements. They remain the baseline of our COVID-19 response. We are still at alert level 1, not alert level zero, recognising that alert level 1 gives us, by and large, many of the freedoms that we would have without any COVID-19 restrictions. There are a few exceptions, including the ones that I have just mentioned, but, generally speaking, we are still one of the freest countries in the world when it comes to COVID19 restrictions at the moment, something I know all New Zealanders are very proud of. All New Zealanders have contributed to that. This alert level order simply formalises those requirements.

The second is the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Maritime Border) Order (No 2) Amendment Order 2021. The amendment to the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Maritime Border) Order (No 2) 2020, which is the order—so this is an amendment order—empowers the Minister for COVID-19 Response to grant exemptions from any provision to the order restricting ships that may arrive in New Zealand by imposing quarantine and isolation requirements for people who arrive in New Zealand by sea. The controls in the maritime order are intended to support our elimination strategy, but recognising, though, that we need to balance this with maintaining international supply chains, movements in maritime labour, and freedom of shipping movements.

These particular orders are largely technical changes, so not as substantial as the ones that I just mentioned in terms of the alert level one order. They continue to refine and improve our orders. At any given time, there are up to about half a dozen orders in place, including things like the testing order and so on. They have previously been confirmed by Parliament. These two need to be confirmed by Parliament or they would otherwise no longer apply, so I am asking Parliament to confirm them today.

I just only really want to say to the House that we support the scrutiny of these orders and we don’t have any problem with the orders as promulgated by the Minister, and we thank the Regulations Review Committee for their work. If I was less tired and in a more jolly mood, I would make a series of jokes now about the Regulations Review Committee.

💬 Hon Members: Go on!

Well, no, they’re just—

💬 Hon Member: It’s Thursday.

Well, that is true; it is a Thursday.

💬 Hon Chris Hipkins: The all-powerful Regulations Review Committee!

The all-powerful! They’re so powerful! I mean, it’s hard to mock the Regulations Review Committee. I was a member of it for three years with David Cunliffe.

💬 Angie Warren-Clark: Ha, ha! We’re not surprised.

Well, David Cunliffe was actually a very good chair of the Regulations Review Committee. I realise he’s a controversial figure—

💬 Matt Doocey: Oh, you are a bit tired!

Yeah, I am a bit tired! He was quite a controversial figure at various points in this place, but he was actually a very good chair of the committee. And David Parker sat on the committee too, and Chester Borrows, so it was an all-star cast when I first became an MP, but they do a great job. So there you go, I’ve made a few jokes.

We support these orders and we support the work of the Regulations Review Committee, thanks.

The Green Party supports these orders.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. The ACT Party joins in supporting the approval of these orders. Last time we approved orders under this act, it was 9 March, and I note that today we’re debating the—they all look the same from here—the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Maritime Border) Order (No 2) Amendment Order 2021 and the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Alert Level Requirements) Order (No 6) 2021, moving Auckland to level 1.

I note that the changes made, that the Minister for COVID-19 Response has already outlined, are quite simple. They’re about face masks, face coverings, QR codes for businesses and public transport, they’re also about exemptions to the orders. I would just leave it, quite simply, and say that our mantra throughout this entire period of COVID19 has always been to make constructive criticism where necessary, helpful suggestions where possible, and ask the questions that New Zealanders need answered. We will continue to monitor how the Government makes its orders and gives notice.

So, in summary, ACT supports this order and we will remain constructive in the critique of the Government when they’re making orders. Thank you.