Covid-19 Inquiry Commissioner welcomes additional Commissioner appointments

COVID-19 Inquiry Commissioner Grant Illingworth, KC, has welcomed today’s announcement from the Minister of Internal Affairs that two additional Commissioners will join him for Phase Two of the Inquiry which will begin from 29 November.

In the announcement, the Minister also confirmed that Mr Illingworth would chair the second phase of the Inquiry, as well as releasing the terms of reference for the second phase.

“I’m pleased to acknowledge the appointments of Judy Kavanagh and Anthony Hill to Phase Two of the COVID-19 Inquiry. The new Commissioners will bring a wide range of skills and expertise to this next phase, and I am very much looking forward to working with them.”

Mr Illingworth says the revised terms of reference for Phase Two set out additional areas of focus, or areas to be looked at in more detail. This includes the Inquiry reviewing the key decisions taken by Government in response to COVID-19 between February 2021 and October 2022 in relation to:

• Vaccines – including mandates, the approval of Covid-19 vaccines, and vaccine safety
• Lockdowns – including extended lockdowns for both Auckland and Northland
• Procurement – specifically the impact of private sector involvement (or non-involvement) in the procurement, development and distribution of testing and tracing technologies and non-pharmaceutical public health materials.

The Inquiry will also consider whether these decisions were sufficiently informed by advice on any social and economic disruption they were likely to cause.

Mr Illingworth says he believes the areas of focus will be complementary to the first phase of the Inquiry.

“I am confident these additional areas that we will investigate, and the decisions associated with these areas, will add to the work of the Inquiry to date, and in turn will strengthen Aotearoa New Zealand’s overall preparedness for a future pandemic."

Mr Illingworth says he is “enjoying engaging with and building on the work of a dedicated team that for many months has been working hard on gathering and analysing information needed to complete Phase One of the Inquiry, and to ensuring that the Inquiry as a whole delivers a robust set of findings and recommendations on behalf of all New Zealanders.”

The phase one final report is due to be delivered to the Minister by 28 November 2024, while the second phase will report back in February 2026.

View the terms of reference for Phase Two on the New Zealand Legislation website.