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Concern grows as a proposed law rushes through Parliament urgently to establish the legal framework for the application of Level 2 Alert.
Chief Commissioner for Human Rights Paul Hunt.
Source: supplied
Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt said the government had not allowed enough time “for careful public and democratic consideration of this Level 2 legislation.”
“The new legislation, if passed in its current state, will result in extensive invisible police powers in this country for many years,” he said.
“Since the legislation invades New Zealand civil liberties, we have serious concerns about whether the powers are proportionate.
“There have been no contributions from ordinary New Zealanders that are deeply regrettable. This is a major failure of our democratic process.”
The Covid-19 public health response bill introduced by Attorney General David Parker was intended to be enacted today before Level 2 began. However, it did not fully make it to Parliament yesterday.
During the first reading, Parker said the bill would give police clearer powers to enforce orders, “in line with the gradual approach police have taken to date to enforcement.”
“This bill creates a power to enter facilities, a power to direct people, to stop activities that violate the order, a power to close roads and public places, and a power to close businesses that operate in breach of the rules for 24 hours. “
Maori party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said she was “very concerned about the provisions of the bill that propose increasing police powers, including suspending the search warrant process.”
“This is fundamentally undemocratic and a clear case of state overreach.”
Ms Ngarewa-Packer said that granting the state “unlimited powers to enter the marae is simply outrageous.”
“The tangata whenua right to have authority and remain safe within our own homes and marae is not only a fundamental tenet of New Zealand democracy, but also a right based on Te Tiriti or Waitangi.
“Nothing justifies the continued and uncontrolled breaches of Te Tiriti, not even the response to the pandemic.”
Read the proposed law here.
National opposed the first two readings of the bill, and national leader Simon Bridges said the powers vested in the bill “are in a way that we’ve never seen in a situation other than in times of war, I I dare say, in this country, with very few checks and balances, if any. ”
“I am pleased to see New Zealand open up more. I want to see us save jobs. But I say: trust the New Zealanders: Prime Minister and David Parker, they are not doing that with this bill.”
Waikato University law professor Alexander Gillespie said the bill addressed ambiguities that previously existed in the Covid-19 rules of the current Health Law.
“Most of what is proposed is just improvements to what already exists, in an ocean of vast powers in times of infectious disease.”
He said the changes would mean that there would no longer be a debate during emergencies or transitions that the entire country can be blocked, specific businesses can be told to close and road blocks must be authorized.
“The government is building them now, I suppose, in case there is another rally in Covid and the country has to be blocked again nationally or locally.”
Previously, Mr. Parker said that the Government believed that the majority of New Zealand wants to “do the right thing,” however, “the regulatory support provided by the new law allows us to address behavior at Alert Level 2 which is particularly detrimental to the public health goal and demonstrate to those who voluntarily comply that non-compliance will not be tolerated. ”
“I reiterate that there has not been a gap in the legal basis or powers of enforcement under the notices that have been issued under Tier 3 and Tier 4. This bill does not change them retrospectively.”
Breaking the rules could carry a $ 4,000 fine or up to six months in prison.
On April 2, during the shutdown, Professor John Hopkins told lawmakers that the law to enforce the shutdown was “problematic” as it depended heavily on police discretion.
He said this was not sustainable, pointing to the example of mixed messages at the beginning of the blockade that caused confusion for many kiwis.
Dr. Hopkins suggested that the guidelines given to the police be disclosed to the public, or that a set of rules be published “that are justified on the basis of evidence, legitimate in the eyes of the public and, most importantly, clear and open to all. “
Those guidelines were released by the police two days later.
