Summarised by Centrist
The Maxim Institute’s submission to the Royal Commission on COVID 19 Phase Two says the government abandoned its existing pandemic plan in favour of an elimination strategy that lacked an exit plan.
When that failed, lockdowns persisted without evidence of effectiveness.
The submission cites international literature reviews, which found that lockdowns did not reduce mortality rates and caused unnecessary economic and social harm.
The submission also condemns the use of urgency to pass major laws, including the traffic light system, saying it was “corrosive to constitutional norms.”
Maxim strongly criticises vaccine mandates and QR code passes, saying they violated the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.
It quotes then-PM Jacinda Ardern’s description of vaccine passes as a way to “reward” compliance as “a novel and concerning framing for basic freedoms.”
The report cites AUT research showing more than 1,300 nurses, midwives, and carers exited the healthcare sector.
The submission warns that long-term safety data was lacking at the time mandates were imposed, with Medsafe acknowledging the Pfizer vaccine’s effectiveness against transmission was unproven.
One Bloomfield briefing to Hipkins stated, “Mandatory vaccination is unlikely to be a justified limitation of the right to refuse medical treatment under section 11 of the Bill of Rights Act.”
Maxim also warns of lasting damage to institutional trust, citing the collapse in childhood immunisation rates and the 2022 protest at Parliament.
Robust surveys at the time showed that the protestors were a politically diverse group unified by opposition to mandates.
On media and messaging, the submission says the government overreached by declaring itself the “single source of truth” and funding media through the $55m Public Interest Journalism Fund, on top of an earlier media support package worth $50m, and an advertising spend of $88m. It calls the Disinformation Project a “highly politicised” actor, noting its expansion into areas like “free speech,” gun rights, and abortion.
Among the recommendations:
- Uphold the NZ Bill of Rights in future public health responses
- Refrain from using urgency to bypass scrutiny
- Avoid government funding of media and civil society advocacy
- Commission independent evaluations of lockdown and vaccine harms
