Covid-19 inquiry: Last call to share pandemic experience with inquiry

Grant Illingworth at his day job as a defence lawyer in court. Photo / RNZ, Kim Baker Wilson

By RNZ

• The Covid-19 inquiry chairman urges public submissions on pandemic experiences before the Sunday deadline.
• Grant Illingworth, KC emphasises the importance of hearing diverse stories to understand the pandemic’s impact.
• The inquiry reviews key Government decisions made between February 2021 and October 2022.

The chairman of the Covid-19 inquiry has put out a last-minute call for people to share their experiences of the pandemic.

Public submissions close at midnight Sunday, but Grant Illingworth, KC said it was important to hear from as many people as possible, as it will provide a fuller picture of how both the pandemic and the Government’s response to it affected people.

“We strongly encourage you. Every single person has their own story to tell. Every single life really matters and we want as many people as possible to share their perspectives of what happened during Covid.”

The inquiry is currently reviewing key decisions the Government made in response to the pandemic between February 2021 and October 2022. It said a “key decision” was one made by the Government that had a “significant impact on a large number of people or had a significant cost at a national or regional level (or both)”.

The inquiry’s focus is on three main areas:

• Vaccines, including the use of mandates, the approval of vaccines, and vaccine safety
• Lockdowns, especially the national lockdown in August and September 2021 and the Auckland/Northland extended lockdown late 2021.
• Testing, tracing, and other public health tools.

Illingworth said it means those who previously did not feel heard could have their say.

“We have to sift through the evidence and decide which parts of that evidence are reliable and which parts are unreliable, and looking into the issues that are raised by people with an impartial and independent approach.

“So people who have been affected by vaccines, people who believe the vaccines were not safe, and people who think perhaps that the lockdowns in Auckland and Northland went on for too long.”

Illingworth said if the inquiry did not hear from these people, it could not say what the consequences were of the decisions made during the period of the inquiry.

Over the coming months, the inquiry will hold interviews with policymakers and advisors and meet with some of the communities most affected by the pandemic. It will also collect information and evidence, including from government departments. The inquiry will hold public hearings later in 2025.

Anyone who wants to make a submission can either go to the Covid 19 inquiry website or call 0800 500 306.

– RNZ