The Grounded Kiwis will have their day in court today as they seek an overhaul of the MIQ system they say has stripped Kiwis of their foundational rights. Photo / Alex Robertson
The Grounded Kiwis will have their day in court today as they seek an overhaul of the MIQ system they say has stripped Kiwis of their foundational rights. Photo / Alex Robertson
A group of New Zealanders fighting for an overhaul of the MIQ system say Kiwis stranded overseas have been left traumatised by it, and have been stripped of their foundational rights.
The judicial review of the Government's Managed Isolation and Quarantine system, designed to keep Covid-19 out of the community, has wrapped up for day one in the High Court at Wellington in front of Justice Jillian Mallon.
The group Grounded Kiwis claims the Government has acted unlawfully, unreasonably, and in breach of section 18 (2) of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 that states every New Zealand citizen has the right to enter New Zealand.
Today's hearing was for the Grounded Kiwis' legal team to make their submissions, and the Crown will state its case tomorrow.
Lead defence lawyer Paul Radich QC began by arguing that the issues around MIQ were significant and said the system was in breach of returnees' foundational rights.
Radich says the group believes the Government has trivialised the plight of those wishing to return home to NZ.
"There comes a point where there can't be a continual denial of the right to enter," Radich said.
The crux of what is sought by the group is a declaration of inconsistency and for the Government to readjust its lens and put the "pendulum" in a better place in regards to NZ citizens overseas, so that future decisions can be aided by a more just point of view.
Tea Clougher, pictured in what she calls "happier times", will be one of many members of Grounded Kiwis attending today's hearings. Photo / Supplied
Affidavits filed by New Zealanders impacted by the MIQ system offer only a snapshot into the quantitative impact it has had on citizens who feel abandoned by their Government.
Radich says these submissions tell a story of anguish, emotional distress and devastation.
The initial staggering of room releases left people without warning when a slot would become available and this system was "trauma-inducing" for those attempting to return home, Radich said.
He outlined a few examples in brief to the court, including the story of a woman who was unable to return home while her son passed away.
Another couldn't be there while their son underwent cancer treatment, and multiple families had been separated for months if not years.
Radich said another suffered so much emotional distress from their attempts to come home that ongoing psychiatric support is needed. He said these people feel there is a lack of compassion to returnees who feel distressed, exiled and marginalised.
The High Court at Wellington. Photo / NZME
The court heard one man spent 10 hours a day refreshing the website to try and secure an MIQ spot. He slept with headphones and suffered sleep deprivation.
Attempting to secure a room to return was described as a full-time job. Another had to stop their attempts because of the negative impact it was having on their mental health.
"This is where the real pain started," Radich said.
Radich said although the response to the pandemic has adapted over time, the MIQ system and support of people trying to return home has not sufficiently moved along with it.
The defence also discussed the trust that had been put on Covid-positive Kiwis to self-isolate at home, and questioned why returnees, when most overseas are double vaccinated and tested before returning, aren't allowed the same right.
The defence elaborated on this when the hearing continued this afternoon. Lucila van Dam argued that the Government did not explore alternative options for length of stay as early as was capable, which they say could have increased the number of MIQ slots by 25 per cent.
They also criticised the slow pace in which earlier testing was adopted. Van Dam referenced the work of New Zealand-born research scientist Anne Wyllie who advocated for PCR testing at earlier stages of the MIQ stay which, by and large, could have made people's MIQ stays shorter.
Van Dam said simply, the Government "just didn't do the work when they said they would".
Members say the lottery system is unfair, valid emergency applications are routinely being denied and there has been no consideration of alternative options for fully vaccinated returnees. They want the system to change.
A small number have travelled to Wellington for the hearing, to stand in solidarity with those who could not attend, including Grounded Kiwis member Tea Clougher.
Many who had planned to appear in person, including Clougher, are unable to due to courtroom Covid-19 restrictions on the numbers of in-person attendees.
Numbers have been restricted to just Crown and defence council and Grounded Kiwis advocate Alexandra Birt.
Clougher was working overseas as a cruise director when Covid hit and generated a wave of redundancies. She found herself to be jobless just before the pandemic arrived in New Zealand.
Returning home after 10 attempts, seven through the MIQ lottery, Clougher knew there were others in worse positions.
Clougher's attendance in Wellington is not only in support of the legal team, but for those who are still unable to return home.
"You need people to ask the hard questions and to hold somebody accountable and this spoke to me," she said.
"You can't just put this in the hands of one person and I want to stand there in solidarity with the team that are working really hard and let Kiwis out there know we are still fighting the good fight."
Grounded Kiwi's spokeswoman Alexandra Birt was one of very limited numbers allowed inside the courtroom today. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The judicial review was filed in October last year. Since then, the group has raised just over $197,000 through crowdfunding to aid with the costs involved in taking a case like this before the High Court.
The original dates were earlier this year but were adjourned after a request from the Crown for the hearings to be put off to a later date due to new material submitted to the courts.
Birt had previously told Open Justice that 27 affidavits had been filed, with stories so heartbreaking a break was required between reading.
The adjournment impacted Clougher in a way she didn't expect. Bursting into tears and feeling shattered, untrusted and embarrassed by the Government, a financial burden in rearranging her life to make sure she stood with her fellow Kiwis today was nothing.
"I was really upset," she said. "The sense of helplessness, there's just nowhere to go and people aren't realising there's nowhere to turn, there's no governmental watch body that somebody can go to and say what our Government is doing right now is not right."
There is a 300-person capacity for the virtual meeting room for all those who will be attending today's hearing via a video link. Around 160 tuned in for this morning's proceedings.
Despite the recent announcement by the Government of a staged plan to reopen the country, the review remains vital to the group.
"We still think that the MIQ system raises incredibly important issues that need to be reviewed by the Court."
